Controlling Tinnitus: What works for you?

Valérie, There is a list containing the names of hundreds of ototoxic medications, however in most cases only a very small percentage of people actually have a negative reaction with regards to tinnitus, I am talking between one and three percent of people who use one of these medications have a problem with their tinnitus as a result. Chemotherapy agents, some antibiotics and loop diuretics are ones to beware of. Just something to think about.

I recently had a noise exposure that worsened my tinnitus. For another medical issue, my doctor ordered an MRI. Should I avoid MRI's due to the noise? Will it make things even worse?

I have a lot of ear, neck and head pain on the side of the tinnitus. Hope the pain at least settles down.
Funny thing: if I rub that ear in a circular fashion, hard, the tinnitus stops for a moment.

Never tried that. During my awake hours I also get a banging sound which is difficult to handle. “Whoosh ing” is my constant There are many times I am awakening and and here sounds like machinery until I am fully mobilizing/awake. Makes me wondet if tinnitus truly exists during sleep. Would love some fredback. Carole at sandytoes41@gmail.com

I would say the noise from an MRI is risky for people with tinnitus. I had one at the hospital and they provide regulation ear muffs, as well. Nevertheless I stopped the MRI because I felt it was too loud. If you go ahead make sure they provide you with hearing protection. Best of luck.

Was diagnosed w tinnitus 8 years ago; have there been any new developments in treatment? Thank you,

Hello @joyceposthuma and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I found an existing discussion on tinnitus that I wanted to welcome you into, so you will notice I have moved your post here:
- Controlling Tinnitus: What works for you?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tinnitus-control/

Recent members such as @willows @kvetch @windyshores and @lacy2 may be able to share what they know about recent developments in treatments.

What sort of treatments have you tried and/or been recommended?

Are you still getting relief with taurine for your tinnitus? May I ask, was your tinnitus caused by noise exposure or other methods? When I asked my doctor whether he knew of any cure or help for tinnitus he said “no but please let me know if you do.”

I'll answer the last question first.

I had a misdiagnosed allergy. The swelling from the inflammation cut off the blood supply to my inner ear and probably killed some hair cells.

I am also a professional musician, but using ear protection. Before the allergic reaction, I had about 3 db loss in the high frequencies. Probably from the days before I discovered musician's ear plugs.

Yes, I'm still having relief.

The Taurine works gradually. I bought a number of months supply, I forget how many, and thought it wasn't working. When I ran out, I could tell the difference in a week, the volume went up quite a bit.

My tinnitus has always been variable. On a scale of 1-10 before the Taurine I would guess it varied from 5-9.

After the Taurine, from 0-3.

I have many quiet days. Often it's so light I can't tell I'm having a hiss unless I'm in a very quiet environment. Sometimes I have a low level ringing that is easy to ignore. In most situations, I don't hear it at all, but in quieter places, I can. Since you called attention to it, and I'm in my office with no sound distraction, I can hear the faint tone. If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed.

So for me, I would say the relief is over 90%.

If I wake up at night, sometimes I have the ringing at its new highest level, which is still much lower than the pre-taurine level.

It's an amino acid, found in many foods. I just take it now, first thing in the morning with a class of water. My ear doc is interested, said it doesn't seem to be doing me any harm, and if it works for me, keep doing it.

According to Wiki: "Taurine has an observed safe level of supplemental intake in normal healthy adults at up to 3 g/day.[68] Even so, a study by the European Food Safety Authority found no adverse effects for up to 1,000 mg of taurine per kilogram of body weight per day.[69]"

But you might want to check with your doctor first, I'm not a professional, and therefore not qualified to give others health advice.

Bob

@bobbyboomer how much taurine have you been taking? I suppose it might be dependent on weight and size-?

I am slowly "habituating." I tried masking sounds (rain) overnight and woke up with ear pain and vertigo: I lost my balance getting out of bed!

So I have hyperacusis and reactive tinnitus (learning the lingo here) and need silence at night. I make sure to have a good book and go to sleep as soon as sleepiness hits me.

The ENT was dismissive and told me to get a mouth guard. He also said that he had tinnitus since 19 and "you just put it on the back burner." He needs to recognize that some tinnitus is more bothersome than others, and also that with new onset or new increase in tinnitus, there is an adjustment period. It takes time to adjust and empathy is needed, not chiding.

I am doing a lot of art: I find that I forget to notice the sounds when I am busy in a happy way.

How much taurine do you take per day. I have had tinnitus and hyperacusis for over 30 years. It is pretty bad now and would be interested in trying taurine. The articles I have read seem pretty positive with one mentioning that it can protect inner ear hair cells.