Controlling Tinnitus: What works for you?

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.

Bad day today with tinnitus. I was taking steroids (low dose) and wonder if that was having a good effect a few days ago. I cannot really tolerate them.

I started by taking 3 grams per day.

After a while I cut it back to 2g/day, but if it starts to get slightly noticeable, I up it back to 3g/day.

It doesn't appear to have any negative side effects on me, that I've noticed anyway. Of course that is just a conjecture, I haven't had a doc test it.

But as I mentioned in an earlier post. If I stop taking the Taurine, within a couple of days I notice the difference and remember how loud it used to be.

I'm in a quiet room now, not even an air conditioner fan noise, and I have to concentrate to hear the slightest hiss.

I don't know if it would work for anyone else. If you want to self-experiment on yourself, it's up to you. If you do, let us know if it works.

Bob

@windyshores It truly amazes me that ENTs behave this way. When I had my acoustic trauma and was suffering from a confirmed 5-10 db loss in my right ear with hyperacusis, my ENT said that I had better hearing in my left ear than he did, so I should consider myself lucky given that I was 12 years older than him. He then told me that my hyperacusis was likely a mental health issue, and I should go to therapy. Needless to say, I got a new ENT who, quite frankly, is only a lesser jerk, so I’m still shopping. Luckily, I’ve noticed an improvement in the hyperacusis over the months since, so I haven’t yet tried taurine. I live in NYC, so I wear earplugs or headphones outside and in loud stores, but not in my home, except when doing dishes or vacuuming. I only notice tinnitus in the wee hours when I can’t sleep. Then it’s pretty loud, but not during the day.

Thanks. I might get brave and try it. Not sure.

@cudabinacontenda the implication that there is a mental health component stunned me. Is this what docs do when they cannot solve a problem? Like you, I had a major noise trauma just a few weeks before I saw the ENT. Yet they focused on "stress" as a factor, suggested a mouthguard, and that I see a psychiatrist for clonazepam (I brought a study showing clonazepam helped tinnitus). We all feel a little desperate when tinnitus arrives or gets worse. I have never been told by anyone else that I have a stress issue.

Does anyone else have trouble using ear plugs? The change in pressure when I take them out causes pain, dizziness, and may worsen tinnitus. I told ENT that and no response. I do pull on earlobe and put my finger in to slowly break the seal. Suggestions?

I am dizzy again today and they just say it is "vestibular migraine." What about my inner ear?

@windyshores I’m sorry to learn that you are dealing with this provider nonsense when you have a real clinical issue. Yes, anxiety can worsen the problem, but it’s not the CAUSE of it. I was likewise stunned by the cavalier dismissiveness of my ENT and his narcissism in viewing my hearing loss only through a comparison with his own. What does his hearing have to do with mine?!

Regarding your ear plug issue, I’ve only had occasional problems with suction upon removal, even though I am also careful in breaking the seal. I prefer the smaller silicone pillows because I don’t have to insert them, but they’re more costly per use than foam. I’ve experimented a lot. My favorite brands are PQ for silicone (Mack’s are too big) and 3M Classic in foam. Of course, it all comes down to ear size and form.

Thanks for the tips!

I am a positive person and am trying to habituate. But I stated the problem: increased tinnitus after a very loud and too long music exposure (stupid me). It is very distressing at first and yes there is a cycle of tinnitus, stress over tinnitus, making it worse. But it is reasonable to be distressed at first.

Interesting that your ENT also brought up their own hearing issues.

Instead of saying" I have had tinnitus since I was 19. You just put it on the back burner" (hands in pocket while standing)...my ENT could have said "I know it's really tough in the beginning, but things get better for most people because the brain adjusts. I wish we could help more." No empathy, dismissive and basically blaming me.

I have been around docs for many years with an elderly mother, a kid with special health care needs, and my own. I have low expectations. But even those were not met.