Controlling Tinnitus: What works for you?

Been working with great audiologist the past 2 mo. Have ordered a pair of Resound. Have been using loaners.
After yrs of various docs, audiologists, etc etc I’ve come to the conclusion that the hearing aids don’t help me hear much but I can choose a setting that plays continuous “brown noise” into right ear & I can turn it up a bit on louder tinnitus days but for example yesterday I was somewhere & heard “hi Elli” & spun all the way around in my chair until I saw the person who was talking —so in other words I don’t know what direction the sound is coming from except when I don’t have hearing aids in, I still have hearing in left ear tho not perfect I can hear good enough for some things like talking on phone. For me I use the hearing aids to dull the hi pitched noise in my right (no hearing) ear but I’m still working on how to be able to hear with hearing aid.

This video on tinnitus treatment just showed up in my files today. Many of you have probably watched YouTube videos by Dr. Cliff Olson AuD, a well respected audiologist from Arizona. He seems pretty excited about this very new treatment that has just been approved by the FDA after showing good results abroad. Here's the basic information with the link.

Did Researchers just Cure Tinnitus? Doctor Cliff Olson, Audiologist and founder of Applied Hearing Solutions in Phoenix Arizona, discusses the recent news about the Lenire tinnitus treatment from Neuromod that got FDA NeNovo Approval, by using bimodal neuromodulation to significantly reduce tinnitus symptoms.

Hello - have you tried sound therapy through your hearing aids my audiologist recommends, listening to soothing music through there, not to have it overtake the Tinnitus, but to get your brain to focus on it. Of course those with out tinnitus can tell you that it does help a little bit one thing to use to see if you can find anything that triggers it to get worse couple things I’ve been trying lately just making sure I relax before I go to bed, watching the sodium intake and alcohol because both of those retain fluid and according to my ENT, that fluid will go to your inner ear. Good luck!

By any chance Did your ENT say that also means controlling your intake of other fluids such as water or juice? Just wondering as I have severe tinnitus.

Hi, my ENT did not share anything beyond that. My audiologist is amazing and is super helpful. They actually had me sit down with somebody regarding Tinnitus therapy, which they really try to have us do sound therapy, which is basically having noises through maybe your hearing aids or an iPod during the day just to try to take your focus off the Tinnitus I know that I avoid super loud places and I know stress can make it worse like if you’re angry or arguing with somebody that can trigger more, there’s also a headband you can wear at night when you’re laying down in bed because I know the silence is the worst part or trying to read a book that you can buy on Amazon with a radio in it. I didn’t get one yet because mine wasn’t as bad right now, but I terrified my mother the other day. I would say a ceiling fan at night having other noises sound machine by your bed they keep telling me that with time it will get better and I do believe it will because your brain and your body is amazing and it can adjust to it but it’s just trying to figure out those triggers. I find outside is better too.

I got vertigo using rain sounds overnight. So I have been enduring silence. I watch Netflix until sleepy and go right to bed at the moment I am sleepy. If that doesn't work I also make sure to have a good book to read for distraction.

Trees are being cut down in my neighborhood right now and it is not helpful for my ears and brain!

Thanks for posting this Julie I’m going to reach out to my audiologist and get an a list. More than likely it will happen for a while but at least there’s an option out there. Thank you so much.

Do you have hearing aids? If so, you can actually do some therapy through those to try to figure focus off the tinnitus I feel for you. It’s such a fluctuating situation and it can be really frustrating. If I can think about any other ideas, I’ll reach out to see an audiologist?

You're welcome. If you learn more, please share your experiences.

I do. I decided to get them with my hair and started to go just to be prepared. Because my hearing and kept fluctuating so much, I decided to to be proactive and get a pair. I had to wait a bit for them to come in and then you meet with the audiologist they fit you they work with you on them to get Settings to ask you how comfortable you are with. They do take a bit to adjust. They do make things a little bit louder and sometimes uncomfortable but if you share all of that with your audiologist, they will help you get them to be better for you. You can get programs you can use your iPhone what’s really cool is I actually use them through Bluetooth so you can listen to the radio you can listen to the Tinnitus therapy. You can answer your phone. You can listen to music And get your messages from your phone. It’s actually very cool and since my hearing loss is minimal right now, there’s a lot further to go with the hearing aids, so I personally would recommend it if they feel you could benefit from them. I know the tinnitus can be really frustrating , but I will tell you that mine has gotten better. It also does have flareups I’m not gonna lie but those flareups are generally when I’ve been in a very loud place. I’m getting angry or really stressed or frustrated or I had a lot of sodium or a lot of alcohol, which I’m not a big drinker to drinks once in a while but those things seem to trigger it so I’m trying to just kind of do what they suggest. Good luck with everything. Keep me posted on how things progress. If I get any other information I will definitely pass it onto you.