Constant tinnitus: Are there any solutions?

Hearings aids dull tinitus is what I meant to write😊

@valerie have you read anything by Oliver Sachs? I wonder if there is a case like yours in his book Musicophilia.

Hi Valerie, I have had tinnitus for 53 years since I shattered my eardrum so I know how annoying it can be. It has become louder and louder in recent years. I had never heard of the musical version which really sounds annoying because it would conflict with the real sounds. Anytime you hear something that isn't really there, it's not good. Sorry to hear you have this. From what I just read, it's your brain trying to fill in the hearing gap appropriately the same way our brain fills in the blind spot in our eye to match the rest of what it sees. Why it picks music, who knows? What a strange and annoying disorder.

I just got hearing aids. The audiologist thought it might help with the tinnitus among other issues. It does not. He said it would help with clarity -- not so far. What it does for me as far as I can tell is just amplify everything so I'm hearing things a person wouldn't normally hear like loud crinkling paper when I try to read. It's like a sitcom when someone has a hangover and they hear every little sounds magnified and annoying. So far it doesn't help with clarity on the TV. The last issue to test is if I can hear better in a crowded restaurant. Haven't tested that yet. With hearing loss in one ear mostly, it makes it hard to distinguish close voices from distant voices so I don't hear anyone clearly.

I am facing hearing aids and I keep putting it off....sigh. I have had tinnitus for about 8 years. The right ear is a high pitched ringing and the left ear at times sounds like morse code clicking. I do find if I eat something with a lot of sodium or caffeine the tinnitus worsens. I am blessed that my brain has tuned it out, but, it has really effected my hearing. If someone has a low voice, I can't hear what they are saying often times or if the TV is on and someone is talking to me. Being in a crowd is extra hard to have a one on one conversation. God Bless You All! Growing old is not for wimps is it?

Hi Valerie
I have severe Tinnitus and high frequency hearing loss. I was trained by a Tinnitus professor and have been helping people with this condition for fifteen years. I suspect in your case those hearing aids were not programmed properly. Hearing aids are the number one support device for Tinnitus. Many audiologists don't use Best Practices with patients and many don't know how to program aids properly. If you would like you can email me at tvtinnitus@Gmail.com and I would be glad to connect with you and determine how I can help. I have helped hundreds restore life quality as a professional volunteer utilizing my experience and knowledge. I would be happy to speak with you

The book is titled Musicophilia. That is not a condition. Author is Oliver Sacks (I had a typo earlier)

I’m new to this. I have very loud ringing since my hearing loss incident. I am not sure I’ve ever gotten good advice on this. The Dr just said we don’t know how to treat it so the masking is common. I’ll follow the answers from others on this. For you to wince means you must have a real challenge. Sorry that this is the case for you.

Hi Bill, bless you as you move through the cancer. My husband had this also. Our oncologist then lowered his chemotherapy regime 10% and his ringing stopped. That was our experience and worked for him ❤️

I'm sorry I thought I saw Bill somewhere in your post. Bless you, again.

@covidstinks2023 Please don't put off getting those hearing aids. Once you adjust to them you'll be glad you have them. What you describe, is likely progressive sensorineural hearing loss. It creates a problem in noisy settings especially. Social outings get tough. While hearing aids don't correct hearing loss, they do help when they are fit properly.

Hearing loss often accompanies tinnitus. You've identified 2 of the things that often seem to relate to tinnitus; caffeine and sodium. Stress is also a causative factor. Learning to manage stress can help.

You say that you have trouble with low voices. Most people with progressive hearing loss have trouble with higher pitched voices, women and children. Has anyone on your medical team mentioned that you likely have a reverse slope hearing loss?