# Tinnitus - ideas for treatments? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 1, 2007, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757 "2007-09-01T22:09:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2007, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/1 "2007-09-01T22:09:27Z")
Hi all, I hope this is in the right forum - seems as though opinions plus facts are needed but not just hardcore facts, so I’m treating it as a bit of a poll. Without going into gory details, my husband suffers from tinnitus since performing in a rock band for about 10 years. He’s intermittently debilitated by it and has tried many natural remedies to no avail. Nearby, there is a tinnitus treatment center which claims to improve quality of life for approximately 70% of patients and does this by “retraining” you to cope better with the noise. My partner, however, believes from their literature that the clinic’s methods only mask the noise of tinnitus with white noise generators and thus is pretty much quackery. The limits of my research abilities have been reached. It’s hard to tell from online information what works and what doesn’t. Does anyone here have tinnitus (or know someone that does)? and if so, what, if any, treatments have worked for you? ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/2 "2007-09-02T17:50:00Z")
[QUOTE=Oregon sunshine] Hi all, I hope this is in the right forum - seems as though opinions plus facts are needed but not just hardcore facts, so I’m treating it as a bit of a poll. Without going into gory details, my husband suffers from tinnitus since performing in a rock band for about 10 years. He’s intermittently debilitated by it and has tried many natural remedies to no avail. Nearby, there is a tinnitus treatment center which claims to improve quality of life for approximately 70% of patients and does this by “retraining” you to cope better with the noise. My partner, however, believes from their literature that the clinic’s methods only mask the noise of tinnitus with white noise generators and thus is pretty much quackery. The limits of my research abilities have been reached. It’s hard to tell from online information what works and what doesn’t. Does anyone here have tinnitus (or know someone that does)? and if so, what, if any, treatments have worked for you? [/QUOTE] Learning to cope is the best. I do not believe that there is a cure for noise induced tinnitus or tinnitus in general for that matter. Keeping my neck and shoulder muscles relaxed helps mine immensely though, but I do not believe that my tinnitus is solely noise caused. Giving massage and chiropractic a shot might not be a bad idea for your husband. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/3 "2007-09-02T18:12:23Z")
First, get him checked by a doctor. While most cases of tinnitus are caused by damage to the cochlea from sustained exposure to unsafe sound levels, there are some minority causes, like arteriosclerosis and abnormally low serotonin levels, that can be dangerous if they go untreated. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/4 "2007-09-02T20:31:46Z")
Thanks for the replies all. I have thought about massage therapy for him as his shoulder muscles are extremely tight in general. (I give him shoulder rubbies, but I’m not that good at it…) Perhaps there is a correlation with him. Any other ideas are welcomed. Peace ---
**Author:** ![MyglassISfull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbce88/32.png) [@MyglassISfull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyglassISfull)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/5 "2007-09-02T21:16:25Z")
I’ve read about ‘masking’ too and have found white noise does reduce my tinnitus, albeit for a short time (but I don’t think the static from a tv is quite the best solution, so I’m looking into seeing a professional). Caffeine is supposed to make it worse for some people, as does chocolate. Scratching the back of my head really helps, which may be the ‘relaxing muscles’ bit. ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/6 "2007-09-03T10:35:17Z")
I have it. I went to a specialist a few years ago and he all but assured me there was jack shit I could do about it. He said I should stay off caffeine, red wine, cannabis and a few other things. I decided to pretend he hadn’t said that. I agree with the earlier poster that simply coming to terms with it might be the best you can do. I am still getting there in terms of accepting it but this does take a long time. YMMV. For a while, I was interested in undergoing [this treatment](http://www.neuromonics.com/). I looked into it a bit and read that it was developed following something like 10 years of research. It seemed fairly scientific to me, though factor in that I am really keen to believe there is a cure for this. I think the gist is that they pitch the frequency of your tinnitus, then train you not to attend to that frequency. Or, at least, that is their claim. Anyway, it looks a bit speculative in terms of the outcome; they admit in their website promo that it doesn’t work for everyone. The one thing for sure is you will part with several large for a crack at it. If money were no object, I would give this a go for sure. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/7 "2007-09-03T10:47:30Z")
> [@](#): > > originally posted by **buns3000** : > I have it. I went to a specialist a few years ago and he all but assured me there was jack shit I could do about it. He said I should stay off caffeine, red wine, cannabis and a few other things. I decided to pretend he hadn’t said that. Identical experience here, except for not having been told to stay off caffeine, red wine, and cannabis. I’m going to pretend I didn’t read that. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/8 "2007-09-03T11:28:27Z")
I immediately thought of Poe’s poem: “To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells From the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells,– From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.” I don’t have any research handy, but read a few years ago that there are some new surgical treatments available for this condition. I would suggest going to a good otolaryngologist (ear doctor). I have learned the hard way that if one doctor doesn’t have a clue, go to the next, and the next until you find a good doctor. Best wishes, and can only imagine the horrible pain that must cause. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/9 "2007-09-03T15:51:26Z")
Caffeine is the only thing that makes mine tolerable, oddly. I have pulsatile tinnitus in my right ear. I’m pretty sure it’s some sort of vascular issue, but nothing has ever been found on multiple MRIs and CT scans. I’ve had it since 2000. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/10 "2007-09-10T03:02:22Z")
My ears have rung for over 20 years. The ringing will never go away. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/11 "2007-09-10T16:11:54Z")
You’ll never get any reliable information about tinnitus, and what to do about it, because everybody’s different. Supposedly, for a lot of people who used masking, the volume of tinnitus decreases for some period of time after the masking device is removed. I tried masking, and had exactly the opposite reaction. When I removed the device, my tinnitus seemed unusually loud, and stayed that way for 12 hours or so. Supposedly, caffeine and aspiring are bad news, but they have no noticeable effect on me. On the other had, melatonin makes it really loud. The better I sleep (i.e., naturally, without melatonin or any other drug), the better mine is. That’s the only really solid correlation I’ve been able to make after 25 years living with tinnitus. So, basically, he should try stuff out, or at least those things that are free, or give a refund (e.g., tinnitus maskers have a 30-day trial period). However, I agree that the best thing to do is just learn to live with it. If you tell yourself it’s driving you crazy, it will drive you crazy. If you tell yourself it’s no big deal, you find yourself just ignoring it most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/12 "2007-09-10T16:19:35Z")
[QUOTE=buns3000] For a while, I was interested in undergoing [this treatment](http://www.neuromonics.com/). I looked into it a bit and read that it was developed following something like 10 years of research. It seemed fairly scientific to me, though factor in that I am really keen to believe there is a cure for this. I think the gist is that they pitch the frequency of your tinnitus, then train you not to attend to that frequency. Or, at least, that is their claim. Anyway, it looks a bit speculative in terms of the outcome; they admit in their website promo that it doesn’t work for everyone. The one thing for sure is you will part with several large for a crack at it. If money were no object, I would give this a go for sure. [/QUOTE] I entered the thread to mention this. I remember reading an interview with Jeff Beck (musician/tinnitus sufferer) where he’d had good results with this method. _shrugs_ ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/13 "2007-09-11T03:19:18Z")
Contact Pete Townshend. I have his PA’s email if you want it. (And no, I’m not kidding…he’s responded to stranger requests, believe me!) ---
**Author:** ![SomeUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@SomeUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SomeUserName)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/14 "2007-09-11T12:58:22Z")
[QUOTE=buns3000] I have it. I went to a specialist a few years ago and he all but assured me there was jack shit I could do about it. He said I should stay off caffeine, red wine, cannabis and a few other things. I decided to pretend he hadn’t said that. [/QUOTE] Yep, same thing I was told and I didn’t not hear it either. I was also told not to try any OTC remedies as he said that could actually make it worse. I have just learned to live with it. The mornings seem to be the worse for me. When I first wake up it seems very loud but sort of dwindles during the day. I am sure it does not get “quieter”, I have just learned to ignore it. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/15 "2007-09-11T14:15:22Z")
Thanks for the massage mention – I’ll tell my mom about that. She has been checked for her tinnitus and there isn’t an underlying medical cause for it. She tried a few meds which her doctor suggested, but they didn’t help much and she really doesn’t want to add another pill unless it’s useful. So she’s just been living with it. However, she has always had major neck and upper back pain and stiffness so that’s definately worth a try for her. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tinnitus-ideas-for-treatments/417757/16 "2007-09-11T17:54:22Z")
FWIW, the latest “Men’s Journal”, with Matt Leinart on the cover, has an article about tinnitus and the latest treatments for it. It’s not online yet. I was reading it last night and I’d tell you what it said, but I sort of fell asleep in the middle of that article.