Tinnitus - anybody suffering? Any solutions?

[vibratoking]

I've had the constant ringing for years. Does anyone have any good experience to share?

[Roe]

avoid stress and alcohol. sleep well, protect your ears. and learn to focus on something else

[ToneMerc]

Over the last 4-5 years mine has gotten progressively worse, sometimes it's both but usually when it heavily persists it's in my left ear. A few years ago I got tip from a friend of mine that has an 80+ yr old dad that has it bad, his dad's doctor recommended that he try Vitamin D supplements. He told me that it seems to work for his dad and I was thinking it was just another folk remedy until I tried it.

When it starts to bother me to the point where it annoys me, I take a couple of 400IU caps and it doesn't totally suppress it, but makes it managable. I can't say it will work for you, but you might want to try it.

TM

[M Fowler]

I have had mine since I was in the Marines and some of the medications I currently take for my arthritis increase the tinnitus so it is a constant problem.

When I try to relax is when it is the most noticeable and when playing my guitars.

Mark

[cbass]

I've got a bit of titinitus. I wish i could say it was from blasting a row 100 watters while doing stadium concerts.Most likely its from running power tools all day everyday for the last 20years and being stupid enough to practice shooting without protection when i was younger.
Sleeping with a fan running helps drown out the ringing for me but mine is not very severe.

[Structo]

I had a friend that had it bad.
He did research and he eventually went to a hearing specialist and had these hearing aid type things made.
They emit a similar signal out of phase and cancel out 90% of it he said.

He said his sounded like the ocean, more of a roaring than a ringing.

He said people have committed suicide over tinnitus when it is severe so if you have it bad you should see a specialist.

I have it as well and it's always there.
Most of the time I am able to tune it out but sometimes it seems to get loud.
Mine is a very high frequency ringing, almost on the border of my upper hearing level.

I've worked in construction all my life, plus loud guitars and not wearing protection when I should have known better.

I know young people never listen to the old farts or their wisdom but if you are young protect your hearing before it's too late.

Tinnitus is no fun and can be debilitating.

[dreric]

Idiopathic (you don't know what caused it) Tinnitus often responds well to conservative alternatives. In 25 years of Chiropractic practice I've found that tinnitus responds to adjustments about 60% of the time. You'll know within 10-12 visits if its gong to respond or not. Clinically, that makes it worth trying.

Some patients respond to vitamin B, D or A supplements. Supplementation ALWAYS works better if you take the supplements regularly rather than just when the symptoms get bad. Stress reduction and muscular decompression of the tissues at the base of the skull can work very well in controlling tinnitus. The Ulpledger Institute sells a product called "The still point inducer". I've used this with many patients for at home decompression with excellence results.

http://stillpointinducer.com/

It's cheap, takes a little practice to figure out what it does and it's safe. Works very well for all cranial nerve conditions. Keep in mind that tinnitus is typically due to tissue damage. To some degree this damage is permanent, consequently the goal of treatment is to minimize further damage and control symptoms.

Eric

[husky]

I have it in one ear. Occasionally it goes away, I usually forget about it unless I'm reminded (thanks!). Alcohol does make it worse and certain vitamins seem to make it much better like D and B and Ginko. It is so hit and miss I just hope there is never a time when I loose my hearing and that is all I hear. I have it most of the time, also seems when I exercise more and bring the blood pressure down with relaxation it is better. The Bose Noise canceling headphones make it worse if I just put them on with no music..mainly cause I don't have the other noise. I'll check out this canceller, a little herb seems to help or maybe just lets you forget about it..I never think about it then at least but I can obsess on my heart beat. Some use Betahistine Dihydrochloride
Some good info here
http://www.tinnitusformula.com/infocent ... ieres.aspx

[selloutrr]

these help

It's caused by inflamation around the hair follicals. if it's a mild case anti inflamatory meds suck as ibuprophene can help.
ear nose and throat doctors have prescription drugs that can lessen the discomfort. or you can get these over the counter at Walgreen's.

[andrew]

I have had the ringing in my left ear for a long time. I went to a ENT doc a couple of years ago and found that I also had some high frequency loss it that ear also.I am able to put up with the ringing but what really bothers me is the abrupt pain in that ear caused by a sudden loud noise. The ear is not cushioning the sound I guess because of the damaged hairs inside the ear. I also noticed that sound distorts at a lower volume in the left ear. The Dr. said there was nothing he could do but I was glad I didn't have a brain tumor.

[boots]

I'm discouraged to hear that alcohol makes it worse! I have tinnitus bad in my left ear (everyone is saying it is their left ear - what's with that?).

I grew up on a farm around tractors and combines, then played in garage bands for years. It really started at a Trower concert from standing too close to the speakers. Then in later years, the death blow was working around drill rigs.

It is debilitating, to the point where my boss told me my work performance was suffering due to the inability to communicate effectively. He told me he strongly suggested getting a hearing aid. Which I haven't done yet.

Usually I can tune it out, but when I sit quietly, I notice it more. Mine is a very high frequency ringing. I think it's time to try the supplements. I appreciate this thread, because tinnitus has become a real problem for me.

[David Root]

I don't have tinnitus but I do have benign vertigo, which is caused by detritus in the inner ear canals interfering with the little hair follicles that send positional info to your brain. Fortunately it doesn't occur too often, two or three times a year, and lasts not much more than 24-36 hours at a time.

I take betahistine HCl which someone else mentioned, which I'm not sure does very much. I found the older drug meclizine seemed to work better but you can't get that any more.

I have been taking large amounts of Vitamin D (2,000 IU/day) for about three years now and I'm not sure of its benefits in my vertigo but it has plenty of other benefits, especially as you get older.

My hearing is minus 40dB at 8KHz in both ears, which is not abnormal for an old fart like me and I have hearing aids, which I only use when I'm with customers or in meetings.

I cannot use them when playing guitar as the digital hash and sibilance they put out is unbelievable. Anyone else find that? They are designed for speech not music I guess.

[boots]

Yes, I couldn't imagine wearing a hearing aid while playing guitar. That's the nice thing about electric guitars and amps - you can turn it up louder if you can't hear it!

[boots]

Too bad insurance won't cover hearing aids, or I probably would have got them by now.

My Definition of Noise: Anything that interferes with hearing the Music.

[Bob-I]

I have tinnitus in my left ear as well, what's that all about. The odd thing is I hear better in my left ear than my right. I have some loss at 4k but for a 60 year old guitar player my hearing is exceptional. My ent told me I have the hearing of a 25 year old, hearing protection really does work.

In the 70s when I was playing full time, I always used smaller amps than everyone else, usually a deluxe or bassman, and wore a foam ear plug on the side facing the drums, just because it annoyed me and I wanted to hear guitar. Today I use in ear monitors, love em, can't live without them. Last night at the gig my receiver battery ran out, so I pulled out the in ears, damn we were loud, I was using my home brew Princeton reverb on #3.