[mikeg]

The following medical information and advice was offered by a doctor in our local newspaper (i.e, The Sarasota-Herald Tribune, 6/2/04, Dr. Paul Donohue's column):

"Tinnitus - ear noises - is not an illness; it's a symptom. The initial step in treatment is finding its cause, and there are many. An ear, nose and throat doctor is the one to lead the way.

Tinnitus is common in older ages because deafness is common then. Anywhere from 40 percent to 80 percent of people whose hearing is deteriorating also have tinnitus. Often the tinnitus is a bigger problem than is the diminished hearing. Sometimes a hearing aid can alleviate both problems or make them less distressing.

There is a long list of medicines that cause tinnitus, and eliminating the medicine eliminates the noise. Aspirin, the antibiotic erythromycin, the water pill Lasix, and anti-inflammatory drugs such as Motrin, Advil and Aleve can bring it on. That is not to imply that those medicines cause it for every user, but they can have a hand in its production in some users.

A tinnitus masker is a device worn like a hearing aid. It emits a constant sound that blocks the enoying tinnitus sound. Nightime is the worst time for tinnitus. The silence of the night amplifies the noise."

 

[Onix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeg The following medical information and advice was offered by a doctor in our local newspaper (i.e, The Sarasota-Herald Tribune, 6/2/04, Dr. Paul Donohue's column): "Tinnitus - ear noises - is not an illness; it's a symptom. The initial step in treatment is finding its cause, and there are many. An ear, nose and throat doctor is the one to lead the way. Tinnitus is common in older ages because deafness is common then. Anywhere from 40 percent to 80 percent of people whose hearing is deteriorating also have tinnitus. Often the tinnitus is a bigger problem than is the diminished hearing. Sometimes a hearing aid can alleviate both problems or make them less distressing. There is a long list of medicines that cause tinnitus, and eliminating the medicine eliminates the noise. Aspirin, the antibiotic erythromycin, the water pill Lasix, and anti-inflammatory drugs such as Motrin, Advil and Aleve can bring it on. That is not to imply that those medicines cause it for every user, but they can have a hand in its production in some users. A tinnitus masker is a device worn like a hearing aid. It emits a constant sound that blocks the enoying tinnitus sound. Nightime is the worst time for tinnitus. The silence of the night amplifies the noise."

I've read somewhere, quite probably here, that some people recomend taking magnesium suplements for tinnitus. Also, in another website, they recomend hypnosis for the worst cases of tinnitud, namely, musicians and heavy machine operators. Anyway, the idea of the tinnitus masker sounds rather intrusive. Do you have more info about it?

 

[KJ869]

There was study about hypnosis in finland last autumn. If i recalll the figures somewhat right, it was found out that only 5% of people can be even somewhat hypnotised, and 1% can be realy hypnotised. Its because the suggestion that hypnosis based on. And no, the people who were tested werent anti-hypnosis person, actualy they were people who were having hypnosis threatments.

 

[chadbang]

Nothing new from that doctor, unfortunately. What the hell is he talking about? "Tinitus is not an illness, it's a symptom". Is that like your fingers falling off are a symptom of leprosy and not part of the illness? If it's not an illness, then why do millions of people suffer from it and why can't anyone find a cure? Same old line from these doctors who don't have any answers. They want to tell people they can have a tooth pulled and it will go away. Bull. It won't if you've done the damage with impact trama to your hearing. What tinitus is is damage to your ears (and some doctors think the hearing receptor areas of your brain).

From my own experience I've had the best luck at lowering the volume of the tinitus ring by training my brain to ignore it. For instance, if I'm in an elevator and I hear the ringing, I try to focus on some low frequency sound, like that of the elevator moving through the shaft. Or if I'm in my bedroom, the sound of a fan. Focus on the other sound and your brain starts to ignore the ringing. It's like selective listening. I think the theory is that your brain will start to automatically tune out the tinitus ring - like living next door to a rumbling subway station. It may drive you crazy at first, but then you just learn to ignore the sound of the subway and it doesn't register on your conciousness anymore. It works.

Sometimes I'll purposefully let the tinitus ring loudly. At night when I'm sleeping, if I roll over on the pillow and seal my ear making the ringing louder, rather than shifting my head to try and lessen the ringing, I'll stay in that position and let it be loud but I'll relax myself and turn my thoughts to something else. Soon you will "hear" the level of the ringing start to descend. It's not really the ringing decreasing in level, but it's your brain starting to ignore the sound. It similiar to how you can be listening to your stereo fairly loudly and then turn to read a magazine and soon not even realize the stereo is playing - although the volume hasn't decreased a notch. I find this nighttime trick comforting, as when you notice the ringing decreasing, and you realise your brain can pull off tricks like this, it helps you relax.

 

[Onix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chadbang Nothing new from that doctor, unfortunately. What the hell is he talking about? "Tinitus is not an illness, it's a symptom". Is that like your fingers falling off are a symptom of leprosy and not part of the illness? If it's not an illness, then why do millions of people suffer from it and why can't anyone find a cure? Same old line from these doctors who don't have any answers. They want to tell people they can have a tooth pulled and it will go away. Bull. It won't if you've done the damage with impact trama to your hearing. What tinitus is is damage to your ears (and some doctors think the hearing receptor areas of your brain). From my own experience I've had the best luck at lowering the volume of the tinitus ring by training my brain to ignore it. For instance, if I'm in an elevator and I hear the ringing, I try to focus on some low frequency sound, like that of the elevator moving through the shaft. Or if I'm in my bedroom, the sound of a fan. Focus on the other sound and your brain starts to ignore the ringing. It's like selective listening. I think the theory is that your brain will start to automatically tune out the tinitus ring - like living next door to a rumbling subway station. It may drive you crazy at first, but then you just learn to ignore the sound of the subway and it doesn't register on your conciousness anymore. It works. Sometimes I'll purposefully let the tinitus ring loudly. At night when I'm sleeping, if I roll over on the pillow and seal my ear making the ringing louder, rather than shifting my head to try and lessen the ringing, I'll stay in that position and let it be loud but I'll relax myself and turn my thoughts to something else. Soon you will "hear" the level of the ringing start to descend. It's not really the ringing decreasing in level, but it's your brain starting to ignore the sound. It similiar to how you can be listening to your stereo fairly loudly and then turn to read a magazine and soon not even realize the stereo is playing - although the volume hasn't decreased a notch. I find this nighttime trick comforting, as when you notice the ringing decreasing, and you realise your brain can pull off tricks like this, it helps you relax.

I actually do something similar, but I take a couple of deep breaths until the ringing goes away. But what about people who gets it so loud they can't even sleep at nigth? What can they do?

 

[pedxing]

Its sad, but some people sleep with the radio or TV on to mask tinnitus. I had one classmate who turned on the radio before he went to bed. The radio would just play back static.

 

[mikeg]

The fact that the following medications can cause Tinnitus is interesting: Aspirin, the antibiotic erythromycin, the water pill Lasix, and anti-inflammatory drugs such as Motrin, Advil and Aleve.