Tinnitus - How Can I Stop the Ringing in My Ears?
September 3rd, 2008
I have been a tinnitus sufferer for 8 years now. I am often asked by fellow tinnitus sufferers whether there are any treatments or methods that can be used to effectively stop the ringing. Based on my own experiences conventional medicine offers very few options (with the exceptions highlighted below). There are however other approaches based on anecdotal evidence which I have found to be very effective, some of which I have used to reduce my tinnitus by 90% since being diagnosed with the condition.
The easiest form of tinnitus to treat is tinnitus caused by existing physical conditions such as excessive ear wax, problems with the jaw joint, or cysts on the auditory nerve. These are all treated very effectively by current medicine by resolving the underlying condition. It is very important for all new tinnitus suffers to be fully evaluated by a physician to establish what treatment options are available.
Many people however suffer from tinnitus due to hearing loss, hearing damage caused by exposure to loud noise, or for reasons which will probably never be known. This type of tinnitus is particularly difficult to treat. Tinnitus retraining therapy is an effective and well published method of treatment. This focusing on trying to fool the brain into believing that the sounds associated with the condition are in fact background noise. With time, the brain learns to filter out these noises, However, it takes a long time (12 to 18 months) to work and new suffers obviously want more rapid solutions for treating their condition.
Some conventional medicines used to treat other conditions have been evaluated in clinical trials (e.g. sedatives, anxiolytics and antidepressants) but evidence to support their efficacy is somewhat disappointing.
Complementary therapy has its place in the treatment of tinnitus. The most widely discussed option is Ginkgo Biloba, although scientific evidence to support its use is lacking. Use of homeopathy, zinc supplements, vitamin D and special diets are also favoured by some patients although there is no firm evidence to back up these approaches.
Based on my own experiences, the most successful methods that have really worked are those that are developed by other tinnitus sufferers based on trial and error. By using these I have reduced my tinnitus by 90%.