Tinnitus Forum - Mytinnitus

Hi all,

I have become an avid reader of this forum, just like most of you, I joined this forum when I was hit with tinnitus. Mine happened due to a virus followed by sinus and maybe the associated antibiotics caused it or the stress i was under. I dont know and I guess I will never know to some extent. Some of the symptoms I had I share with others on this forum and some seem unique to me. (Not Surprising !!)

I also like you guys tried a lot of stuff, including buying that so called miracle cure book from some guy who researched this for years. Interesting reading but not really worth the money.

My tinnitus basically is a low whining or static noise that some days is very low and some days gets worse with so called episodes . An episode is basically a coinage of mine where it is an event where the noise is so bad that I am on my knees in despair and cant wait for the day to end and I am basically very suicidal.

This was my life since the 2nd of October 2013 and was the despair i was looking at.

I then saw this article yesterday and well it all changed. I append the article below.

Because of the article I came across this concept of white noise, and decided I wanted to try it to see if it will help me. I went to a site simply noise and tried all the three noises. I think white and brown were more suited to me and pink wasnt.

I went there with the plan that I would get a good masker and that was all that I had hoped for, then it happened, 30 mins of listening to the masker and I realised that my tinnitus went from a 4 or 5 in volume to a 1 or 2 and that has been the case in the last 36 hours.

I keep using the masking every few hours today to be honest but if this is the level my tinnitus is going to be , I am happy to live with it.

What i have understood of this ailment is that different things work for different people, onion juice, alcohol free beer and ayurveda etc. I am guessing this is because the underlying causes are different.

I urge you to try this noise thing, it seems to work for me, if that changes i will be back to let you know. Maybe it was a coincidence but i dont think so, maybe my sinus infection just waned and hence the tinnitus also went into regression. At the exact same time i was playing with this white noise stuff. It could be but well I know how desperate you guys are , 24 hours ago I was there and maybe in 24 hours time I may be back but today i slept well, took an international flight and watched TV without wanting to die and thats all I guess I can ask for.

If things change I will update you, If not I will try and provide you counsel based on my experiences.

Ps: The simplynoise.com does charge for downloads but loads of other sites dont, what i found though was the simply noise worked best for me.

Maybe the fact that my brain now knows I can mask the noise easily is the reason why it has become almost non existent. I would buy that device you put in the ear which generates this noise in a heartbeat and charge it to my companys medical insurance without any qualms. I could live with that soultion and maybe that killed the panic buttons in the brain and made it go into remission.

who knows, who cares. As long as it stays this way, I am so relieved.

My heart goes out to you sufferers, if i see anything that will help you then I will post on the forum. I curse the wretched people on the net who are trying to fleece the poor afflicted souls of this terrible ailment with false treatments and legal gook that will prey on desperation and yet keep them legally safe.

There is help out there, different for each of us whether it is therapy or beer or whatever, but dont succumb to the easy fixes. I am sure there is no easy fix.

Talk to the specialists and scientists, not the quacks who have by luck stumbled on something and now want to fleece you.

Keep trying and dont give up. Never give up..

Cheers



THE ARTICLE I REFEREED TO IS PASTED BELOW





Device to end misery of tinnitus
by ROGER DOBSON, Daily Mail
Scientists have discovered that white noise may help to get rid of the debilitating ringing sound of tinnitus, a distressing condition which affects one in ten people in Britain at some point in their lives.
A new device called a white noise generator has been found to reduce the unwanted sound significantly, and in some cases get rid of it altogether.
White noise is made up of all the different frequencies of sound in the audio spectrum. This makes a roaring, hissing sound that is produced when a medium wave radio is tuned to a gap between stations.
It has also been used as a soothing sound when played to dental patients through headphones.
The tiny generator looks like a hearing aid and is worn behind the ear. Powered by a tiny battery, it contains a small generator which makes a constant, low, rushing noise. A transparent tube leads from the device inside the ear towards the ear drum.
It works best if two are used, even when the tinnitus is in only one ear. This is so the whole auditory system is
exposed to the neutral sound.
Tinnitus is the sensation of a sound in the ear, usually a hissing or a ringing noise, that does not really exist.
It was once believed that the sound was caused by an unknown physical problem, but it is now thought that it is simply a result of the brain turning up the volume to try to hear.
Although it can be triggered by underlying problems, from ear wax to high blood pressure, for most people the cause remains unknown. It is often linked to ageing and deteriorating hearing.
As the hearing apparatus in the ear becomes no longer able to pick up certain sounds, the brain turns up the volume in those areas by amplifying the weak signals, resulting in tinnitus. No cure has yet been found. But research is now showing that sound therapy, and white noise in particular, may be the key to dampening down the sounds.
'Sufferers should avoid silence and have this low level, background, neutral sound that we call white noise around them for most of the time,' says Guy's Hospital auditory scientist, Catherine McKinney.
'It is not masking the sound of tinnitus, because that would mean giving people a noise louder than the tinnitus and that would be as unpleasant.'
White noise is thought to work because it makes the auditory system less sensitive to sound in general.
Tinnitus usually seems at its loudest when there is no background sound, and white noise can help to make it less intrusive.
In order for white noise to work, the frequency has to be tailored to the individual's needs, and it has to be slightly lower than the tinnitus sound, so the the generators must be fitted by trained audiologists.
'Until I had this treatment, the tinnitus was like having two kettle whistles going off in each ear,' says Kevin Greene, a 48-year-old managing director of a national healthcare company from Manchester.
'It began six years ago and became gradually worse. I couldn't work or sleep. I was in despair and I thought I would never be able to work again.
'Now, I am leading a totally normal life. I walked out of the hospital and the tinnitus was just mixed in with other sounds. It was amazing.'
Researchers found that white noise also results in less sensitivity to sound, making it a useful ally for people with hyperacusis - increased sensitivity to normal sound.
Louisa Baptista, 48, a biomedical scientist from Jarrow, had suffered with hyperacusis for some time.
NOISES seem to be very loud because the brain is processing the sound so it feels louder than it should,' she says. 'Even ordinary sounds such as taps and central heating were terrible.'
She wears two of the devices, one behind each ear, that generate a sound like a gentle breeze: 'It is a very soft sound, like a pleasant rushing noise. The brain gets used to this constant flooding of noise and tones down its reactions.
'I wore them for eight hours a day to start with, but you try to increase your exposure a little bit each day so that your brain starts accepting it more. It has been marvellous.'