What Is the Best Treatment For Tinnitus?
If you or a loved one suffers from tinnitus you know how all encompassing and life altering it can be. It is debilitating, causing deep depression and a sense of hopelessness and futility. Some sufferers are able to successfully learn to live with it and delegate it to the back of their minds but others with more severe cases have been known to attempt suicide just to be free of it. But Is there help, and if so, what is the best treatment for tinnitus?
What Is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a malady in which constant noise, usually a ringing, occurs in one or both ears, usually insistent and quite loud. It has often been said to have a possible link to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease, as well as other forms of dementia and cognitive dysfunction.
What Causes Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is caused by an underlying condition such as age-related hearing loss, an ear injury or infection, or the result of constant loud noises for long periods of time such as chainsaws, air compressors, firearms, or portable music devices played at a very high volume.
Tobacco and alcohol use are thought to increase the risk of tinnitus. Some health problems also can contribute such as obesity, cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure, and head injury.
Ear infections, tumors, and some medications also can play a part.
Symptoms In Addition to the Ringing
As well as the shrill ringing, tinnitus can also be the source of other noises in the ears such as buzzing, roaring, clicking, hissing, or humming. These sounds usual appear intermittently as opposed to the never ending ringing noise. In some cases that sound can be so loud to makes it hard to concentrate on external sounds or thought processes.
Complications of tinnitus are many and varied. Quality of life is often greatly compromised as it can cause fatigue, stress, insomnia, difficulty with concentration, memory loss, headaches, anxiety, and depression. Treating these conditions as much as possible will not cure the tinnitus but can help you to feel better and have a better quality of life.
How to Ease Tinnitus
Prompt treatment of ear infections, tumors, and other related injuries as well as discontinuing of ototoxic medications are necessary. These include NSAIDS, antibiotics, some cancer meds, diuretics, antidepressants, blood pressure and allergy meds. Usually when tinnitus occurs following use of these medications it will disappear when they are eliminated from the body.
Some alternative remedies often assist in managing tinnitus and its adverse effects. Sound therapy uses external noise to mask the harshness of the inner noise. Soft, soothing background music, white noise, or specialized ear maskers may help. Hearing aids amplify environmental sounds and redirect attention to those noises rather than the tinnitus. TRT, or Tinnitus Retraining Therapy involves retraining the auditory system to think of the tinnitus sounds as natural rather than disruptive. This must be done with a trained professional who supervises the wearing of a white noise device.
What to Avoid
When at all possible it helps to avoid outside noises which exacerbate the painful ringing. For example, my husband, who suffered greatly with this affliction, has found that certain sounds make the ringing in his ears truly excruciating. In Panama once a year there is a migration of thousands of cicadas who would pass over our home on their journey. Their combined shrieking scream is horrible and even made me cringe. To my husband it was utter torture. He would have to run for the house as rapidly as possible to get away from it. The two horrendous symphonies warred with each other in his poor ears.
Can Anything Help Tinnitus?
According to Women’s Voice health magazine the following supplements not only help relieve the symptoms but, if started early enough can be a preventative measure:
– N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) is a naturally occurring anti-oxidant that has been shown to protect against hearing loss due to loud noises.
– Vitamin B12 and folate are a protective against hearing loss as a vitamin B deficiency is associated with tinnitus.
– Lipoic Acid reduces age related hearing loss and protects against noise- induced hearing loss.
– Magnesium supplementation, that health powerhouse, has been shown to improve hearing.
– Zinc has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and a deficiency can be associated with loss of hearing.
– Omega-3 fatty acids aid in the onset of hearing loss. “Dietary intervention with omega-3 could prevent or delay the development of age related hearing loss.”
-GABA supplementation has been reported to cure some tinnitus sufferers.
***UPDATE: DMSO Proven to Heal Tinnitus
“There is a glutamate/GABA balance involved in nerve cells. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter, which is needed for learning, functioning, etcetera. Too much, however, produces nerve cell death, which leads to inflammation, which (can) lead to conditions like tinnitus.” – OatmealwithaFork.com
How to Overcome Depression and Anxiety and Take Your Life Back | GABA
Here is a very encouraging testimony from a man who reduced his tinnitus by 60 percent by taking GABA supplements (and you will find others, if you do a search):
Hey everyone, long time tinnitus sufferer here. I got tinnitus from loud noise at age 14, and I habituated/got better. 8 weeks ago I had an extreme tinnitus spike, due to medication ‘Finasteride’. It drove me insane, suicidal. I wanted to kill myself etc. I didn’t want to be here anymore. Every day was a pure struggle.
Then I took ‘GABA’ and it has reduced my tinnitus so much! I have no idea if this will work for everybody but I came across it on a forum post on this site… so I tried it myself and it worked pretty well!
Stay strong people, it gets better i promise you, message me if you have any questions or need support. I’m always here for anybody who suffers from this condition as I am a part of it myself. I love you all.
I hope to continue to get better, but from going from suicidal to coping, I guess that’s success!
By the way, GABA will work even better taken with DMSO, which helps it get past the blood-brain barrier (as well as having a ton of other benefits).
Or, this GABA supplement uses liposomal technology, which does the same.
GABA Supplements That Pass the Blood-Brain Barrier
So, What Is the Best Treatment for Tinnitus?
Taurine plays a huge role in hearing and in some cases it reverses the biochemical processes behind hearing loss. Studies have shown that it can almost completely eliminate the ringing in the ears of tinnitus. It is an amino acid which occurs naturally in the brain, eyes, heart, and muscles. It is found in some foods such as meat, fish, and dairy. Taken as a supplement it is suitable for vegans as the supplements are made synthetically.
Taurine is often referred to as a “wonder molecule” and is very aptly named. Stay tuned for a follow-up article on this amazing health gem.
In the meantime… Here is the highest rated Taurine supplement we could find:
Well-known record producer and musician / music teacher Rick Beato talks about his experience with Tinnitus:
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***UPDATE: DMSO Proven to Heal Tinnitus
Hi Larke, and thanks for the post on tinnitus. As people age, they seem to take more medications. And with the medications come side effects. It is nice to know that there is something that can be done with tinnitus, and folks are not doomed to suffer with it forever. It is funny to me that people take medications to solve a problem and only create more problems to be solved. Taurine may be a lifesaver to many people!
Craig, this is a great article on a subject I have been avoiding for months. My wife was diagnosed with Tinnitus about 2 months ago. She has complained about the ringing, but I didn’t know much about Tinnitus; and figured it would diminish eventually. But your article laid bare my ignorance. I feel bad for my wife after reading your article; and ashamed that I just blew it off as something she would get over. I really found the data you shared very eye opening because my wife was just diagnosed with Parkinson’s as well. Definitely going to try your Taurine recommendation. Thanks Craig, for educating me and getting my attitude facing in the right direction
Please do share this with him/them. The taurine should help for sure. I am going to get Larke, the author of this article to respond to you, as well.
Thanks for your response, and I would love to hear a report, if and when your brother/buddies get some relief.
Blessings to you.
This is a very helpful article for me personally. Multiple of my buddies, and also my brother all suffer from Tinnitus, all of them from deployments overseas. My brother was injured over there, and one of the things that have stuck with him is constant Tinnitus. There is not much he can do about it. I will share this site with him. Maybe something on your site will give him some relief.
It does not sound fun at all, does it?
Thanks for the comment!
To be frank I would not wish Tinnitus on my worse enemy. To have to live without peace of mind, always hearing ringing in your head and able to be tripped off by birds or other external noises is dreadful. Your article about what you can take naturally and Taurine, the ‘wonder molecule’ must come as a godsend for those afflicted with this ailment. The price tag of $43.82 for a 250 count appears also to be very reasonable. Thanks so much for this advice.
Paolo, we would love to hear a report, once you try it!
I didn’t know that Taurine could help us with tinnitus. This is a very uncomfortable experience and it’s there 24/7. I think what makes it worse is that we can not take a break from it. when the room is all silent, it seems to be heard louder. So, having natural treatment for this is really good news. Thank you!