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What can I do about my tinnitus?

 
 
Peter Quantum
19:17 / 24.04.03
Does anyone know what I'm talking about? You know, ringing in the ears. I've been searching the Internet in vain for a treatment. Haven't really found anything to useful. Can anyone help me?
 
 
topical b
21:42 / 24.04.03
constant load music, drown it out.



just kidding, i frequent parties with extreemly load music and my ears tend to ring for a few days after, i will look around for you. it sounds annoying.
 
 
The Strobe
23:24 / 24.04.03
In a word: nothing.

Tinnitus is permanent ear damage.

If you go to a loud rock concert or club night, say, and you come home with ringing ears, then they do sometimes pass relatively quickly. However, that's not necessarily good - though the ringing's gone, the damage is done, and if you're not careful (for instance, DJing with headphone monitor levels too loud, only using one ear at deafening volumes, etc), you're going to be stuck with the ringing for a while.

Even without the ringing, your hearing will deteriorate. A good test is to see if you can hear the high-pitched noise a TV or CRT makes. If you can't, then you need to start being really careful.

It's a shame there's no cure, but if your ears are important to you, you'll just learn to be careful in future. Earplugs are recommended - they don't stop you hearing, they just roll off 10 or so dB, which is enough to make a difference. (Remember, the decibel scale is logarithmic... I think...).

No cures afaik; there might be some relief out there, but none that I know of. This topic comes up at least annually on a dance music board I frequent. There usually aren't any cheery answers.
 
 
*
12:20 / 25.04.03
I have seen several people get significant relief with acupuncture, but as with all holistic treatments you have to keep doing them, and your mileage may vary. Is it a high-pitched ringing or a low-pitched hum? When did it start? Caused by trauma or illness, or no known cause? What's the rest of your health like?

Tinnitus can be extremely troubling if it's severe, and you'll want to at least give traditional Chinese medicine a try before you give up entirely.
 
 
Axel Lambert
13:14 / 25.04.03
I got a severe tinnitus about ten years ago, from rehearsing unbelievably loud without any protection, and I quit playing (drums) and tried about all alternative treatments I could think of (acupuncture, massage, homeopathy, etc) none of which seemed to work, but then - after maybe 18 months - it faded away. My hearing was somewhat damaged, but those annoying tunes were gone.
Meant to give you comfort, 'cos everybody told me that it CANNOT GO AWAY.
 
 
Axel Lambert
13:19 / 25.04.03
As for treatments, I felt that maybe the ear massage (pulling the ears out in all kinds of directions) might have worked. At least it turned down the beeping temporarily.

And I've read somewhere that contrary to what everybody says, painkillers with acetylic acid could help. Don't know if it's true, but these days I always take a couple after a loud concert.
 
 
specofdust
16:07 / 25.04.03
My Mum is intrested in alternative cures and so i asked her for a solution for your problem. She said that it's a good idea to actually compete with the noise. Not by going clubbing though. What you should try is tapping behind your ears and the back of your head repeatedly for a few minutes 3 times a day. You just do it reasonably lightly but hard enough so there's a noise produced from your finger tips hitting your head. Do it with both hands and work in from behind your ears to the back of your head and then back again untill your done. I'm not sure how well this will work but it suposedly does help, I truly hope it does. Let us know how you get on.
 
 
Peter Quantum
16:31 / 25.04.03
Many thanks, everyone. This really means a great deal to me.
 
 
Peter Quantum
16:41 / 25.04.03
I found this encouraging:

http://www.acoustics.org/press/142nd/lenhardt.html
 
  
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