12 ms·

Treatment for Tinnitus with Stimulation of Auditory and Non-Auditory Nerves

173 points by morder 5y ago

johnnylambada 5y ago
I have tinnitus in both ears. Most of the time I’m not aware of it but at times it’s very annoying. I’m very careful to not let my thoughts about it become dark because I can see a very clear path toward depression about it. I do hope there is a cure on the horizon.
- gundamdoubleO 5y ago
  Likewise. Although I've had it since I was very young and grew accustomed to it. I wasn't even aware that hearing "nothing" was a thing until I mentioned the constant ringing to my parents one day. If it does begin to annoy me I listen to something calming like ocean waves or raindrops falling (on relatively low volume). It does wonders, especially if I notice it while trying to sleep.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- paraph1n 5y ago
  (genuine question) How is there a clear path from tinnitus to depression?
  - colpabar 5y ago
    I have tinnitus and I can see it too. Tinnitus is a constant ringing in one or both ears. Constant, as in it is always there. There is no true silence anymore, because the ringing is always there. There is also no cure, and really no certified treatment. All we can do is distract ourselves with other sounds and try not to focus on it, but it can still be very mentally draining. Without the right mindset, it’s an extremely hopeless and depressing situation.
    - rhino369 5y ago
      There is also a feedback loop component. Tinnitus causes depression. And then you worry and focus on how awful it is, which makes the tinnitus worse. I only hear my tinnitus when I think about it. Otherwise my mind filters it out.
    - paraph1n 5y ago
      Interesting... I have a lot of trouble understanding this (as someone who does not have tinnitus). For most things that are permanent, we adapt to the new baseline and, well, "get used to it". ie. "Oh, that ringing? Yeah, it's been there for years, I barely notice it anymore." I wonder what it is about tinnitus that makes it hard to adapt to (or filter out) for some people.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - bobsmooth 5y ago
        Play this at high volume, try to get through the whole thing. See if you can tune it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNxFWFuaaRY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNxFWFuaaRY
      - jcims 5y ago
        It’s one of those things that i think you need to experience to understand. I had it for about four months and I couldn’t get used to it, at all. It’s not just ‘there’, it messes with how you hear and is a constant active intrusion into your peace of mind.
      - Nursie 5y ago
        When mine first hit it caused me a sort of despair - this cannot be fixed, stopped, anything. It interrupted my sleep and stole my attention. I searched pretty desperately for something to give me my quiet back, my silence. There's not really anything. I tried various theoretical things - blast your ear with the same tone to desensitise that pitch. Under a minute's relief when stopped. I tried the opposite, under-stimulation. I reprocessed all my mp3s to cut out any/all sound in the octave around the noise (notching) and increased my music listening to 8+ hours a day. This had a placebo-like effect if anything and looking back I think this was part of adapting my mental state. Now, 15 years later, yeah I do barely notice it any more. Except when I do. Sometimes when I go to bed after a bit much to drink there it is loud and proud and unignorable. Right now I can hear it clearly because I'm thinking about it, a 13KHz whine that never ever ever stops. This is a reason I only sometimes read HN tinnitus threads, not thinking about it is a big part of living with it. Imagine "The Game" only when you think of it, instead of laughing and saying you lost, something squeals in your ear for a few hours. It's ... trying. And I'm lucky, it's not that loud, and it's not at a frequency that interferes with much else.
  - dazc 5y ago
    The way I describe tinnitus and its effect on my mental state is that we all have a tolerance limit for noise and I am constantly on the extreme edge of that limit. This doesn't necessarily directly cause depression but, for me, it does make me anxious a lot of the time since I am always on my guard for the next annoyance.
  - thangalin 5y ago
    Watch this video on 1/4 volume for 1 minute, loud enough to be heard, but soft enough that your favourite song played at a normal volume can mostly drown it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSD2DAgaRys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSD2DAgaRys Imagine this noise. Every. Waking. Moment. Repeat that minute 1,440 times. For some, the sound is loud enough to smother conversations; for others, a different frequency, or perhaps more a locomotive roar, or constant crash of ocean waves as though holding a seashell to one's ear. Imagine trying to fall asleep when night has shushed the ambient sounds of city hubbub, leaving only the ceaseless onslaught of tinnitus for your own private enjoyment.
macintux 5y ago
Not quite a year since the CEO of Texas Roadhouse committed suicide while suffering from tinnitus.
- DantesKite 5y ago
  From what I understand that was one of the more salient symptoms, but there were a few more that caused him to take his life.
- jader201 5y ago
  Please delete this. This isn’t going to help anyone looking for comfort.
  - cinntaile 5y ago
    Some people get very depressed from having tinnitus unfortunately, because they cannot deal with the constant noise.
JonathanBeuys 5y ago
Does anybody know why this trial does not show up when you search for "Tinnitus" on PubMed? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=tinnitus&filter=pubt.clinicaltrial&filter=years.2022-2022 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=tinnitus&filter=pubt.c...
- obrajesse 5y ago
  "This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Wiltse Memorial Hospital Joint Research Ethics Committee in Suwon, South Korea (IRB approval number: 2021-W07). The requirement for written informed consent was waived by the IRB as this was a retrospective study of the patients’ chart records."
lukasb 5y ago
This treatment looks amazing? Anyone have caveats?
bryans 5y ago
Tinnitus is usually only described as a high-pitched ringing, but I think it gets far worse when it's on the lower end of the frequency spectrum. It's much more noticeable and can make discerning speech very difficult at times. But while the higher frequencies can be somewhat easily tuned out using white noise (like a fan), the lower frequencies are just always there, even when you're listening to music -- there is a weird "warble" to everything, and it's often not easy to tell whether it's the tinnitus or the bassist holding out a note or the last syllable of a word in the vocal. As a musician and amateur sound engineer, the higher tinnitus was fairly manageable, but developing the lower tinnitus was pretty devastating and has largely ruined my ability to hear and mix properly. I've needed to read lips for several years now, as a double-check against what I'm hearing. Phone calls are very difficult, but the increase in video calling has helped. Don't be me. Take care of your ears. Also, remember that noise-cancelling is NOT hearing protection. Buy some musician-quality earplugs (you still hear everything, it's just quieter) and have them with you at all times. Use them even when you think it makes you look dorky at the club or concert or sporting event. It's not worth the psychological torture that is tinnitus, I assure you.
- BossingAround 5y ago
  > remember that noise-cancelling is NOT hearing protection I fell for this one as well. I wouldn't be to surprised if noise-cancelling could actually cause tinnitus, or make an onset of it worse (though I haven nothing but biased anecdata to argue the opinion).
  - Nursie 5y ago
    That is interesting, I was using noise cancelling headphones a lot when mine came started. Of course the morning it came on I was also recovering from being riotously drunk the night before, and I'm more inclined to believe something about that triggered it
    - gompertz 5y ago
      Long term sufferer here.. One specific metal concert 15 years ago did me in (unfortunately). I too found that noise cancelling headphones actually flared up my tinnitus more; and resorted to selling my headphones.
jader201 5y ago
Not sure why I click into comment threads on HN about tinnitus, hoping for positive news or anecdotes, but it’s almost always the opposite. So I’ll share my positive anecdote. I’ve dealt with it for over 10 years, and while I can’t imagine how happy I would be to find an effective treatment, I’ve learned to cope, and do what I can to protect hearing going forward. And once you realize you can cope with it, it makes future coping easier. I have bad days, but by knowing they’re just bad days and that I have mostly good days helps the bad days also not so bad. Try to focus on the other good parts/distractions about life. Hope that helps someone.
- tangoalpha 5y ago
  +1. Got tinnitus due to injury to auditory nerve. Those who are just starting with overcoming Tinnitus - Make sure to give time. Human brain is amazing at latent inhibition, ie capability to ignore things that it learns to be irrelevant. That is your largest medicine. In my country, there are sugar cane refineries/factories that emit very pungent small that is very strong and spans across miles in radius. People who live around in that vicinity develop ignorance to the smell in a matter of months. All I can say is - whether it is a decision to try some experimental medication or surgery, or otherwise - give it 9-12 months time after you acquired Tinnitus. There will be bad days, but there is a good chance that you will realize you could live with it. With an inconvenience (for comparison) as severe as your car's "check engine" warning beeping every 10 seconds.
  - The_rationalist 5y ago
    https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_133/_article https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_1...
- rojeee 5y ago
  Good to hear! (Jokes) I also have tinnitus, mostly in one ear. It's difficult to have a conversation in a noisy place. My partner's voice frequency seems to resonate with the tinnitus ringing, so it's difficult to hear her sometimes!! I've had it for years but five years ago the ringing wound me up so much I went to the doctor. They did various scans but couldn't find any discernable cause. The doctor suggested I just try and live with it. Not really what I wanted but with no other options I took his advice. I put in a fair bit of effort to try and cope with it and actually, now, most of the time I don't realise it's there. Only when 1) Someone is talking to me in a busy pub or restaurant or, 2) watching the TV on low volume in the evening, do I really notice it. Getting to sleep used to be a nightmare but I genuinely don't have any problems now. My advice would be to chillout and forget it's even there, and when you do notice it, just accept it and carry on. It could always be worse. Good luck to all tinnitonians.
traspler 5y ago
I am currently participating in a study using tEAS (transcranial electrical and auditory stimulation) for tinnitus. Can‘t say much about if it works or not especially as the study was redesigned and will contain less treatment, so I‘m not too optimistic. (Background: 10y tinnitus without any known cause, was coping very will for the last 8y, had a terrible last 2y but I am starting to get over it again so in general I am hopeful about my future at least) But as this is HN I wanted to share a technical detail: The device used for the stimulation is pretty new and, as all medical devices are, pricey. It is connected to a laptop through USB-C but not only for data, it‘s completely powered through it. Sounds neat, right. But what happens if either by accident or not knowing any better you unplug the cable? Then it dumps all the stored charge through the electrodes into whoever has them on their scalp at the moment. It‘s VERY uncomfortable and I am shocked (hahaha) that a device like this has such a failure mode and that this is even allowed.
- danuker 5y ago
  Typical laptops are not grounded. You might want to try a desktop (but also check that the wall plugs are properly grounded). But I agree that for an expensive medical device, shocking its users is unacceptable.
  - traspler 5y ago
    I‘m only a participant, not one of the organizers but even then, the laptop was provided with the device by the company to be used together, I would assume that simply for support and data integrity reasons they are not interested in using a different PC.
- ajnin 5y ago
  More importantly, what happens if there is a short somewhere and the USB port becomes connected to mains voltage ? Computers are not medical devices, and I'd say it is fairly common to feel a small tingle when touching ports so isolation is not that great. The actual medical device should use an isolation transformer or be powered by batteries.
- tomohawk 5y ago
teekay 5y ago
I have had tinnitus in both ears since September 2000. There was no treatment then and there is no widely available treatment now. AFAIK the cause of it is poorly understood and there can hardly be an answer is we don't know what questions to ask. Do I wish this study leads to one? Absolutely. I would pay an equivalent of a used car to get rid of my tinnitus. Probably not more than that since my case is thankfully rather mild. I think getting used to it is unfortunately the only way out. For the first few years, I've had occasional panic attacks. Nowadays, I am aware of it in the morning when I wake up, and later only when I stop to check if it's still there (it is). Circling back to treatments, I do wish that one eventually comes out. My tinnitus has not become worse over the years but I suspect it might once I exit the middle age.
mettamage 5y ago
Are there any people with tinnitus that have figured out how to sleep with earplugs on? My tinnitus gets worse when I try to sleep with earplugs on. I currently use my Airpods Max (at home) or Bose QC 35 (when traveling) to mask noise. Now that I've read that noise cancelling doesn't protect from sound, I'll only use this for sleeping and use actual earplugs in other situations.
- vprcic 5y ago
  My tinnitus also gets worse with earplugs, and I wear them since I'm a light sleeper, with a bedroom close to a somewhat busy road. What I've managed to convince myself is that if I focus on in, instead of ignoring it, I can "use" it as an inbuilt white noise generator. I've probably conditioned myself to get a reassuring feeling out of it, but I guess that's what counts. I know it sounds ridiculous, and it might be I'm just lucky since my tinnitus is only a hissing noise, but it works for me, so it might work for others as well.
  - PennRobotics 5y ago
    I have musician's earplugs. It sucks. You often cannot hear the conductor, some frequencies occlude more than others, and your tinnitus is louder than ever. (I realize the filter can be weakened and fit improved, which I plan to do, but I'm on my fourth fitting and second filter.) The alternative? Take them out and enjoy the rich, sonorous, ever-so-slow hearing loss!
  - foxbarrington 5y ago
    I use sleep headphones with brain.fm playing. I used to listen to pink noise (similar to white, but more waterfall and less static). I use acoustic sheep headphones, but I wish there were more options out there.
- ejb999 5y ago
  I sleep with the TV (ipad actually) on playing netflix tv shows, with earbuds in; the TV show drowns out the tinnitus. Sucks to have to do it, but it works for me.
pickledcods 5y ago
It also heavily stresses relationships. I have the equivalent of two jet engines in my ears, including the characteristic phase shifting. Managing it is basically mentally "locking it out", which has the side effect of becoming insensitive to real-world audio stimuli. So when my SO talks to me when I'm off guard, I only realise that mid-sentence before I "unlock" my perception. The first few words are usually the essence which are lost, so I need to ask her to repeat the first few words. But as a non-Tinnitus she does not understand, gets annoyed, and starts shouting the whole sentence exaggerated articulated which kinda hurts both my ears an feelings, gets me annoyed because I explained why hundreds of times. Basically ruining the the moment for both of us, especially in public. Fighting over it isn't worth it, so now I'm more into nodding friendly and hope she doesn't notice that I didn't get what she said, which creates a whole new bunch of problems.
- pickledcods 5y ago
  The weird thing is when I'm mentally exhausted. The sound effects changes and clicks and plops are added. The only moment I am truly free of tinnitus is losing the fight against falling asleep. Seconds before I slip into a dream state there is silence. Most notable when falling asleep in the passenger seat of a car on a long trip. It's like I'm actually experiencing parts of my brain shutting down.
- Zircom 5y ago
  Not to pretend I know anything about you or your partner and y'alls relationship, but her being a non-tinnitus sufferer and not having personally experienced it herself doesn't make her unable to "understand" the issue and accommodate you in the manner of your choosing. Assuming that you've sat down with her and clearly communicated exactly how you want her to handle situations when your tinnitus makes it hard for you to understand her, if she's still choosing to completely ignore that in favor of shouting and being unreasonable to the point it turns into a fight, that just reflects poorly on her and her willingness to be even minorly sympathetic and accommodating to a loved one's currently incurable medical condition.
- astura 5y ago
  Sounds like your gf is just a jerk, you don't need to have personal experience with tinnitus to "understand" it or be polite and make accommodations for it. I have great hearing. My mother in law is very hard of hearing and it's the same way - unless you're actively engaging in a face to face conversation with her it doesn't 'click' that you're talking to her until mid sentence. It's so just not a big deal - I learned really early (like the first day I met her) that if I want to say something to her I just have to pause and make sure I have her attention first. I couldn't imagine acting like your girlfriend if I forgot to get her attention first.
tinnitu 5y ago
A friend with Tinnitus says it’s much better after using this (free) treatment based on selective stimulation: https://uselullaby.com/ https://uselullaby.com/
- Nursie 5y ago
  Back when I first got it I used notched music to attempt to self-treat in a similar way. My perception of the problem definitely improved, but I couldn't say for certain if it was the notched music helped or if just doing something while also slowly relaxing and accepting helped my mind adjust to its new reality. Either way it's unlikely to hurt and might be worth a go.
jawngee 5y ago
I have tinnitus from heart meds. I've found tapping the back of my skull with both index fingers 20-40 times reduces it considerably. Not sure if it's placebo or not, but it does the trick for me.
- The_rationalist 5y ago
  https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_133/_article https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_1...
- kaliatech 5y ago
  The tapping back of skull has been reported a few times here and other places. I suspect it is a very common fix (even if temporary) for people on hackernews: - https://trudenta.com/this-simple-trick-may-help-with-tinnitus/ https://trudenta.com/this-simple-trick-may-help-with-tinnitu... First time I did it, it was profound. I hadn't realized how much I missed complete silence.
thanatos519 5y ago
I recently had a bout of tinnitus (took me a while to identify the high pitched whine!) which was cleared up by sound generators on https://mynoise.net/ https://mynoise.net/ ... I guess that qualifies as stimulation of auditory nerves. YMMV but always worth a try!
- kingcharles 5y ago
  Thanks, I'll give it a try. I got tinnitus from COVID.
deleted 5y ago
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The_rationalist 5y ago
As a reminder,Japaneses in the 90s are the only one to have found effective treatments for Tinnitus, however like most research from non-occidental countries, it has been universally ignored and suffering persist. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_133/_article https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_1...
- ycombinete 5y ago
  That sounds amazing. Do you have any more information?
cptnapalm 5y ago
I've had tinnitus as long as I can remember with the exception of one day: the first time I had my ears cleaned. Earwax compacted to being rock hard was pulled out and I was told that it had probably been building up in my ears for more than a decade. I was 17 at the time. My ear canals are very narrow, there's a lot of hair in my ears, my wax is mushy rather than flaky. Also, I had a lot of ear infections when I was a kid. That was the one and only day I heard silence and it drove me crazy. I constantly made noises to make sure I wasn't completely deaf. The one thing I remember vividly actively hearing was the turning of a door knob. I could hear all the little individual metallic sounds instead of a single generic crunch. The next day, the ringing was back and has never left despite further ear cleanings. I am 49 now.
- FollowingTheDao 5y ago
  The effect of the ear cleaning was probably placebo. Stress and tinnitus go together because tinnitus is associated with glutamate. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6407646/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6407646/ I have had it since I was a child and I have an anxiety disorder, Klonopin diminishes my tinnitus.
sylware 5y ago
This may help: Have ~10KHz very weak tinitus in left ear, and ~70Hz stronger but still "weak" tinitus in right ear. That combined with feet/legs/hands parasthesia (vibrations mostly, aka mostly no pain). It gets seriously worse during hot summers (reached tinglings and cramps). Ruled "idiopathic" by the docs (MRI scans show nothing "significant") but back and neck seem to be the culprit. Found only one med effective on it, and that only for the first months once the med concentration in the body is "enough": Amitriptyline (dangerous stuff, 2 times I tought it was about to kill me, because it seems my current biology is very sensitive to it). Did stop taking it because of the side effects and worn out effectiveness over time (and like 0 effective during hot summers). Impact, silence is the enemy: Falling asleep happens only when exausted, and intellectual focus is challenging. Usually, I am looking for locations with some some sort of "blank noise". When the parasthesia is too strong, I walk. Basically, only activities which are strong attention attractors are ok. Mindset: Accepted my disability for the rest of my life after years of looking for the causes, and still monitoring any news about it.
n8ur 5y ago
this is worth to read for people suffering by a tinitus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_A._Tomatis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_A._Tomatis
VeninVidiaVicii 5y ago
Serious question I’ve avoided googling: Does anyone else have tinnitus in specific locations? For me, I swear I am constantly hearing high-pitched screeching, but only in apartments or offices. If I’m outside it goes away — even if it’s very quiet.
- fictorial 5y ago
  Yes. For me, my dining room chandelier lights (or the dimmer switch) are excruciating to me. No one else in my family can "hear the lights"...
civil_engineer 5y ago
So acupuncture. And the authors filed a patent for the needles. Results are unbelievable. Independent duplication needed. I have tinnitus.

173 points by morder 5y ago

I have tinnitus in both ears. Most of the time I’m not aware of it but at times it’s very annoying. I’m very careful to not let my thoughts about it become dark because I can see a very clear path toward depression about it. I do hope there is a cure on the horizon.

gundamdoubleO 5y ago
Likewise. Although I've had it since I was very young and grew accustomed to it. I wasn't even aware that hearing "nothing" was a thing until I mentioned the constant ringing to my parents one day. If it does begin to annoy me I listen to something calming like ocean waves or raindrops falling (on relatively low volume). It does wonders, especially if I notice it while trying to sleep.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
paraph1n 5y ago
(genuine question) How is there a clear path from tinnitus to depression?
- colpabar 5y ago
  I have tinnitus and I can see it too. Tinnitus is a constant ringing in one or both ears. Constant, as in it is always there. There is no true silence anymore, because the ringing is always there. There is also no cure, and really no certified treatment. All we can do is distract ourselves with other sounds and try not to focus on it, but it can still be very mentally draining. Without the right mindset, it’s an extremely hopeless and depressing situation.
  - rhino369 5y ago
    There is also a feedback loop component. Tinnitus causes depression. And then you worry and focus on how awful it is, which makes the tinnitus worse. I only hear my tinnitus when I think about it. Otherwise my mind filters it out.
  - paraph1n 5y ago
    Interesting... I have a lot of trouble understanding this (as someone who does not have tinnitus). For most things that are permanent, we adapt to the new baseline and, well, "get used to it". ie. "Oh, that ringing? Yeah, it's been there for years, I barely notice it anymore." I wonder what it is about tinnitus that makes it hard to adapt to (or filter out) for some people.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - bobsmooth 5y ago
      Play this at high volume, try to get through the whole thing. See if you can tune it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNxFWFuaaRY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNxFWFuaaRY
    - jcims 5y ago
      It’s one of those things that i think you need to experience to understand. I had it for about four months and I couldn’t get used to it, at all. It’s not just ‘there’, it messes with how you hear and is a constant active intrusion into your peace of mind.
    - Nursie 5y ago
      When mine first hit it caused me a sort of despair - this cannot be fixed, stopped, anything. It interrupted my sleep and stole my attention. I searched pretty desperately for something to give me my quiet back, my silence. There's not really anything. I tried various theoretical things - blast your ear with the same tone to desensitise that pitch. Under a minute's relief when stopped. I tried the opposite, under-stimulation. I reprocessed all my mp3s to cut out any/all sound in the octave around the noise (notching) and increased my music listening to 8+ hours a day. This had a placebo-like effect if anything and looking back I think this was part of adapting my mental state. Now, 15 years later, yeah I do barely notice it any more. Except when I do. Sometimes when I go to bed after a bit much to drink there it is loud and proud and unignorable. Right now I can hear it clearly because I'm thinking about it, a 13KHz whine that never ever ever stops. This is a reason I only sometimes read HN tinnitus threads, not thinking about it is a big part of living with it. Imagine "The Game" only when you think of it, instead of laughing and saying you lost, something squeals in your ear for a few hours. It's ... trying. And I'm lucky, it's not that loud, and it's not at a frequency that interferes with much else.
- dazc 5y ago
  The way I describe tinnitus and its effect on my mental state is that we all have a tolerance limit for noise and I am constantly on the extreme edge of that limit. This doesn't necessarily directly cause depression but, for me, it does make me anxious a lot of the time since I am always on my guard for the next annoyance.
- thangalin 5y ago
  Watch this video on 1/4 volume for 1 minute, loud enough to be heard, but soft enough that your favourite song played at a normal volume can mostly drown it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSD2DAgaRys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSD2DAgaRys Imagine this noise. Every. Waking. Moment. Repeat that minute 1,440 times. For some, the sound is loud enough to smother conversations; for others, a different frequency, or perhaps more a locomotive roar, or constant crash of ocean waves as though holding a seashell to one's ear. Imagine trying to fall asleep when night has shushed the ambient sounds of city hubbub, leaving only the ceaseless onslaught of tinnitus for your own private enjoyment.

macintux 5y ago

Not quite a year since the CEO of Texas Roadhouse committed suicide while suffering from tinnitus.

DantesKite 5y ago
From what I understand that was one of the more salient symptoms, but there were a few more that caused him to take his life.
jader201 5y ago
Please delete this. This isn’t going to help anyone looking for comfort.
- cinntaile 5y ago
  Some people get very depressed from having tinnitus unfortunately, because they cannot deal with the constant noise.

JonathanBeuys 5y ago

Does anybody know why this trial does not show up when you search for "Tinnitus" on PubMed? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=tinnitus&filter=pubt.clinicaltrial&filter=years.2022-2022 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=tinnitus&filter=pubt.c...

obrajesse 5y ago
"This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Wiltse Memorial Hospital Joint Research Ethics Committee in Suwon, South Korea (IRB approval number: 2021-W07). The requirement for written informed consent was waived by the IRB as this was a retrospective study of the patients’ chart records."

lukasb 5y ago

This treatment looks amazing? Anyone have caveats?

bryans 5y ago

Tinnitus is usually only described as a high-pitched ringing, but I think it gets far worse when it's on the lower end of the frequency spectrum. It's much more noticeable and can make discerning speech very difficult at times. But while the higher frequencies can be somewhat easily tuned out using white noise (like a fan), the lower frequencies are just always there, even when you're listening to music -- there is a weird "warble" to everything, and it's often not easy to tell whether it's the tinnitus or the bassist holding out a note or the last syllable of a word in the vocal. As a musician and amateur sound engineer, the higher tinnitus was fairly manageable, but developing the lower tinnitus was pretty devastating and has largely ruined my ability to hear and mix properly. I've needed to read lips for several years now, as a double-check against what I'm hearing. Phone calls are very difficult, but the increase in video calling has helped. Don't be me. Take care of your ears. Also, remember that noise-cancelling is NOT hearing protection. Buy some musician-quality earplugs (you still hear everything, it's just quieter) and have them with you at all times. Use them even when you think it makes you look dorky at the club or concert or sporting event. It's not worth the psychological torture that is tinnitus, I assure you.

BossingAround 5y ago
> remember that noise-cancelling is NOT hearing protection I fell for this one as well. I wouldn't be to surprised if noise-cancelling could actually cause tinnitus, or make an onset of it worse (though I haven nothing but biased anecdata to argue the opinion).
- Nursie 5y ago
  That is interesting, I was using noise cancelling headphones a lot when mine came started. Of course the morning it came on I was also recovering from being riotously drunk the night before, and I'm more inclined to believe something about that triggered it
  - gompertz 5y ago
    Long term sufferer here.. One specific metal concert 15 years ago did me in (unfortunately). I too found that noise cancelling headphones actually flared up my tinnitus more; and resorted to selling my headphones.

jader201 5y ago

Not sure why I click into comment threads on HN about tinnitus, hoping for positive news or anecdotes, but it’s almost always the opposite. So I’ll share my positive anecdote. I’ve dealt with it for over 10 years, and while I can’t imagine how happy I would be to find an effective treatment, I’ve learned to cope, and do what I can to protect hearing going forward. And once you realize you can cope with it, it makes future coping easier. I have bad days, but by knowing they’re just bad days and that I have mostly good days helps the bad days also not so bad. Try to focus on the other good parts/distractions about life. Hope that helps someone.

tangoalpha 5y ago
+1. Got tinnitus due to injury to auditory nerve. Those who are just starting with overcoming Tinnitus - Make sure to give time. Human brain is amazing at latent inhibition, ie capability to ignore things that it learns to be irrelevant. That is your largest medicine. In my country, there are sugar cane refineries/factories that emit very pungent small that is very strong and spans across miles in radius. People who live around in that vicinity develop ignorance to the smell in a matter of months. All I can say is - whether it is a decision to try some experimental medication or surgery, or otherwise - give it 9-12 months time after you acquired Tinnitus. There will be bad days, but there is a good chance that you will realize you could live with it. With an inconvenience (for comparison) as severe as your car's "check engine" warning beeping every 10 seconds.
- The_rationalist 5y ago
  https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_133/_article https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_1...
rojeee 5y ago
Good to hear! (Jokes) I also have tinnitus, mostly in one ear. It's difficult to have a conversation in a noisy place. My partner's voice frequency seems to resonate with the tinnitus ringing, so it's difficult to hear her sometimes!! I've had it for years but five years ago the ringing wound me up so much I went to the doctor. They did various scans but couldn't find any discernable cause. The doctor suggested I just try and live with it. Not really what I wanted but with no other options I took his advice. I put in a fair bit of effort to try and cope with it and actually, now, most of the time I don't realise it's there. Only when 1) Someone is talking to me in a busy pub or restaurant or, 2) watching the TV on low volume in the evening, do I really notice it. Getting to sleep used to be a nightmare but I genuinely don't have any problems now. My advice would be to chillout and forget it's even there, and when you do notice it, just accept it and carry on. It could always be worse. Good luck to all tinnitonians.

traspler 5y ago

I am currently participating in a study using tEAS (transcranial electrical and auditory stimulation) for tinnitus. Can‘t say much about if it works or not especially as the study was redesigned and will contain less treatment, so I‘m not too optimistic. (Background: 10y tinnitus without any known cause, was coping very will for the last 8y, had a terrible last 2y but I am starting to get over it again so in general I am hopeful about my future at least) But as this is HN I wanted to share a technical detail: The device used for the stimulation is pretty new and, as all medical devices are, pricey. It is connected to a laptop through USB-C but not only for data, it‘s completely powered through it. Sounds neat, right. But what happens if either by accident or not knowing any better you unplug the cable? Then it dumps all the stored charge through the electrodes into whoever has them on their scalp at the moment. It‘s VERY uncomfortable and I am shocked (hahaha) that a device like this has such a failure mode and that this is even allowed.

danuker 5y ago
Typical laptops are not grounded. You might want to try a desktop (but also check that the wall plugs are properly grounded). But I agree that for an expensive medical device, shocking its users is unacceptable.
- traspler 5y ago
  I‘m only a participant, not one of the organizers but even then, the laptop was provided with the device by the company to be used together, I would assume that simply for support and data integrity reasons they are not interested in using a different PC.
ajnin 5y ago
More importantly, what happens if there is a short somewhere and the USB port becomes connected to mains voltage ? Computers are not medical devices, and I'd say it is fairly common to feel a small tingle when touching ports so isolation is not that great. The actual medical device should use an isolation transformer or be powered by batteries.
tomohawk 5y ago

teekay 5y ago

I have had tinnitus in both ears since September 2000. There was no treatment then and there is no widely available treatment now. AFAIK the cause of it is poorly understood and there can hardly be an answer is we don't know what questions to ask. Do I wish this study leads to one? Absolutely. I would pay an equivalent of a used car to get rid of my tinnitus. Probably not more than that since my case is thankfully rather mild. I think getting used to it is unfortunately the only way out. For the first few years, I've had occasional panic attacks. Nowadays, I am aware of it in the morning when I wake up, and later only when I stop to check if it's still there (it is). Circling back to treatments, I do wish that one eventually comes out. My tinnitus has not become worse over the years but I suspect it might once I exit the middle age.

mettamage 5y ago

Are there any people with tinnitus that have figured out how to sleep with earplugs on? My tinnitus gets worse when I try to sleep with earplugs on. I currently use my Airpods Max (at home) or Bose QC 35 (when traveling) to mask noise. Now that I've read that noise cancelling doesn't protect from sound, I'll only use this for sleeping and use actual earplugs in other situations.

vprcic 5y ago
My tinnitus also gets worse with earplugs, and I wear them since I'm a light sleeper, with a bedroom close to a somewhat busy road. What I've managed to convince myself is that if I focus on in, instead of ignoring it, I can "use" it as an inbuilt white noise generator. I've probably conditioned myself to get a reassuring feeling out of it, but I guess that's what counts. I know it sounds ridiculous, and it might be I'm just lucky since my tinnitus is only a hissing noise, but it works for me, so it might work for others as well.
- PennRobotics 5y ago
  I have musician's earplugs. It sucks. You often cannot hear the conductor, some frequencies occlude more than others, and your tinnitus is louder than ever. (I realize the filter can be weakened and fit improved, which I plan to do, but I'm on my fourth fitting and second filter.) The alternative? Take them out and enjoy the rich, sonorous, ever-so-slow hearing loss!
- foxbarrington 5y ago
  I use sleep headphones with brain.fm playing. I used to listen to pink noise (similar to white, but more waterfall and less static). I use acoustic sheep headphones, but I wish there were more options out there.
ejb999 5y ago
I sleep with the TV (ipad actually) on playing netflix tv shows, with earbuds in; the TV show drowns out the tinnitus. Sucks to have to do it, but it works for me.

pickledcods 5y ago

It also heavily stresses relationships. I have the equivalent of two jet engines in my ears, including the characteristic phase shifting. Managing it is basically mentally "locking it out", which has the side effect of becoming insensitive to real-world audio stimuli. So when my SO talks to me when I'm off guard, I only realise that mid-sentence before I "unlock" my perception. The first few words are usually the essence which are lost, so I need to ask her to repeat the first few words. But as a non-Tinnitus she does not understand, gets annoyed, and starts shouting the whole sentence exaggerated articulated which kinda hurts both my ears an feelings, gets me annoyed because I explained why hundreds of times. Basically ruining the the moment for both of us, especially in public. Fighting over it isn't worth it, so now I'm more into nodding friendly and hope she doesn't notice that I didn't get what she said, which creates a whole new bunch of problems.

pickledcods 5y ago
The weird thing is when I'm mentally exhausted. The sound effects changes and clicks and plops are added. The only moment I am truly free of tinnitus is losing the fight against falling asleep. Seconds before I slip into a dream state there is silence. Most notable when falling asleep in the passenger seat of a car on a long trip. It's like I'm actually experiencing parts of my brain shutting down.
Zircom 5y ago
Not to pretend I know anything about you or your partner and y'alls relationship, but her being a non-tinnitus sufferer and not having personally experienced it herself doesn't make her unable to "understand" the issue and accommodate you in the manner of your choosing. Assuming that you've sat down with her and clearly communicated exactly how you want her to handle situations when your tinnitus makes it hard for you to understand her, if she's still choosing to completely ignore that in favor of shouting and being unreasonable to the point it turns into a fight, that just reflects poorly on her and her willingness to be even minorly sympathetic and accommodating to a loved one's currently incurable medical condition.
astura 5y ago
Sounds like your gf is just a jerk, you don't need to have personal experience with tinnitus to "understand" it or be polite and make accommodations for it. I have great hearing. My mother in law is very hard of hearing and it's the same way - unless you're actively engaging in a face to face conversation with her it doesn't 'click' that you're talking to her until mid sentence. It's so just not a big deal - I learned really early (like the first day I met her) that if I want to say something to her I just have to pause and make sure I have her attention first. I couldn't imagine acting like your girlfriend if I forgot to get her attention first.

tinnitu 5y ago

A friend with Tinnitus says it’s much better after using this (free) treatment based on selective stimulation: https://uselullaby.com/ https://uselullaby.com/

Nursie 5y ago
Back when I first got it I used notched music to attempt to self-treat in a similar way. My perception of the problem definitely improved, but I couldn't say for certain if it was the notched music helped or if just doing something while also slowly relaxing and accepting helped my mind adjust to its new reality. Either way it's unlikely to hurt and might be worth a go.

jawngee 5y ago

I have tinnitus from heart meds. I've found tapping the back of my skull with both index fingers 20-40 times reduces it considerably. Not sure if it's placebo or not, but it does the trick for me.

The_rationalist 5y ago
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_133/_article https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_1...
kaliatech 5y ago
The tapping back of skull has been reported a few times here and other places. I suspect it is a very common fix (even if temporary) for people on hackernews: - https://trudenta.com/this-simple-trick-may-help-with-tinnitus/ https://trudenta.com/this-simple-trick-may-help-with-tinnitu... First time I did it, it was profound. I hadn't realized how much I missed complete silence.

thanatos519 5y ago

I recently had a bout of tinnitus (took me a while to identify the high pitched whine!) which was cleared up by sound generators on https://mynoise.net/ https://mynoise.net/ ... I guess that qualifies as stimulation of auditory nerves. YMMV but always worth a try!

kingcharles 5y ago
Thanks, I'll give it a try. I got tinnitus from COVID.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

The_rationalist 5y ago

As a reminder,Japaneses in the 90s are the only one to have found effective treatments for Tinnitus, however like most research from non-occidental countries, it has been universally ignored and suffering persist. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_133/_article https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jibirin1925/82/1/82_1_1...

ycombinete 5y ago
That sounds amazing. Do you have any more information?

cptnapalm 5y ago

I've had tinnitus as long as I can remember with the exception of one day: the first time I had my ears cleaned. Earwax compacted to being rock hard was pulled out and I was told that it had probably been building up in my ears for more than a decade. I was 17 at the time. My ear canals are very narrow, there's a lot of hair in my ears, my wax is mushy rather than flaky. Also, I had a lot of ear infections when I was a kid. That was the one and only day I heard silence and it drove me crazy. I constantly made noises to make sure I wasn't completely deaf. The one thing I remember vividly actively hearing was the turning of a door knob. I could hear all the little individual metallic sounds instead of a single generic crunch. The next day, the ringing was back and has never left despite further ear cleanings. I am 49 now.

FollowingTheDao 5y ago
The effect of the ear cleaning was probably placebo. Stress and tinnitus go together because tinnitus is associated with glutamate. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6407646/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6407646/ I have had it since I was a child and I have an anxiety disorder, Klonopin diminishes my tinnitus.

sylware 5y ago

This may help: Have ~10KHz very weak tinitus in left ear, and ~70Hz stronger but still "weak" tinitus in right ear. That combined with feet/legs/hands parasthesia (vibrations mostly, aka mostly no pain). It gets seriously worse during hot summers (reached tinglings and cramps). Ruled "idiopathic" by the docs (MRI scans show nothing "significant") but back and neck seem to be the culprit. Found only one med effective on it, and that only for the first months once the med concentration in the body is "enough": Amitriptyline (dangerous stuff, 2 times I tought it was about to kill me, because it seems my current biology is very sensitive to it). Did stop taking it because of the side effects and worn out effectiveness over time (and like 0 effective during hot summers). Impact, silence is the enemy: Falling asleep happens only when exausted, and intellectual focus is challenging. Usually, I am looking for locations with some some sort of "blank noise". When the parasthesia is too strong, I walk. Basically, only activities which are strong attention attractors are ok. Mindset: Accepted my disability for the rest of my life after years of looking for the causes, and still monitoring any news about it.

n8ur 5y ago

this is worth to read for people suffering by a tinitus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_A._Tomatis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_A._Tomatis

VeninVidiaVicii 5y ago

Serious question I’ve avoided googling: Does anyone else have tinnitus in specific locations? For me, I swear I am constantly hearing high-pitched screeching, but only in apartments or offices. If I’m outside it goes away — even if it’s very quiet.

fictorial 5y ago
Yes. For me, my dining room chandelier lights (or the dimmer switch) are excruciating to me. No one else in my family can "hear the lights"...

civil_engineer 5y ago

So acupuncture. And the authors filed a patent for the needles. Results are unbelievable. Independent duplication needed. I have tinnitus.