15 ms·

Tinnitus Neuromodulator

395 points by gjvc 1y ago

ronnier 1y ago
If you are on iOS seems you need to unmute your phone.
scragz 1y ago
I still want to try one of the ones with the cyberpunk pacifier that shocks your tongue to stimulate neuroplasticity.
- tombert 1y ago
  Is there any evidence that those things actually work? I haven't done a lot of research on it, but I asked my ENT about it and she said that they don't have a great success rate and they're pretty expensive so I don't want to pay for it. Maybe I could apply for a clinical trial.
  - mkp0 1y ago
    If I recall correctly, the better form of bimodal stimulation was found by Susan Shore et al.[1][2][3]. Lenire created a quick and dirty version and got it approved, while Shore's device is still stuck in limbo. If it ever gets approved, it should be considerably better than Lenire, but it's sure taking its time. A HN user said they'd provide specs to reproduce such a device, here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43920360 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43920360 [1] https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/72293/j.1460-9568.2005.04142.x.pdf?sequence=1 https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/7229... [2] https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/scitranslmed.aal3175 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/scitranslmed.aal3175 [3] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2805515#note-ZOI230482-1 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle...
- nfinished 1y ago
  I had great success with Lenire, at the end of the six month (twice a day, 30 minutes) treatment the intensity of my tinnitus had definitely decreased, but almost more importantly I'd been reconditioned not to focus on it as much.
- cyberpunk 1y ago
  I... disapprove of this.
  - fragmede 1y ago
    ...why? Especially given your username!
    - cyberpunk 1y ago
      Purely for the username. A cyberpunk pacifier has err... mental conjurations... I think are best left alone ;)
joshdavham 1y ago
The way I personally manage my tinnitus is by having fans constantly blowing in various rooms of where I live, for example I have a fan in my bedroom when I’m trying to sleep or in my office when I need to concentrate. The fans don’t totally block out the tinnitus, but they sorta act as an undistracting distraction.
- objektif 1y ago
  What type of fan is best for this? Box fans or the round powerful ones?
  - emil-lp 1y ago
    You can buy an air purifier, like IKEA FÖRNUFTIG.
    - tptacek 1y ago
      Air purifier white noise is the best. I don't know what it is about it.
      - toast0 1y ago
        It's cause the noise is filtered
      - hollerith 1y ago
        Agreed (provided it is a sufficiently large air purifier like Austin Air's Healthmate).
  - tptacek 1y ago
    If you're interested in optimizing, the Dohm classic "sound machine" isn't very expensive (maybe 2x what a decent fan costs), is portable/packable, has tunable sound, but is fundamentally just a fan that doesn't move air around your room.
  - bwanab 1y ago
    It's different for different people. The air purifier method suggested works for me, but any fan is better than no fan.
Refreeze5224 1y ago
MyNoise.net is such a great site, consider throwing them a couple bucks, it's basically a pay what you can model. I can't count the number of hours I've spent programming listening to their different soundscapes, rain on a tin roof, and cafe noise are 2 of my favorites.
- mk_stjames 1y ago
  Absolutely. I have a person favorite setup... which is to have these two playing at the * same time * and play around with the combos of sliders / set to automate. Pair: https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/numberStationsRadioNoiseGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/numberStationsRadioNoiseGe... with: https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/magicDuneArrakisGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/magicDuneArrakisGenerator.... I set the numbers stations to 'narrow' and Arrakis to 'wide' and stereo field, mute the numbers stations that repeats german numbers (those stand out to me too easily)... and it's like some magical productivity hack of my brain.
  - robotguy 1y ago
    There's some really neat stuff that can be done with automation and Custom Super Generators. I call this one "Frequency Drift": https://mynoise.net/superGenerator.php?g1=custom.php%3Fc%3D1%26l%3D00000000000000000042%26a%3D4%26am%3D6%26m%3DNUMBERSTATION1~SHORTWAVE5~NUMBERSTATION6~SHORTWAVE7~NUMBERSTATION7~SHORTWAVE8~NUMBERSTATION8~SHORTWAVE9~NUMBERSTATION9~ATOMIC9%26d%3D0%26title%3DAirwaves&g2=paulNagleSequenceGenerator.php%3Fc%3D1%26l%3D40404040404040404040%26a%3D2%26am%3D1%26m%3D%26d%3D0&g3=sleepingDragonToneGenerator.php%3Fc%3D1%26l%3D00380830000808000000%26a%3D4%26am%3D6%26m%3D%26d%3D0&g4=&g5=&yt= https://mynoise.net/superGenerator.php?g1=custom.php%3Fc%3D1...
- sklargh 1y ago
  Many of my biggest professional achievements were enabled via Irish Coast. I give them a few dollars a month.https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/windSeaRainNoiseGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/windSeaRainNoiseGenerator....
- klondike_klive 1y ago
tombert 1y ago
I've had tinnitus in my left ear for about six months now. I was hoping it was the result of an earwax impaction or something, but after having several specialists look at my ears, test my hearing, and getting an MRI to check for tumors, the overwhelming medical consensus of the cause appears to be "I dunno", and at this point I have given up on it being temporary. About 95% of the time, I can fairly easily just tune it out and it's no different than any other background noise. Living in NYC helps, there's a fair amount of constant background noise even in the best of times. I've found that finding 10-hour videos on YouTube of TV static at a low volume can be helpful for the remaining 5%. Still I would really prefer it wasn't there. The ringing in my left ear is still annoying, and I'm only in my mid 30's, so assuming an average lifespan I have anywhere from 40-60 years left to enjoy this constant ringing. I'll play with this thing to see if it helps.
- LeoPanthera 1y ago
  > 10-hour videos on YouTube of TV static Please consider a local noise generator. Static is incompressible so you're using quite a lot of data.
- breendreams 1y ago
  I’m basically in the same exact situation as you, only ringing in my left ear. MRI/hearing/etc tests have all shown nothing and I haven’t received any answer for it. I’ve had it for close to a decade now. NYC definitely helps drown it out but life would be better without it.
- cnnlives8387 1y ago
  I’ve noticed that if I’m eating more salt, don’t sleep well, under a lot of stress, or taking anything that increases my blood pressure or affects vasodilation (supplements, some foods, stimulants, etc.), it causes me to have tinnitus. Loud concerts / music / sound-reducing headphone / noise can do it also.
  - tmcz26 1y ago
    Look into Ménière’s disease . I got diagnosed recently and those are all triggers for it. When undergoing episodes I also have vertigo. There’s medication for controlling the bigger symptoms.
nostromo 1y ago
Here’s my hot take on tinnitus: First and foremost, ignore it. When you find yourself listening to it, distract yourself and immediately move on. Secondly, add more white noise into your environment. The best approach I find is just opening a window or adding a little fan or water feature to your desk. White noise generators don’t work as well for me, but they can help in a pinch. I believe that our modern day indoor environments are honestly just too unnaturally quiet anyway. I’m not joking when I say that the only time I really get annoyed by my tinnitus is when the monthly “cure” for it gets posted on HN. ;-)
- ionwake 1y ago
  Dont know why you are getting downvoted
- wizzwizz4 1y ago
  While "white noise" is the colloquial phrase, it's also a technical term that refers to a different noise spectrum – one that will do serious damage to your hearing if you listen to it loudly enough to do anything about tinnitus. (When played on ideal equipment, white noise has infinite energy – which is clearly not what you want to deliver to your ears.) You're probably thinking of brown noise, pink noise, or perceptually-weighted grey noise.
janmo 1y ago
The only way to temporarely get rid of my tinnitus (completely gone or at least very reduced for up to 30 seconds) is to listen to this beep tone from 8 to 12 KHZ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNf9nzvnd1k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNf9nzvnd1k apparently the phenomenon is called residual inhibition. If only there was a way to make this work permanently...
- tptacek 1y ago
  Whoah, that's weird. I listened to the whole sweep just so I could match it to my tinnitus (turns out: about 10khz), but when I paused it to re-evaluate my own tinnitus, it wasn't there. I mean, it's back now. But still, weird.
- conception 1y ago
  https://youtube.com/shorts/YyT9ZwWy5Jc?si=PoDNVQ4ox24_RW-l https://youtube.com/shorts/YyT9ZwWy5Jc?si=PoDNVQ4ox24_RW-l Also works pretty great. If I need a few minutes of actual silence I use that. I think people using TENS and other therapies are basically stimulating the same nerves to treat it.
- atombender 1y ago
  Works for me, too. Interestingly enough, playing the Tinnitus Neuromodulator for 20 seconds (with certain sliders set and some off) also works.
- sumedh 1y ago
  I dont hear anything about 13K Hz while my kid claims he can hear it :(
kstenerud 1y ago
I tried it out but it did absolutely nothing for my tinnitus. All it does is put out a bunch of changing tones (my tinnitus never changes tones, so I'm having trouble figuring out what this is supposed to do?). Lots of people giving good feedback on it, though. What exactly is it about this site that works for other people?
timmg 1y ago
One thing that seems to help me with tinnitus is the Airpods Pro when you customize it for your hearing. Like they have a tool on the iPhone/iPad that will (essentially) set up an equalizer in it that matches your (lack of) hearing. I think actually stimulating the parts of your hearing that match the tinnitus is what helps. That's why this white noise thing works. But, also, listening to music or watching movies with the Airpods Pro (after configuring) -- I assume -- does something similar.
Arch-TK 1y ago
I've had a low grade (although who knows, it's not like I can hear someone else's tinnitus to compare) tinnitus for as long as I remember. For my childhood I thought it was just normal to hear this noise when there was no external source of other sound. Honestly, I never felt particularly negative about it. I guess if you never know what true silence sounds like, you never know what you are missing.
- VPenkov 1y ago
  Same here. A few years ago I thought maybe the ringing isn't normal. It hadn't occurred to me before that. I found a YouTube video of a "tinnitus demo" with the right sound and frequency. I could only start hearing it at about 80% volume. I gave my headphones to my partner and she said it was unbearable. I guess I'm used to my normal. I slightly regret knowing about it, I seem to be paying more attention to it now.
- Barrin92 1y ago
  I think that's most people. I never even knew that I had tinnitus (still don't know if I do frankly) because if you've put me in a dead silent room I've always heard some very low kind of 'static' for a lack of a better term. Most people I've ever talked to say the same thing, very few people have ever told me they hear absolutely nothing. Only after I kept reading about it did I start to notice it more, I think there's a really big psychological element to it.
  - Arch-TK 1y ago
    Tinnitus (at least mine) sounds like a quieter version of the high pitched noise that movies like to use to emulate tinnitus due to a loud noise (explosion). It's a quieter version of the tinnitus you can personally get if you are close to a loud noise (don't do this intentionally, it is an indication that you've caused yourself some hearing damage). I've never heard static, I think that honestly sounds closer to what might actually be termed a noise floor. I know what a noise floor sounds like, and I've never heard a noise floor just due to quiet conditions... IDK, like I said, unfortunately science hasn't found a way to easily and temporarily swap ears.
- 1y ago
Nux 1y ago
White noise is key here. Luckily I do not have tinnitus, but I have small children and they sleep great with this on. And so do their parents, especially handy when going on holiday in noisy hotels etc. I can't go on holiday without it now! :) I've just downloaded this audio track with yt-dlp, placed it on an sdcard and I play it in a loop on a small speaker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMfPqeZjc2c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMfPqeZjc2c
- netule 1y ago
  This appears to be brown noise, not white noise. I have no affiliation with this macOS app, but I use it for the same reasons you do. It's paid, but worth it IMHO. It generates the noise on your own machine, and you can pick what kind of noise you want to hear: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/brown-noise-ambient-noise/id1519712394 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/brown-noise-ambient-noise/id15....
  - dahart 1y ago
    Note that the site that hosts Neuromodulator also has free client-side color noise generators, white, brown, pick, etc. https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteNoiseGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteNoiseGenerator.php
foxfired 1y ago
I'm so happy mine is gone. It came in waves for me and funny it enough, it sounded like ocean waves crashing [0]. I used to play ocean sound for my kids to sleep, so I didn't notice that a good part of the sound wasn't coming from the device, but from me. It was unbearable for several weeks before it just disappeared. [0]:https://idiallo.com/byte-size/nightmare-on-ocean-street https://idiallo.com/byte-size/nightmare-on-ocean-street
tarr11 1y ago
The drumming technique works for me for a few minutes if I need some temporary relief https://treblehealth.com/tapping-technique-for-temporary-tinnitus-relief/ https://treblehealth.com/tapping-technique-for-temporary-tin...
y-c-o-m-b 1y ago
This is pretty cool, but unfortunately I have somatic tinnitus, so this doesn't work as well. The frequency/tone is very dynamic with my version of tinnitus and I can even change it by moving or massaging my neck (especially at the base of my skull) in certain ways. The good news is that also means there are brief windows of time where I have zero tinnitus because my neck and muscles are in a position to temporarily fix whatever underlying issue is causing it.
- charleshn 1y ago
  I can relate. I had tinnitus for over 10 years. My tinnitus was not the usual ringing type, it was some sort of humming, low frequency noise. The frequency was not constant, it could vary. It could sometimes stop for 5-10 minutes, e.g. after a hot bath. Went to see many specialists, tried everything, to no avail. One day I started experiencing recurrent tension and light pain in my neck and shoulder blades, so I started doing some neck and shoulder blades stretches several times a day. After a few weeks, the pain was gone, and I realised the tinnitus had stopped. This was maybe 2 years ago (I am still doing those exercises multiple times a day).
- joe_the_user 1y ago
  I assume that I have somatic tinnitus because my tinnitus seems very associated with tension in my jaw, should and head. But every medical practitioner I talk to about this just seems say "uh...huh...what" and makes no effort to understand or investigate the phenomena. I have found doing the Alexander Technique helps me quite a bit with the tinnitus.
gikkman 1y ago
I've had tinnitus since I was a child. It's probably due to a procedure they used to do around here an children with ear infections. Nowadays, I rarely notice it. But I remember in my teens, it sometimes was absolutely excruciating because I had no way of coping or tuning it out. This is very interesting. I might consider trying it. If there's something I'd really want to experience at least once, it's that "absolute silence" so many mention when being out in the forest it country side.
- CGMthrowaway 1y ago
  Ear tube surgery?
  - WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
    > Ear tube surgery Almost certainly. My Dr feels mine created a weakness that enabled tinnitus to develop 4 decades later.
    - gikkman 1y ago
      Yeah, thanks. Didn't know the English term. I had them for years, and I've been told by my doctor that's the likely cause to me having it for as long as I can remember.
      - WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
        I'll add this. When I first mentioned it to my Dr (GP, not ENT), he looked in my ears and saw scar tissue. That was all he had to go on. I was also driving an old car w/ heavy cabin noise and the timing fits. I recently moved into a different old car and will see if anything changes. edit: The last time I tried to gauge my freq, I put it at about 1150Hz. Today I would say it's closer to 5300Hz. I guess ignoring it includes ignoring changes. ref: https://onlinetonegenerator.com/ https://onlinetonegenerator.com/
larrykubin 1y ago
For me personally, looking for solutions like this and researching tinnitus makes it more noticeable and worse. The best approach for me has been to pretend it doesn't exist and is insignificant, and even though it's still there after 7 years, it doesn't bother me as much anymore.
- tinnythrowaway 1y ago
  One of the insidious things about anxiety and panic disorders is the feedback loop of focusing on the distressing symptoms, which causes more distress, which creates more symptoms, etc. For many the "way out" for anxiety is to create space and simply allow the unwanted sensations and feelings to exist. Tinnitus and anxiety are comorbid. It's healthy to just practice letting it be if you can.
- WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
  > looking for solutions like this and researching tinnitus makes it more noticeable and worse. The best approach for me has been to pretend it doesn't exist and is insignificant This is me. I have a mental distance worked out. Posting in this thread will require a bit of recovery time. However, I recently learned by best friend (lives distant now but we chat daily) has tinnitus to the point where it affects discerning speech - so it's up there. But it doesn't bother him at all to think and talk about it. He's never felt any distress from it. I'd never heard anyone say that. I changed the topic because I didn't want to put his zen at risk.
reify 1y ago
I too had exactly the same constsnt ringing in my left ear. I could not get to sleep because the noise was so loud and intense. It reminded me of those spy films where they torture someone playing loud heavy metalcore all day and night. I had a X-ray, ultra-sound and two Consultants had a look. Both said that there was nothing wrong with my ear. No ear wax, no damage, no issues at all. They both mentioned that tense facial and neck muscles may be a cause. As well as the constant ringing, there is a sound like a central eating system, thumping and groaning away, in both my ears too. I initially thought the thumping and groaning was the Mrs snoring. I bought some earloops thinking my ears were too sensitive and I was somehow hearing noises from the houses down the road and the motorway traffic 3 miles away. to no avail, even with the earloops blocking all exterior noise, I still had the high pitched and low piched internal noises. I found a way to reduce the noise. I was laying in bed one night and I was relaxing my jaw when I noticed that if I opened my mouth and let my jaw hang loose all the noises stopped. So over a month or so I tried to train my jaw to be less tense and more relaxed. For me it worked. it was my jaw.
vinc 1y ago
I started hearing tinnitus a decade ago in a quiet room at night when I came back home after two years traveling the world at around 30 yo. Over the following months it became louder and noticed it more, then after maybe a year I could hear it all the time. During the day I could live with it but in the middle of the night I could not get back to sleep after waking up. It was causing a lot of anxiety because I was afraid of how much louder it may become. I was thinking that maybe I cough something during my travels so I went to see a few specialists but they found nothing. What I understand now is that the cause is probably all the vipassana meditation I did and some psychedelics I experimented with during my travel which opened some filters I had in my mind blocking sensor noise. It's the most plausible explanation for me. The noise was probably always there, or maybe it got louder when I become older, but I never noticed it until it became disturbing. A decade later the noise is still there, all the time, but it's not an issue at all anymore. It's not louder than before, and I have no negative feelings associated with it. I made peace with it and I can now easily ignore it, or to be more accurate, I can live with it and it'll disappear on its own after a short time until I put my attention back to it (voluntary or not). As I'm writing this in a quiet room it's very loud, but that's fine, it just sensor noise. Soon enough I'll stop hearing it if I don't focus on it. I hope reading this can help. I wish I had someone back then telling me that it would turn out okay to just accept it after doing some medical checks.
- WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
  > It was causing a lot of anxiety because I was afraid of how much louder it may become. Been there. After a few years of slow increase, mine suddenly cranked up to 11 (due to an infection, it turned out). There were a few rough weeks while I worked out counter & coping measures. I still need those measures from time to time. measures:beltone app & speakers at the head of my bed. A half doz (non-controlled) insomnia meds to rotate thru. I discovered UK Great Railway Journeys vids; they interfered with distress feedback loops
jounus 1y ago
My tinnitus is at 14khz, so every tone in this generator is too low.
- stubish 1y ago
  Do the sounds actually need to match in pitch? My understanding is these sounds attempt to stop your brain noticing or perhaps generating the tinnitus, rather than masking the noise with something louder (like people do with a fan or noise generators)
  - esseph 1y ago
    In theory you could cancel the tinnitus out with a mirror/reverse waveform
    - stubish 1y ago
      Most tinnitus is neurological, and not sound but the perception of sound. Reverse waveform would just make it louder. At least for tinnitus from partial hearing loss, sound therapy seems to be about training or resetting neurons so they don't perceive sound when they are not receiving normal input.
stacktraceyo 1y ago
My AirPod pros gave me or really exacerbated my tinnitus
- Mystery-Machine 1y ago
  Same. I read that this only happens if you use noise canceling.
  - stacktraceyo 1y ago
    That was my experience.
3shv 1y ago
Why is everyone here having tinnitus in their left ear? Including myself.
- munchlax 1y ago
  Because I can't hear you over the sound of stereo tinitus
- epolanski 1y ago
  Left ear too. Was noticing disproportionately more left ear sufferers but thought it was a bias.
- senectus1 1y ago
  huh... me too
- dedoidoan 1y ago
  I've recently noticed this too. Ive seen anons on /X say the same thing too... Left ear only ringing. Only hearing from these reports since 3i/atlas
rufus_foreman 1y ago
A bunch of people with tinnitus in their left ear. That's kind of weird. That's what I have. Anyone with tinnitus only in their right ear? And yeah, I've had it since the early 90's and it mostly only bothers me now when someone brings it up. Thanks Hacker News!
- BobbyTables2 1y ago
  I only have it in right ear. First kid had colic and measured crying at close to 100db, basically two months exposure to a jackhammer… Always held on right side — maybe a coincidence…
- YZF 1y ago
  Right ear here.
throwaway8902 1y ago
Lots of people posting in here about how they can’t figure out the cause of their tinnitus. Mine was ear wax. I went to an ENT doctor for an unrelated issue, he pulled a big plug of wax out of my ear, and my tinnitus (which was quite bad and had a very sudden onset) totally disappeared. If you have it, go get a doctor to look in your ear before you give up and decide to try to live with it.
_gmkt 1y ago
I have mine since 2007 in both ears. Simply accept it.
bookmtn 1y ago
Suggest trying Brown Noise for a bit of relief.
benbojangles 1y ago
36yrs with tinnitus, but this website looks like what happens when chatgpt and a tinnitus sufferer vibe codes better than nothing I suppose ... Or is it?
- jonway 1y ago
  No, it’s pretty old and created by an Audio Engineer.
- fragmede 1y ago
  Sounds like it's not, but even if it was made by a doctor that desperately wants to bring relief to the tinnitus sufferers of the world who used AI to create it, what difference would it make?
upcoming-sesame 1y ago
I started having tinnitus right after a COVID infection. it's not too bad, only one ear and it comes and goes pretty quickly. For me the COVID correlation is 100%, but I haven't found too much literature about it and wonder if anyone experienced it as well
- cyberpunk 1y ago
  Mine started after covid also, see further up tho it actually recently stopped and i couldn't figure out what had changed apart from taking a complex b supplement for a couple months.. Cant hurt maybe?
- stubish 1y ago
  Partial hearing loss is a not uncommon side effect of COVID infection, and tinnitus a not uncommon side effect of hearing loss. Anything that causes inflammation in the wrong areas can do it, but COVID is the main one right now and why audiologists are busy. There is a steroid treatment that apparently can help if prescribed almost immediately (48 hours?), but it didn't help in a family members case.
cryptoegorophy 1y ago
Whoever is suffering with tinnitus, try this - firmly press on your jaw muscles - if your tinnitus amplifies then it is related to your clenched jaw muscles! A therapy on these muscles will either reduce the tinnitus or will completely make it go away! Wish my doctor told me that years ago instead of doing useless ct scans and hearing checks. Wish you all silent nights!
- aivisol 1y ago
  Can you please tell what kind of therapy you did ?
  - fragmede 1y ago
    physical therapy exercises, eg https://youtu.be/lwWDbZrGDPg https://youtu.be/lwWDbZrGDPg
    - cryptoegorophy 1y ago
      Yes. This pretty much. As soon as you know where to dig it becomes so much easier.
- elric 1y ago
  My tinnitus gets louder when I press my jaw/cheek, but no amount of neck/jaw therapy, exercises, or dry needling has made any difference. The scans and hearing tests are not useless, they help rule out the nastier causes of tinnitus. Calling them useless and going straight for jaw therapy is potentially dangerous advice for some. Sure, give it a try, but don't skip the rest of the diagnostic process.
  - jooize 1y ago
    Masseter botox?
sayrer 1y ago
It is striking that it sounds like Brian Eno - An Ending (Ascent)
pipes 1y ago
Bit off topic but anyone here use white noise with their young kids, as a sleep aid? I'm really paranoid about giving them tinnitus. I am just back from holiday with extended family, I mentioned to my brother that the white noise he is using with his kids is extremely loud, he's using a phone app. To the point my daughter moved rooms out of his kids room. Google ai agrees with me that hearing damage is definitely a risk. I mentioned this to him and it went down really badly. I'll not mention it again.
BraverHeart 1y ago
How would replacing a buzzing sound problem with a synthetic buzzing solve the problem of... not hearing any buzzing? It's like trying to put out fire by lighting more fire, what am I missing?
- dag11 1y ago
  Because the brain is really weird, and tinnitus is often a completely internal neurological phenomenon. The sound machine linked here was really helpful for me when I had some distressing tinnitus due to concerts several years ago. If I listened to this somewhat loudly for several minutes, I'd then get about 2-3 minutes of what felt like pure silence. And for a little while after that as the tinnitus came back, my brain interpreted it as a gentle white noise instead of a continuous high-frequency tone. Then it went back to the tone a little while later. So if I was having trouble sleeping due to hyperfocusing on the tone I'd first pop in some airpods and listen to this for a few mins. Nowadays my tinnitus is much less bothersome. Probably a combination of objectively getting a little better, and me getting more acclimated to it. Plus I've been using good musician's ear plugs for all my concerts and raves since then which stopped it from getting worse.
- alt187 1y ago
  It's like how swimming is confortable but having a wet spot on your shirt isn't. Your tinnitus dilutes in the harmonic background noise.
throwaway233927 1y ago
There is a company called Auricle that is working on releasing their tinnitus treatment device. To my knowledge, they are the only tinnitus treatment device company with a properly blinded study showing efficacy. They have started taking outside (accredited) investors for those interested: https://www.auricleinc.com/joinourmission https://www.auricleinc.com/joinourmission
exasperaited 1y ago
Like others I have tinnitus that only now really rears its head in extremely quiet environments or when I see the word "tinnitus" or someone says it. Then I am reminded I have it. I think I have always had it; I became more aware it was abnormal and unusual in my twenties when I realised that TV dramas use a similar high pitch sound to indicate someone who has had sudden hearing damage (after an explosion etc.) and then it really bothered me for a while because I was living in a very quiet area. About six years ago now I was at a gig at a local venue when I experienced hearing loss due to a freakish bit of bass feedback. I was in a particular corner of the room and clearly experienced an overtone that almost nobody else heard at all, and at a volume nobody else experienced; pure bad luck. The sound made me run away automatically. I was thirty yards away before I even really comprehended that I was leaving. I experienced considerable hearing loss — muffled, incomplete hearing — for several days. Nearly complete for the first day. But when my tinnitus came back I realised I felt sure I was going to get my hearing back essentially entirely. It was curiously reassuring. I've never really been stressed by it since. So I have what I expect to be lifelong tinnitus. But also earplugs now.
lexx 1y ago
Have tinnitus 20 years now. Very loud. Can hear it in cinema while watching action movies. First year was depressing. I couldn't believe I will never enjoy silence again. Now I don't care. It's my little friend. Really. Life can be amazing even with extreme tinnitus
- megadopechos 1y ago
  Same. I got it when I was 19 from recording music and the audiologist said, "This is something only old people get, and even then very gradually. You will either go crazy or depressed." But I've gotten used to it and I wouldn't say it's been a huge detriment.
  - diego_sandoval 1y ago
    > This is something only old people get Such a lie. I started getting mild tinnitus at 20 from playing in rock bands. Then at 24 it got less mild from partying. Then at 27 it got worse, I don't know why.
brianhama 1y ago
I suddenly lost the hearing in my left ear at the age of 24. One moment I was fine, eating a slice of pizza, the next moment I suddenly could sense something was wrong. I tried to stand up and walk, but my balance was gone. My ear felt full and there was a strange metallic echo. I waited about 24 hours and it hadn't gone away, so I went to the urgent care. By that time, just standing up was enough to cause me to vomit. I've had a pretty healthy life, so everything that was happening was rather disconcerting to me! The doctors at urgent care erroneously diagnosed the problem as dehydration as a result of my telling them I had played tennis earlier before the incident. They sent me home with instructions to drink lots of water. After waiting another 48 hours completely unable to hear or even stand up, I went back to the urgent care. This time, they diagnosed it as an ear infection and gave me antibiotics. Over the next two weeks, my balance slowly returned, but what little hearing I still had slowly deteriorated further. About a month after it started, I finally was referred to an audiologist that concluded that I was completely deaf in my left ear, possibly due to a viral infection, but there isn't any way to know for sure the cause. Had it been treated with steroids immediately, it might have saved my hearing. I am now 40 years old and have lived with being single sided deaf for half my life. Initially I didn't think much of it. I've slowly realized it has had a profound impact on my personality and sense of identity. I am much less social due to the difficulty I have hearing in group settings. Conversations are frustrating because it takes so much effort to hear the other person properly. I am reluctant to tell people about my condition because I don't want to be seen as handicapped in any way. Usually by the time I do end up telling someone, they say they had already figured as much. Tinnitus is a major daily issue as well. I can’t seem to understand how this website helps though.
- Cerium 1y ago
  My wife is deaf in her left ear as well. She doesn't usually tell people, but does tell people that she likes to walk on the left and sit on the left side of rectangular tables. One interesting effect is that I have developed a preference for sitting or walking on people's right hand side, especially with good friends or people I respect. The most interesting effect is I have noticed how much people take for granted the ability to sense where sound is coming from. Early on in our relationship I would occasionally perform "magic tricks" where I know immediately where a sound is. She would ask: how did you know where it was?
Cold_Miserable 1y ago
I have low pitch rumbling in my right ear. MRI was useless. Hearing test "perfect". Its hard to sleep without background noise. I think its a damaged blood vessel in my brain or neck: veinous stenosis.
- elric 1y ago
  It could well be that. An MRA and MRV could confirm or rule out those suspicions. If the damaged vessel can be found, it might be treatable by stenting. Check out whooshers (dot com) or /r/pulsatiletinnitus for two supportive communities with some good advice.
r2ob 1y ago
I've had tinnitus since 2018. I got used to it. it's not the worst thing for me. I'm 5'2" bald guy LoL If you're suffering from tinnitus, remember, at least you're not bald and 5'2" tall.
- gigatree 1y ago
  My condolences. At least you’re jacked.
- grugagag 1y ago
  Tinnitus is extremly annoying when you remember about it but as soon as your attention goes elsewhere it’s almost not bothering at all, you’re so used to it that it’s hard to notice it.
- jamiek88 1y ago
  Well shorter guys live ~5 years longer it appears so you've got that going for you!
- butlike 1y ago
  Be nice to yourself. It's the only way.
shinycode 1y ago
I thought I was alone but there is so many comments I wonder how much people is there and if it’s really random or if there is common sources like some stress, airpods or some kind of psychoacoustic event. I have like 3 different frequencies and it « exploded » in a stressful event at work. I always thought it was music all day with AirPods but it might be stress actually because everytime I’m tired and stressed it’s unbearable. A nightmare that we learn to live with. I often ask myself what the sound would look like if demodulated and de-pitched if that makes sense. It might seem weird but a voice modulated at a very high frequency and pitch might look like those kind of noises or I am wrong ?
- elric 1y ago
  Stress and "posture" are certainly big contributors. Any kind of pressure on the veins and nerves around the ear can cause tinnitus, which includes the muscles in your neck, many of which attach to your shoulders. Sitting at a desk all day, or looking down at a phone, is probably a big contributing factor for many of us. Stress can also cause us to subconsciously clench our jaws, which again can contribute. Feeling stressed or fatigued certainly lowers my mental tolerance for annoying bullshit like tinnitus.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - shinycode 1y ago
    Very interesting because I just noticed that when doing an effort like clenching my jaw or something that mobilize neck muscles the sound is x10. So maybe because of bad posture along the years my baseline is higher than it should be ?
fernly 1y ago
None of the sliders sound anything at all like my tinnitus, which is a very high complex hiss, maybe up around 6-9Khz? and steady, or varying slowly in volume. But no beeps or boops like this system.
- austinjp 1y ago
  It's not meant to mimic tinnitus, it's intended to help you cope with tinnitus. Tweak the settings until you find an arrangement that helps you. Of course, there are no guarantees. Personally, I like it.
toxicplanes1 1y ago
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altairprime 1y ago
I wish this would have more upper range sounds; it barely touches on the >15khz range at all and is at least two octaves below my tinnitus across the board.
abrichr 1y ago
See also: https://audionotch.com/app/tune/ https://audionotch.com/app/tune/
unit149 1y ago
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rhyperior 1y ago
Periodically my tinnitus will disappear. When it does, it often takes a bit of time to consciously figure out what’s different and then I realize my constant buzzing companion has gone away. The last time it disappeared I had a head cold and congestion and that was enough to provide glorious, complete silence.
dahart 1y ago
The white burst generator reduces my tinnitus for a while. It’s less effective than it used to be, but when the silence part of the cycle starts, I can hear my tinnitus drop in volume. https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteBurstsNoiseGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteBurstsNoiseGenerator.... Neuromodulator certainly masks my tinnitus, but doesn’t reduce it. Sometimes I feel like it’s a little worse when I turn off the sound. Mynoise.net is great though. The speech jammer is awesome in noisy places, and layering noise and thunderstorms helps me work. I’m a happy subscriber.
- Enk1du 1y ago
  I play with the timers to layer different sounds in and out. It's the best pomodoro timer out there, for me.
ozozozd 1y ago
I’ve noticed that my tinnitus increases significantly with intense exercise, specifically exercises that affect the neck/shoulder area like pull ups. If you have tinnitus, it’s worth a try to massage or work on relaxing those areas.
- mickelsen 1y ago
  Yup, I had massive success with a theragun around the traps, and gentle massage around the SCM area for the ocassional flare up. Also caffeine use, vigorous exercise, loud fans, teeth clenching and sleeping on the side with the neck bent almost reliably triggers it back. But interestingly, after the initial flare during the pandemic and allergy season, the noise subsided with oral steroids. Now it's the occasional reminder maybe a few times a month, always the right ear, then it goes away.
roninski 1y ago
For me, getting tinnitus was most likely me being dumb and standing right in front of a massive wall of speakers without earplugs, when I went to see The Bug performing. It was somewhere around 2010 and I wasn't nearly as aware of what it could've caused as I am now. I got this ringing in my right ear ever since, and just learned to live with it.
PeterStuer 1y ago
I got tinnitus from a wornout hardisk bearing in a Toshiba laptop over 20 years ago. You don't realize how loud and close they are to your ear until it is too late.
harvey9 1y ago
I like that they chose sending an email newsletter over having a social media channel - avoiding another type of unwanted noise.
beingfit 1y ago
I’m confused. What if none of the tones or sliders match the sound of my tinnitus? Mine is a very low frequency hum or buzz. I find all the sliders on this page to be a high frequency sound.
skopje 1y ago
My first reaction to this was, "this is dumb and annoying", and then I played with it for a few minutes and found a set of levels that were causing my symptoms to briefly go away. It still isn't perfect, but a combination of Steve Seq and Pulses High creates "gaps" in my tinnitus, where my brain seems to "forget" about it briefly and I don't hear it. But then it comes back a millisecond or so later. I don't think I could get work done with this on all day, but it has more effect on my symptoms than other websites I've tried. It's really interesting, like there are brief (millisecond) periods of no tinnitus. [I've had it in my left ear for probably 35 years (I played in a punk band in the early 80's with no hearing protection but it didn't show up until a decade later).] Keep at it, I think you're on to something!
butlike 1y ago
Tinnitus is one of the ones that scares me. There's no accepted cure, and a loud impulse of noise can permanently damage the ears. I've always thought of it as a sunburn; you don't get cancer the first time, but if one keeps going out in the sun, one's chances go up. If I keep going to shows without hearing protection, then I might not get tinnitus the first time, but eventually the damage will be done. It's why I wear hearing protection every time. That all being said, this looks promising and I'm glad people are working in this space.

395 points by gjvc 1y ago

ronnier 1y ago

If you are on iOS seems you need to unmute your phone.

scragz 1y ago

I still want to try one of the ones with the cyberpunk pacifier that shocks your tongue to stimulate neuroplasticity.

tombert 1y ago
Is there any evidence that those things actually work? I haven't done a lot of research on it, but I asked my ENT about it and she said that they don't have a great success rate and they're pretty expensive so I don't want to pay for it. Maybe I could apply for a clinical trial.
- mkp0 1y ago
  If I recall correctly, the better form of bimodal stimulation was found by Susan Shore et al.[1][2][3]. Lenire created a quick and dirty version and got it approved, while Shore's device is still stuck in limbo. If it ever gets approved, it should be considerably better than Lenire, but it's sure taking its time. A HN user said they'd provide specs to reproduce such a device, here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43920360 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43920360 [1] https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/72293/j.1460-9568.2005.04142.x.pdf?sequence=1 https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/7229... [2] https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/scitranslmed.aal3175 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/scitranslmed.aal3175 [3] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2805515#note-ZOI230482-1 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle...
nfinished 1y ago
I had great success with Lenire, at the end of the six month (twice a day, 30 minutes) treatment the intensity of my tinnitus had definitely decreased, but almost more importantly I'd been reconditioned not to focus on it as much.
cyberpunk 1y ago
I... disapprove of this.
- fragmede 1y ago
  ...why? Especially given your username!
  - cyberpunk 1y ago
    Purely for the username. A cyberpunk pacifier has err... mental conjurations... I think are best left alone ;)

joshdavham 1y ago

The way I personally manage my tinnitus is by having fans constantly blowing in various rooms of where I live, for example I have a fan in my bedroom when I’m trying to sleep or in my office when I need to concentrate. The fans don’t totally block out the tinnitus, but they sorta act as an undistracting distraction.

objektif 1y ago
What type of fan is best for this? Box fans or the round powerful ones?
- emil-lp 1y ago
  You can buy an air purifier, like IKEA FÖRNUFTIG.
  - tptacek 1y ago
    Air purifier white noise is the best. I don't know what it is about it.
    - toast0 1y ago
      It's cause the noise is filtered
    - hollerith 1y ago
      Agreed (provided it is a sufficiently large air purifier like Austin Air's Healthmate).
- tptacek 1y ago
  If you're interested in optimizing, the Dohm classic "sound machine" isn't very expensive (maybe 2x what a decent fan costs), is portable/packable, has tunable sound, but is fundamentally just a fan that doesn't move air around your room.
- bwanab 1y ago
  It's different for different people. The air purifier method suggested works for me, but any fan is better than no fan.

Refreeze5224 1y ago

MyNoise.net is such a great site, consider throwing them a couple bucks, it's basically a pay what you can model. I can't count the number of hours I've spent programming listening to their different soundscapes, rain on a tin roof, and cafe noise are 2 of my favorites.

mk_stjames 1y ago
Absolutely. I have a person favorite setup... which is to have these two playing at the * same time * and play around with the combos of sliders / set to automate. Pair: https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/numberStationsRadioNoiseGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/numberStationsRadioNoiseGe... with: https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/magicDuneArrakisGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/magicDuneArrakisGenerator.... I set the numbers stations to 'narrow' and Arrakis to 'wide' and stereo field, mute the numbers stations that repeats german numbers (those stand out to me too easily)... and it's like some magical productivity hack of my brain.
- robotguy 1y ago
  There's some really neat stuff that can be done with automation and Custom Super Generators. I call this one "Frequency Drift": https://mynoise.net/superGenerator.php?g1=custom.php%3Fc%3D1%26l%3D00000000000000000042%26a%3D4%26am%3D6%26m%3DNUMBERSTATION1~SHORTWAVE5~NUMBERSTATION6~SHORTWAVE7~NUMBERSTATION7~SHORTWAVE8~NUMBERSTATION8~SHORTWAVE9~NUMBERSTATION9~ATOMIC9%26d%3D0%26title%3DAirwaves&g2=paulNagleSequenceGenerator.php%3Fc%3D1%26l%3D40404040404040404040%26a%3D2%26am%3D1%26m%3D%26d%3D0&g3=sleepingDragonToneGenerator.php%3Fc%3D1%26l%3D00380830000808000000%26a%3D4%26am%3D6%26m%3D%26d%3D0&g4=&g5=&yt= https://mynoise.net/superGenerator.php?g1=custom.php%3Fc%3D1...
sklargh 1y ago
Many of my biggest professional achievements were enabled via Irish Coast. I give them a few dollars a month.https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/windSeaRainNoiseGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/windSeaRainNoiseGenerator....
klondike_klive 1y ago

tombert 1y ago

I've had tinnitus in my left ear for about six months now. I was hoping it was the result of an earwax impaction or something, but after having several specialists look at my ears, test my hearing, and getting an MRI to check for tumors, the overwhelming medical consensus of the cause appears to be "I dunno", and at this point I have given up on it being temporary. About 95% of the time, I can fairly easily just tune it out and it's no different than any other background noise. Living in NYC helps, there's a fair amount of constant background noise even in the best of times. I've found that finding 10-hour videos on YouTube of TV static at a low volume can be helpful for the remaining 5%. Still I would really prefer it wasn't there. The ringing in my left ear is still annoying, and I'm only in my mid 30's, so assuming an average lifespan I have anywhere from 40-60 years left to enjoy this constant ringing. I'll play with this thing to see if it helps.

LeoPanthera 1y ago
> 10-hour videos on YouTube of TV static Please consider a local noise generator. Static is incompressible so you're using quite a lot of data.
breendreams 1y ago
I’m basically in the same exact situation as you, only ringing in my left ear. MRI/hearing/etc tests have all shown nothing and I haven’t received any answer for it. I’ve had it for close to a decade now. NYC definitely helps drown it out but life would be better without it.
cnnlives8387 1y ago
I’ve noticed that if I’m eating more salt, don’t sleep well, under a lot of stress, or taking anything that increases my blood pressure or affects vasodilation (supplements, some foods, stimulants, etc.), it causes me to have tinnitus. Loud concerts / music / sound-reducing headphone / noise can do it also.
- tmcz26 1y ago
  Look into Ménière’s disease . I got diagnosed recently and those are all triggers for it. When undergoing episodes I also have vertigo. There’s medication for controlling the bigger symptoms.

nostromo 1y ago

Here’s my hot take on tinnitus: First and foremost, ignore it. When you find yourself listening to it, distract yourself and immediately move on. Secondly, add more white noise into your environment. The best approach I find is just opening a window or adding a little fan or water feature to your desk. White noise generators don’t work as well for me, but they can help in a pinch. I believe that our modern day indoor environments are honestly just too unnaturally quiet anyway. I’m not joking when I say that the only time I really get annoyed by my tinnitus is when the monthly “cure” for it gets posted on HN. ;-)

ionwake 1y ago
Dont know why you are getting downvoted
wizzwizz4 1y ago
While "white noise" is the colloquial phrase, it's also a technical term that refers to a different noise spectrum – one that will do serious damage to your hearing if you listen to it loudly enough to do anything about tinnitus. (When played on ideal equipment, white noise has infinite energy – which is clearly not what you want to deliver to your ears.) You're probably thinking of brown noise, pink noise, or perceptually-weighted grey noise.

janmo 1y ago

The only way to temporarely get rid of my tinnitus (completely gone or at least very reduced for up to 30 seconds) is to listen to this beep tone from 8 to 12 KHZ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNf9nzvnd1k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNf9nzvnd1k apparently the phenomenon is called residual inhibition. If only there was a way to make this work permanently...

tptacek 1y ago
Whoah, that's weird. I listened to the whole sweep just so I could match it to my tinnitus (turns out: about 10khz), but when I paused it to re-evaluate my own tinnitus, it wasn't there. I mean, it's back now. But still, weird.
conception 1y ago
https://youtube.com/shorts/YyT9ZwWy5Jc?si=PoDNVQ4ox24_RW-l https://youtube.com/shorts/YyT9ZwWy5Jc?si=PoDNVQ4ox24_RW-l Also works pretty great. If I need a few minutes of actual silence I use that. I think people using TENS and other therapies are basically stimulating the same nerves to treat it.
atombender 1y ago
Works for me, too. Interestingly enough, playing the Tinnitus Neuromodulator for 20 seconds (with certain sliders set and some off) also works.
sumedh 1y ago
I dont hear anything about 13K Hz while my kid claims he can hear it :(

kstenerud 1y ago

I tried it out but it did absolutely nothing for my tinnitus. All it does is put out a bunch of changing tones (my tinnitus never changes tones, so I'm having trouble figuring out what this is supposed to do?). Lots of people giving good feedback on it, though. What exactly is it about this site that works for other people?

timmg 1y ago

One thing that seems to help me with tinnitus is the Airpods Pro when you customize it for your hearing. Like they have a tool on the iPhone/iPad that will (essentially) set up an equalizer in it that matches your (lack of) hearing. I think actually stimulating the parts of your hearing that match the tinnitus is what helps. That's why this white noise thing works. But, also, listening to music or watching movies with the Airpods Pro (after configuring) -- I assume -- does something similar.

Arch-TK 1y ago

I've had a low grade (although who knows, it's not like I can hear someone else's tinnitus to compare) tinnitus for as long as I remember. For my childhood I thought it was just normal to hear this noise when there was no external source of other sound. Honestly, I never felt particularly negative about it. I guess if you never know what true silence sounds like, you never know what you are missing.

VPenkov 1y ago
Same here. A few years ago I thought maybe the ringing isn't normal. It hadn't occurred to me before that. I found a YouTube video of a "tinnitus demo" with the right sound and frequency. I could only start hearing it at about 80% volume. I gave my headphones to my partner and she said it was unbearable. I guess I'm used to my normal. I slightly regret knowing about it, I seem to be paying more attention to it now.
Barrin92 1y ago
I think that's most people. I never even knew that I had tinnitus (still don't know if I do frankly) because if you've put me in a dead silent room I've always heard some very low kind of 'static' for a lack of a better term. Most people I've ever talked to say the same thing, very few people have ever told me they hear absolutely nothing. Only after I kept reading about it did I start to notice it more, I think there's a really big psychological element to it.
- Arch-TK 1y ago
  Tinnitus (at least mine) sounds like a quieter version of the high pitched noise that movies like to use to emulate tinnitus due to a loud noise (explosion). It's a quieter version of the tinnitus you can personally get if you are close to a loud noise (don't do this intentionally, it is an indication that you've caused yourself some hearing damage). I've never heard static, I think that honestly sounds closer to what might actually be termed a noise floor. I know what a noise floor sounds like, and I've never heard a noise floor just due to quiet conditions... IDK, like I said, unfortunately science hasn't found a way to easily and temporarily swap ears.
1y ago

Nux 1y ago

White noise is key here. Luckily I do not have tinnitus, but I have small children and they sleep great with this on. And so do their parents, especially handy when going on holiday in noisy hotels etc. I can't go on holiday without it now! :) I've just downloaded this audio track with yt-dlp, placed it on an sdcard and I play it in a loop on a small speaker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMfPqeZjc2c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMfPqeZjc2c

netule 1y ago
This appears to be brown noise, not white noise. I have no affiliation with this macOS app, but I use it for the same reasons you do. It's paid, but worth it IMHO. It generates the noise on your own machine, and you can pick what kind of noise you want to hear: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/brown-noise-ambient-noise/id1519712394 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/brown-noise-ambient-noise/id15....
- dahart 1y ago
  Note that the site that hosts Neuromodulator also has free client-side color noise generators, white, brown, pick, etc. https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteNoiseGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteNoiseGenerator.php

foxfired 1y ago

I'm so happy mine is gone. It came in waves for me and funny it enough, it sounded like ocean waves crashing [0]. I used to play ocean sound for my kids to sleep, so I didn't notice that a good part of the sound wasn't coming from the device, but from me. It was unbearable for several weeks before it just disappeared. [0]:https://idiallo.com/byte-size/nightmare-on-ocean-street https://idiallo.com/byte-size/nightmare-on-ocean-street

tarr11 1y ago

The drumming technique works for me for a few minutes if I need some temporary relief https://treblehealth.com/tapping-technique-for-temporary-tinnitus-relief/ https://treblehealth.com/tapping-technique-for-temporary-tin...

y-c-o-m-b 1y ago

This is pretty cool, but unfortunately I have somatic tinnitus, so this doesn't work as well. The frequency/tone is very dynamic with my version of tinnitus and I can even change it by moving or massaging my neck (especially at the base of my skull) in certain ways. The good news is that also means there are brief windows of time where I have zero tinnitus because my neck and muscles are in a position to temporarily fix whatever underlying issue is causing it.

charleshn 1y ago
I can relate. I had tinnitus for over 10 years. My tinnitus was not the usual ringing type, it was some sort of humming, low frequency noise. The frequency was not constant, it could vary. It could sometimes stop for 5-10 minutes, e.g. after a hot bath. Went to see many specialists, tried everything, to no avail. One day I started experiencing recurrent tension and light pain in my neck and shoulder blades, so I started doing some neck and shoulder blades stretches several times a day. After a few weeks, the pain was gone, and I realised the tinnitus had stopped. This was maybe 2 years ago (I am still doing those exercises multiple times a day).
joe_the_user 1y ago
I assume that I have somatic tinnitus because my tinnitus seems very associated with tension in my jaw, should and head. But every medical practitioner I talk to about this just seems say "uh...huh...what" and makes no effort to understand or investigate the phenomena. I have found doing the Alexander Technique helps me quite a bit with the tinnitus.

gikkman 1y ago

I've had tinnitus since I was a child. It's probably due to a procedure they used to do around here an children with ear infections. Nowadays, I rarely notice it. But I remember in my teens, it sometimes was absolutely excruciating because I had no way of coping or tuning it out. This is very interesting. I might consider trying it. If there's something I'd really want to experience at least once, it's that "absolute silence" so many mention when being out in the forest it country side.

CGMthrowaway 1y ago
Ear tube surgery?
- WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
  > Ear tube surgery Almost certainly. My Dr feels mine created a weakness that enabled tinnitus to develop 4 decades later.
  - gikkman 1y ago
    Yeah, thanks. Didn't know the English term. I had them for years, and I've been told by my doctor that's the likely cause to me having it for as long as I can remember.
    - WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
      I'll add this. When I first mentioned it to my Dr (GP, not ENT), he looked in my ears and saw scar tissue. That was all he had to go on. I was also driving an old car w/ heavy cabin noise and the timing fits. I recently moved into a different old car and will see if anything changes. edit: The last time I tried to gauge my freq, I put it at about 1150Hz. Today I would say it's closer to 5300Hz. I guess ignoring it includes ignoring changes. ref: https://onlinetonegenerator.com/ https://onlinetonegenerator.com/

larrykubin 1y ago

For me personally, looking for solutions like this and researching tinnitus makes it more noticeable and worse. The best approach for me has been to pretend it doesn't exist and is insignificant, and even though it's still there after 7 years, it doesn't bother me as much anymore.

tinnythrowaway 1y ago
One of the insidious things about anxiety and panic disorders is the feedback loop of focusing on the distressing symptoms, which causes more distress, which creates more symptoms, etc. For many the "way out" for anxiety is to create space and simply allow the unwanted sensations and feelings to exist. Tinnitus and anxiety are comorbid. It's healthy to just practice letting it be if you can.
WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
> looking for solutions like this and researching tinnitus makes it more noticeable and worse. The best approach for me has been to pretend it doesn't exist and is insignificant This is me. I have a mental distance worked out. Posting in this thread will require a bit of recovery time. However, I recently learned by best friend (lives distant now but we chat daily) has tinnitus to the point where it affects discerning speech - so it's up there. But it doesn't bother him at all to think and talk about it. He's never felt any distress from it. I'd never heard anyone say that. I changed the topic because I didn't want to put his zen at risk.

reify 1y ago

I too had exactly the same constsnt ringing in my left ear. I could not get to sleep because the noise was so loud and intense. It reminded me of those spy films where they torture someone playing loud heavy metalcore all day and night. I had a X-ray, ultra-sound and two Consultants had a look. Both said that there was nothing wrong with my ear. No ear wax, no damage, no issues at all. They both mentioned that tense facial and neck muscles may be a cause. As well as the constant ringing, there is a sound like a central eating system, thumping and groaning away, in both my ears too. I initially thought the thumping and groaning was the Mrs snoring. I bought some earloops thinking my ears were too sensitive and I was somehow hearing noises from the houses down the road and the motorway traffic 3 miles away. to no avail, even with the earloops blocking all exterior noise, I still had the high pitched and low piched internal noises. I found a way to reduce the noise. I was laying in bed one night and I was relaxing my jaw when I noticed that if I opened my mouth and let my jaw hang loose all the noises stopped. So over a month or so I tried to train my jaw to be less tense and more relaxed. For me it worked. it was my jaw.

vinc 1y ago

I started hearing tinnitus a decade ago in a quiet room at night when I came back home after two years traveling the world at around 30 yo. Over the following months it became louder and noticed it more, then after maybe a year I could hear it all the time. During the day I could live with it but in the middle of the night I could not get back to sleep after waking up. It was causing a lot of anxiety because I was afraid of how much louder it may become. I was thinking that maybe I cough something during my travels so I went to see a few specialists but they found nothing. What I understand now is that the cause is probably all the vipassana meditation I did and some psychedelics I experimented with during my travel which opened some filters I had in my mind blocking sensor noise. It's the most plausible explanation for me. The noise was probably always there, or maybe it got louder when I become older, but I never noticed it until it became disturbing. A decade later the noise is still there, all the time, but it's not an issue at all anymore. It's not louder than before, and I have no negative feelings associated with it. I made peace with it and I can now easily ignore it, or to be more accurate, I can live with it and it'll disappear on its own after a short time until I put my attention back to it (voluntary or not). As I'm writing this in a quiet room it's very loud, but that's fine, it just sensor noise. Soon enough I'll stop hearing it if I don't focus on it. I hope reading this can help. I wish I had someone back then telling me that it would turn out okay to just accept it after doing some medical checks.

WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
> It was causing a lot of anxiety because I was afraid of how much louder it may become. Been there. After a few years of slow increase, mine suddenly cranked up to 11 (due to an infection, it turned out). There were a few rough weeks while I worked out counter & coping measures. I still need those measures from time to time. measures:beltone app & speakers at the head of my bed. A half doz (non-controlled) insomnia meds to rotate thru. I discovered UK Great Railway Journeys vids; they interfered with distress feedback loops

jounus 1y ago

My tinnitus is at 14khz, so every tone in this generator is too low.

stubish 1y ago
Do the sounds actually need to match in pitch? My understanding is these sounds attempt to stop your brain noticing or perhaps generating the tinnitus, rather than masking the noise with something louder (like people do with a fan or noise generators)
- esseph 1y ago
  In theory you could cancel the tinnitus out with a mirror/reverse waveform
  - stubish 1y ago
    Most tinnitus is neurological, and not sound but the perception of sound. Reverse waveform would just make it louder. At least for tinnitus from partial hearing loss, sound therapy seems to be about training or resetting neurons so they don't perceive sound when they are not receiving normal input.

stacktraceyo 1y ago

My AirPod pros gave me or really exacerbated my tinnitus

Mystery-Machine 1y ago
Same. I read that this only happens if you use noise canceling.
- stacktraceyo 1y ago
  That was my experience.

3shv 1y ago

Why is everyone here having tinnitus in their left ear? Including myself.

munchlax 1y ago
Because I can't hear you over the sound of stereo tinitus
epolanski 1y ago
Left ear too. Was noticing disproportionately more left ear sufferers but thought it was a bias.
senectus1 1y ago
huh... me too
dedoidoan 1y ago
I've recently noticed this too. Ive seen anons on /X say the same thing too... Left ear only ringing. Only hearing from these reports since 3i/atlas

rufus_foreman 1y ago

A bunch of people with tinnitus in their left ear. That's kind of weird. That's what I have. Anyone with tinnitus only in their right ear? And yeah, I've had it since the early 90's and it mostly only bothers me now when someone brings it up. Thanks Hacker News!

BobbyTables2 1y ago
I only have it in right ear. First kid had colic and measured crying at close to 100db, basically two months exposure to a jackhammer… Always held on right side — maybe a coincidence…
YZF 1y ago
Right ear here.

throwaway8902 1y ago

Lots of people posting in here about how they can’t figure out the cause of their tinnitus. Mine was ear wax. I went to an ENT doctor for an unrelated issue, he pulled a big plug of wax out of my ear, and my tinnitus (which was quite bad and had a very sudden onset) totally disappeared. If you have it, go get a doctor to look in your ear before you give up and decide to try to live with it.

_gmkt 1y ago

I have mine since 2007 in both ears. Simply accept it.

bookmtn 1y ago

Suggest trying Brown Noise for a bit of relief.

benbojangles 1y ago

36yrs with tinnitus, but this website looks like what happens when chatgpt and a tinnitus sufferer vibe codes better than nothing I suppose ... Or is it?

jonway 1y ago
No, it’s pretty old and created by an Audio Engineer.
fragmede 1y ago
Sounds like it's not, but even if it was made by a doctor that desperately wants to bring relief to the tinnitus sufferers of the world who used AI to create it, what difference would it make?

upcoming-sesame 1y ago

I started having tinnitus right after a COVID infection. it's not too bad, only one ear and it comes and goes pretty quickly. For me the COVID correlation is 100%, but I haven't found too much literature about it and wonder if anyone experienced it as well

cyberpunk 1y ago
Mine started after covid also, see further up tho it actually recently stopped and i couldn't figure out what had changed apart from taking a complex b supplement for a couple months.. Cant hurt maybe?
stubish 1y ago
Partial hearing loss is a not uncommon side effect of COVID infection, and tinnitus a not uncommon side effect of hearing loss. Anything that causes inflammation in the wrong areas can do it, but COVID is the main one right now and why audiologists are busy. There is a steroid treatment that apparently can help if prescribed almost immediately (48 hours?), but it didn't help in a family members case.

cryptoegorophy 1y ago

Whoever is suffering with tinnitus, try this - firmly press on your jaw muscles - if your tinnitus amplifies then it is related to your clenched jaw muscles! A therapy on these muscles will either reduce the tinnitus or will completely make it go away! Wish my doctor told me that years ago instead of doing useless ct scans and hearing checks. Wish you all silent nights!

aivisol 1y ago
Can you please tell what kind of therapy you did ?
- fragmede 1y ago
  physical therapy exercises, eg https://youtu.be/lwWDbZrGDPg https://youtu.be/lwWDbZrGDPg
  - cryptoegorophy 1y ago
    Yes. This pretty much. As soon as you know where to dig it becomes so much easier.
elric 1y ago
My tinnitus gets louder when I press my jaw/cheek, but no amount of neck/jaw therapy, exercises, or dry needling has made any difference. The scans and hearing tests are not useless, they help rule out the nastier causes of tinnitus. Calling them useless and going straight for jaw therapy is potentially dangerous advice for some. Sure, give it a try, but don't skip the rest of the diagnostic process.
- jooize 1y ago
  Masseter botox?

sayrer 1y ago

It is striking that it sounds like Brian Eno - An Ending (Ascent)

pipes 1y ago

Bit off topic but anyone here use white noise with their young kids, as a sleep aid? I'm really paranoid about giving them tinnitus. I am just back from holiday with extended family, I mentioned to my brother that the white noise he is using with his kids is extremely loud, he's using a phone app. To the point my daughter moved rooms out of his kids room. Google ai agrees with me that hearing damage is definitely a risk. I mentioned this to him and it went down really badly. I'll not mention it again.

BraverHeart 1y ago

How would replacing a buzzing sound problem with a synthetic buzzing solve the problem of... not hearing any buzzing? It's like trying to put out fire by lighting more fire, what am I missing?

dag11 1y ago
Because the brain is really weird, and tinnitus is often a completely internal neurological phenomenon. The sound machine linked here was really helpful for me when I had some distressing tinnitus due to concerts several years ago. If I listened to this somewhat loudly for several minutes, I'd then get about 2-3 minutes of what felt like pure silence. And for a little while after that as the tinnitus came back, my brain interpreted it as a gentle white noise instead of a continuous high-frequency tone. Then it went back to the tone a little while later. So if I was having trouble sleeping due to hyperfocusing on the tone I'd first pop in some airpods and listen to this for a few mins. Nowadays my tinnitus is much less bothersome. Probably a combination of objectively getting a little better, and me getting more acclimated to it. Plus I've been using good musician's ear plugs for all my concerts and raves since then which stopped it from getting worse.
alt187 1y ago
It's like how swimming is confortable but having a wet spot on your shirt isn't. Your tinnitus dilutes in the harmonic background noise.

throwaway233927 1y ago

There is a company called Auricle that is working on releasing their tinnitus treatment device. To my knowledge, they are the only tinnitus treatment device company with a properly blinded study showing efficacy. They have started taking outside (accredited) investors for those interested: https://www.auricleinc.com/joinourmission https://www.auricleinc.com/joinourmission

exasperaited 1y ago

Like others I have tinnitus that only now really rears its head in extremely quiet environments or when I see the word "tinnitus" or someone says it. Then I am reminded I have it. I think I have always had it; I became more aware it was abnormal and unusual in my twenties when I realised that TV dramas use a similar high pitch sound to indicate someone who has had sudden hearing damage (after an explosion etc.) and then it really bothered me for a while because I was living in a very quiet area. About six years ago now I was at a gig at a local venue when I experienced hearing loss due to a freakish bit of bass feedback. I was in a particular corner of the room and clearly experienced an overtone that almost nobody else heard at all, and at a volume nobody else experienced; pure bad luck. The sound made me run away automatically. I was thirty yards away before I even really comprehended that I was leaving. I experienced considerable hearing loss — muffled, incomplete hearing — for several days. Nearly complete for the first day. But when my tinnitus came back I realised I felt sure I was going to get my hearing back essentially entirely. It was curiously reassuring. I've never really been stressed by it since. So I have what I expect to be lifelong tinnitus. But also earplugs now.

lexx 1y ago

Have tinnitus 20 years now. Very loud. Can hear it in cinema while watching action movies. First year was depressing. I couldn't believe I will never enjoy silence again. Now I don't care. It's my little friend. Really. Life can be amazing even with extreme tinnitus

megadopechos 1y ago
Same. I got it when I was 19 from recording music and the audiologist said, "This is something only old people get, and even then very gradually. You will either go crazy or depressed." But I've gotten used to it and I wouldn't say it's been a huge detriment.
- diego_sandoval 1y ago
  > This is something only old people get Such a lie. I started getting mild tinnitus at 20 from playing in rock bands. Then at 24 it got less mild from partying. Then at 27 it got worse, I don't know why.

brianhama 1y ago

I suddenly lost the hearing in my left ear at the age of 24. One moment I was fine, eating a slice of pizza, the next moment I suddenly could sense something was wrong. I tried to stand up and walk, but my balance was gone. My ear felt full and there was a strange metallic echo. I waited about 24 hours and it hadn't gone away, so I went to the urgent care. By that time, just standing up was enough to cause me to vomit. I've had a pretty healthy life, so everything that was happening was rather disconcerting to me! The doctors at urgent care erroneously diagnosed the problem as dehydration as a result of my telling them I had played tennis earlier before the incident. They sent me home with instructions to drink lots of water. After waiting another 48 hours completely unable to hear or even stand up, I went back to the urgent care. This time, they diagnosed it as an ear infection and gave me antibiotics. Over the next two weeks, my balance slowly returned, but what little hearing I still had slowly deteriorated further. About a month after it started, I finally was referred to an audiologist that concluded that I was completely deaf in my left ear, possibly due to a viral infection, but there isn't any way to know for sure the cause. Had it been treated with steroids immediately, it might have saved my hearing. I am now 40 years old and have lived with being single sided deaf for half my life. Initially I didn't think much of it. I've slowly realized it has had a profound impact on my personality and sense of identity. I am much less social due to the difficulty I have hearing in group settings. Conversations are frustrating because it takes so much effort to hear the other person properly. I am reluctant to tell people about my condition because I don't want to be seen as handicapped in any way. Usually by the time I do end up telling someone, they say they had already figured as much. Tinnitus is a major daily issue as well. I can’t seem to understand how this website helps though.

Cerium 1y ago
My wife is deaf in her left ear as well. She doesn't usually tell people, but does tell people that she likes to walk on the left and sit on the left side of rectangular tables. One interesting effect is that I have developed a preference for sitting or walking on people's right hand side, especially with good friends or people I respect. The most interesting effect is I have noticed how much people take for granted the ability to sense where sound is coming from. Early on in our relationship I would occasionally perform "magic tricks" where I know immediately where a sound is. She would ask: how did you know where it was?

Cold_Miserable 1y ago

I have low pitch rumbling in my right ear. MRI was useless. Hearing test "perfect". Its hard to sleep without background noise. I think its a damaged blood vessel in my brain or neck: veinous stenosis.

elric 1y ago
It could well be that. An MRA and MRV could confirm or rule out those suspicions. If the damaged vessel can be found, it might be treatable by stenting. Check out whooshers (dot com) or /r/pulsatiletinnitus for two supportive communities with some good advice.

r2ob 1y ago

I've had tinnitus since 2018. I got used to it. it's not the worst thing for me. I'm 5'2" bald guy LoL If you're suffering from tinnitus, remember, at least you're not bald and 5'2" tall.

gigatree 1y ago
My condolences. At least you’re jacked.
grugagag 1y ago
Tinnitus is extremly annoying when you remember about it but as soon as your attention goes elsewhere it’s almost not bothering at all, you’re so used to it that it’s hard to notice it.
jamiek88 1y ago
Well shorter guys live ~5 years longer it appears so you've got that going for you!
butlike 1y ago
Be nice to yourself. It's the only way.

shinycode 1y ago

I thought I was alone but there is so many comments I wonder how much people is there and if it’s really random or if there is common sources like some stress, airpods or some kind of psychoacoustic event. I have like 3 different frequencies and it « exploded » in a stressful event at work. I always thought it was music all day with AirPods but it might be stress actually because everytime I’m tired and stressed it’s unbearable. A nightmare that we learn to live with. I often ask myself what the sound would look like if demodulated and de-pitched if that makes sense. It might seem weird but a voice modulated at a very high frequency and pitch might look like those kind of noises or I am wrong ?

elric 1y ago
Stress and "posture" are certainly big contributors. Any kind of pressure on the veins and nerves around the ear can cause tinnitus, which includes the muscles in your neck, many of which attach to your shoulders. Sitting at a desk all day, or looking down at a phone, is probably a big contributing factor for many of us. Stress can also cause us to subconsciously clench our jaws, which again can contribute. Feeling stressed or fatigued certainly lowers my mental tolerance for annoying bullshit like tinnitus.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- shinycode 1y ago
  Very interesting because I just noticed that when doing an effort like clenching my jaw or something that mobilize neck muscles the sound is x10. So maybe because of bad posture along the years my baseline is higher than it should be ?

fernly 1y ago

None of the sliders sound anything at all like my tinnitus, which is a very high complex hiss, maybe up around 6-9Khz? and steady, or varying slowly in volume. But no beeps or boops like this system.

austinjp 1y ago
It's not meant to mimic tinnitus, it's intended to help you cope with tinnitus. Tweak the settings until you find an arrangement that helps you. Of course, there are no guarantees. Personally, I like it.

toxicplanes1 1y ago

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altairprime 1y ago

I wish this would have more upper range sounds; it barely touches on the >15khz range at all and is at least two octaves below my tinnitus across the board.

abrichr 1y ago

See also: https://audionotch.com/app/tune/ https://audionotch.com/app/tune/

unit149 1y ago

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rhyperior 1y ago

Periodically my tinnitus will disappear. When it does, it often takes a bit of time to consciously figure out what’s different and then I realize my constant buzzing companion has gone away. The last time it disappeared I had a head cold and congestion and that was enough to provide glorious, complete silence.

dahart 1y ago

The white burst generator reduces my tinnitus for a while. It’s less effective than it used to be, but when the silence part of the cycle starts, I can hear my tinnitus drop in volume. https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteBurstsNoiseGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteBurstsNoiseGenerator.... Neuromodulator certainly masks my tinnitus, but doesn’t reduce it. Sometimes I feel like it’s a little worse when I turn off the sound. Mynoise.net is great though. The speech jammer is awesome in noisy places, and layering noise and thunderstorms helps me work. I’m a happy subscriber.

Enk1du 1y ago
I play with the timers to layer different sounds in and out. It's the best pomodoro timer out there, for me.

ozozozd 1y ago

I’ve noticed that my tinnitus increases significantly with intense exercise, specifically exercises that affect the neck/shoulder area like pull ups. If you have tinnitus, it’s worth a try to massage or work on relaxing those areas.

mickelsen 1y ago
Yup, I had massive success with a theragun around the traps, and gentle massage around the SCM area for the ocassional flare up. Also caffeine use, vigorous exercise, loud fans, teeth clenching and sleeping on the side with the neck bent almost reliably triggers it back. But interestingly, after the initial flare during the pandemic and allergy season, the noise subsided with oral steroids. Now it's the occasional reminder maybe a few times a month, always the right ear, then it goes away.

roninski 1y ago

For me, getting tinnitus was most likely me being dumb and standing right in front of a massive wall of speakers without earplugs, when I went to see The Bug performing. It was somewhere around 2010 and I wasn't nearly as aware of what it could've caused as I am now. I got this ringing in my right ear ever since, and just learned to live with it.

PeterStuer 1y ago

I got tinnitus from a wornout hardisk bearing in a Toshiba laptop over 20 years ago. You don't realize how loud and close they are to your ear until it is too late.

harvey9 1y ago

I like that they chose sending an email newsletter over having a social media channel - avoiding another type of unwanted noise.

beingfit 1y ago

I’m confused. What if none of the tones or sliders match the sound of my tinnitus? Mine is a very low frequency hum or buzz. I find all the sliders on this page to be a high frequency sound.

skopje 1y ago

My first reaction to this was, "this is dumb and annoying", and then I played with it for a few minutes and found a set of levels that were causing my symptoms to briefly go away. It still isn't perfect, but a combination of Steve Seq and Pulses High creates "gaps" in my tinnitus, where my brain seems to "forget" about it briefly and I don't hear it. But then it comes back a millisecond or so later. I don't think I could get work done with this on all day, but it has more effect on my symptoms than other websites I've tried. It's really interesting, like there are brief (millisecond) periods of no tinnitus. [I've had it in my left ear for probably 35 years (I played in a punk band in the early 80's with no hearing protection but it didn't show up until a decade later).] Keep at it, I think you're on to something!

butlike 1y ago

Tinnitus is one of the ones that scares me. There's no accepted cure, and a loud impulse of noise can permanently damage the ears. I've always thought of it as a sunburn; you don't get cancer the first time, but if one keeps going out in the sun, one's chances go up. If I keep going to shows without hearing protection, then I might not get tinnitus the first time, but eventually the damage will be done. It's why I wear hearing protection every time. That all being said, this looks promising and I'm glad people are working in this space.