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All the treatments to combat tinnitus that I have tried

It seems incredible that 10 months have passed since that day when the ringing in my ears began. I had the faith that my tinnitus would be over in just a few weeks.

And it can not be said that I lacked the desire to get better, yours truly has tried everything.

During these months I have devoted myself, body and soul, to find a method that relieves my tinnitus: corticosteroids, white noise, group therapy, music therapy, Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and many others…

(Note: go to this article to read about “What is tinnitus, its causes and treatments“)

Have they all worked? Absolutely not. Have some worked? To my surprise, yes. Would I do it all in the same order if I went back to the day I developed tinnitus? Certainly not! If I started over again I would do everything in a different order.

But first let’s take a look at the 12 treatments that I have tried so far and the results obtained:

1. Corticosteroids

It was the first thing the doctor prescribed. Corticosteroids are hormones that belong to the steroids group of medicines, and they can help regulate inflammation.

The doctor said that it was likely that my tinnitus would not improve but, despite the endless list of side effects, it was worth trying, because maybe they would relieve me a little.

Result: Two weeks of taking corticosteroids did not reduce the discomfort caused by the ringing at all and the doctor ended the treatment.

2. Tranquilizers

Tranquilizers such as lorazepam act on the psychic state, helping the person to relax and sleep.

The second time I went to the doctor it had been a month since I developed my tinnitus and had not managed to sleep more than three hours in a row ever since. At this point, the doctor prescribed Orfidal to take at night in order to get some rest.

Result: Tranquilizers did help me to sleep, but it is not the solution and I only used them on few occasions, because you can quickly become dependent on them.

3. White noise

White noise is a constant artificial noise that camouflages other sounds, which can help you temporarily block the ringing in your ears.

Result: I used the white noise application on my tablet for at least two months to sleep at night, and it actually works. While listening to the white noise you do not hear the ringing, which relieves you deeply if you suffer from tinnitus. In the end my brain began to get used to the ringing in the ears and what started to bother me was the white noise, so I ended up stop using it.

4. Personal psychological therapy

This is one-on-one therapy with a psychologist based merely on expressing how you feel and unburden yourself.

Result: In my case, I did not attend the second session. Talking about my tinnitus in general with a psychologist did not improve the symptoms or my attitude towards them. The psychologist who was assigned to me did not know what tinnitus was and she seemed rather horrified when I was telling her, so it was not a very useful therapy in my case.

5. Group informational therapy

It is therapy based on sharing experiences of people who are living the same as you and directed by a professional expert in the field.

I received this therapy at The Royal London Hospital, subsidised by the Health Care System of the United Kingdom (NHS), thanks to one of the doctors that had been assigned to me.

The doctor referred me to this therapy when I had already been experiencing tinnitus for about 6 months and only decided to refer me to it because after so many months I still felt stressed and he took pity on me.

Result: Group therapy was extremely beneficial. A wonderful therapist gave us a presentation about what happens in detail in the ear when we get tinnitus and for the first time I was able to understand what exactly it was.

From that moment, my attitude towards my tinnitus changed radically. I understood that tinnitus did not harm other functions at all and that our daily life is full of other sounds that do not affect us, so why does this?

It was also the first time I met other people with tinnitus, who told their story, and we were able to share experiences!

This SHOULD BE the first measure recommended to all patients with tinnitus, instead of leaving us to our fate. Information about a disease or condition is key so that patients do not feel scared or sad and can know exactly what is happening to them.

If social security can provide this service after 6 months of developing the condition, I don’t see why this should not be a standard measure when treating patients with tinnitus. How many cases of depression could have been avoided…

6. Music therapy

It is therapy based on binaural music, where music is presented to each ear with a different musical frequency creating an auditory illusion. In this way it is believed that our brain changes to a different state of consciousness.

Result: The scientific results have not been able to conclude that this type of therapy really works, but in my case it does have a relaxing effect.

7. Traditional Chinese Medicine

If, upon getting ill, our Western medicine treats every organ of our body individually, Chinese medicine treats the body as a whole.

Therefore, Western medicine bases the treatment of tinnitus on therapies focused on the ear, while Chinese medicine can base it on problems in the kidney or the liver, for example.

Result: Western medicine does not support the treatment of tinnitus with alternative medicine, however Chinese medicine is millenary and has been treating tinnitus successfully in thousands of patients. In my case, the volume of my ringing did decrease.

(Note: go to this article to read about “The treatment I had based on Chinese medicine and its amazing results“)

8. Acupuncture

Acupuncture consists of the introduction of very fine needles in certain points of the human body to relieve pain and cure certain diseases.

Result: I received acupuncture in my left ear, and despite the pain and the faith I already had in traditional Chinese medicine, there was no improvement in my tinnitus and the whole experience was very painful and unpleasant, although I only had one session and it does not seem enough to determine the success of the treatment.

9. Change of diet

It has been proven that increases in blood pressure or hypertension can cause tinnitus. And since the consumption of red meat can increase blood pressure, it has been suggested that eliminating red meat from the diet could improve the symptoms of tinnitus.

Result: It has been several months since I changed my diet according to this theory, although the level of my ringing has not changed.

10. Buddhist meditation

Buddhist meditation is a practice aimed at freeing the mind of the thousands of thoughts that it has during the day (most of them useless that waste energy unnecessarily) with the aim of reducing brain activity and reaching a state of inner peace and relaxation. This philosophy is to reach a state where nothing negative affects us in our lives.

Result: In my case, meditation has turned out to be one of the best therapies I have tried, whose benefits extend to all areas of my life. For 3 months, 20 minutes of Buddhist meditation every morning are having a great positive impact on my quality of sleep and the total disappearance of stress from my life.

This practice requires a lot of perseverance and patience, but practising it in a group from time to time and checking that my life is in harmony for the first time ever helps me to maintain the motivation to continue meditating.

11. Vitamin supplements

There are certain supplements whose benefit in patients with tinnitus has been scientifically proven. This is the case of zinc, magnesium, vitamins C and B12 and the Ginkgo biloba plant.

(Note: go to this article to read about “Which Gilkgo biloba does work with your tinnitus“)

Result: In my case, I can not say if these supplements are definitely having a positive benefit in my tinnitus, because there are many methods that I followed at the same time and I can not attribute their success to only one, but what is certain is that my condition has not worsened in the months since I have been taking the supplements!

12. Cognitive-behavioral therapy

It is a psychological treatment that helps to modify the negative thoughts and feelings of the patient. One thing is the facts but the though about those fact are a whole different kettle of fish.

Having ringing in your ears is a fact, the problem is the negative thoughts we develop about that fact. With cognitive-behavioural therapy the psychologist teaches you guidelines to stop the negative current of thoughts and re-program your brain.

Result: It is a very beneficial therapy and its success has been statistically proven. In my case it has helped me obtain techniques to change the negative view about the symptoms of tinnitus.

If I Had To Start Over, What Therapies Would I Use?

It has been almost a year of this long journey that I have spent struggling with my tinnitus, and after all the hours of study and research that I have devoted to it, plus my personal experience, I realise how little I knew then about this rare condition.

If I had to start from scratch right now, I’m sure that by doing the following steps, I would have avoided a lot of wasted energy in the wrong places:

STEP 1: Group informational therapy

It is the first measure that SHOULD BE PROVIDED to the patient when they are diagnosed with tinnitus, so that they can have something as important as information about what actually happens to them.

STEP 2: White noise

The use of white noise can help us sleep from the first night, not to add fatigue and stress to our new situation with tinnitus.

STEP 3: Chinese Traditional Medicine

The use of herbs by traditional Chinese medicine has been effective in many cases of tinnitus, and although it is not scientifically proven, in my case it did reduce the volume of my tinnitus even if did not disappear completely.

STEP 4: Cognitive-behavioral therapy

Learning to re-educate our mind to observe the facts with objectivity and not add negativity and stress is a key learning that we can apply to all the challenges that may arise in our lives.

STEP 5: Buddhist meditation

This practice aims to achieve inner peace and therefore to not be at the mercy of what happens to us in our lives, and is also key in the disappearance of stress and negative feelings, so we really should all practice it even in the absence of tinnitus!