37 Years of Tinnitus Therapy. What Works. Part Three

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         37 Years of Tinnitus Therapy.  What Works. Part Three

         What I have found helps tinnitus patients.

Masking

         If you shine a bright light into the eye, the nerves are discharged and then the person is blinded for a while until the nerves build up for another charge. Similarly if you put in a sound that discharges neurons, then that replaces the inner sound. In masking, the individual hears the tinnitus sound from a sound generator at such a low volume that it is not stressful. By putting into the ear a white noise or the tinnitus sound, one “gets used to it” so that the stress reaction is reduced.  Gradually the masking sound can be reduced.

Distraction

         I have my patients play Broadway Musicals much of the time. The brain pays attention to the words as well as the music so there is good distraction. Many pay TV channels have a musical channel that can be used.  Most libraries rent these. For falling asleep with tinnitus, various sound generators work. I have my patients turn on the TV to programs of no interest to them. For men, it is the shopping channel. For most women it is the sports channel.

Neuroplasticity

         Today we understand that one part of the brain can be damaged and with practice, another part of the brain can take over that function. George suffered a stroke that affected his speech center. Brain tests show that no glycogen (the brain food) is being utilized in his speech center. With therapy, George learns to speak again.  Brain tests show a different part of the brain utilizing glycogen when he speaks. In the military, soldiers with brain injuries have been rehabilitated when, through practice, other parts of the brain take over.

         The goal of tinnitus therapy is to “fix” the brain so that the tinnitus is replaced or negated.

Gognitive Therapy

         Here the therapist trains the patient to understand that the tinnitus is not a danger, a threat.  Nor is it some form of punishment or disease.  This reduces the stress reaction, as well as emotional traumas.

Lay New Tracks

         Various forms of altered sound or music are introduced with repetition and listened to for hours. Some reports claim good results. One theory is that these repetitious sounds lay new tracks in the brain that displaces the tinnitus track.  Whether altered sounds are better than regular music is not established yet.  I have my patients select relaxing music that they like and play it four hours a day, more or less in the background for several hours a day.

Nerve enhancement

         This is done by recording your tinnitus sound on an iPod. Then place the iPod sound into the normal ear.  Adjust the volume of the iPod to match the volume of the tinnitus in the affected ear. Then, while relaxed, lower the iPod volume. This shows the affected ear “what to do” to match that lower volume.  Do this while relaxed fifteen minutes a day. Each day, lower the iPod sound volume further. For many patients the brain will lower the tinnitus sound when it “sees” what to do right.

Before the tinnitus

         In many patients we are not able to determine what started the tinnitus. We do know that there is a certain change in physiology. Many theories abound.  Too little vitamin B6?  Or antioxidants? Or Alpha Lipoic acid? Dozens of studies have claimed “good” results for tinnitus with these and others elements. The problem is that there is a placebo effect involved when testing these products.  The second problem is that we have no way of knowing which vitamin might be “deficient” for most of the elements.  But it is reasonable that there is a difference in the physiology between before the tinnitus and now.  One solution is to replicate the physiology before the tinnitus. Using all senses, spend time when you had fun at the party, the pleasure of your first car, the hike you enjoyed, or a fun date. 

         We know that actors who play a happy role one week and a sad depressed role the next week show changes in their physiology. Perhaps, in some patients recalling that physiology before tinntus might trigger a healing.  To assist this process, I have my patients take a capsule called Ear Aid™.  This is a combination of the products known in test animals to improve hearing physiology.

Use a hearing aid

         There is one method for helping tinnitus that has been proven universally. If a hearing loss is present, using a hearing aid will improve those symptoms. With a hearing aid you get a combination of masking the tinnitus, distraction because you hear outside sounds better, and the utility of hearing better.

Conclusion:

         The purpose of this three part series is to explain what tinnitus is and what can help these symptoms.  It is also a means of explaining why some persons swear they got relief by taking Bora Bora Root, picked by virgins in Bora Bora in the light of a full moon.

         I hope these explanations will be of value. I recommend you check out the Tinnitus section of Stessed? Anxiety? Your Cure is in the Mirror for more information and exercises.