Ask HN: Has anyone gotten complete, permanent relief from tinnitus?

As far as I can tell, there's no universally accepted "cure" for tinnitus, but there are a number of "therapies" out there, some of which seem to prey upon people looking for relief but some of which seem plausible.

I'm wondering if any subscribers here have had tinnitus and experience permanent relief from the ringing? Not just reduction, but actual permanent relief that never comes back even when doing things that previously worsened the tinnitus.

If you can't tell, I'm trying to establish an "existence proof" here, if no one has ever gotten permanent relief then it seems like it might not be worth bothering with the "symptom reduction" therapies since they would most likely lead to focusing on the symptoms more intensely.

It's impossible to cure.

The 'ringing' sound people hear isn't actually a sound. It is how the brain processes signals produced by damaged Stereocilia.

If the 'ringing' is constant it means the cilia are permanently damaged. While it would, in theory, be possible to use surgery on the ear and some sort of lazer to completely remove all damaged cilia to avoid them outputting a damaged signal, this procedure would be incredibly invasive and risky. I don't believe it's ever been done and i would find it hard to believe any Otolaryngologist willing to try.

In my case it has 2 modes. Super loud and very attenuated. I still have no idea what triggers it, I thought it was loud noises, caffeine, tiredness etc, but seems like its not a 100% rule. I have been super tired and done all those things and suddenly its super attenuated. So it's super random. Im sure for certain people there must be something that helps reduce it, maybe something related to the nervous system. I honestly don’t mind it anymore as long as I can hear. You can learn to tune it out for sure

One month was the worst point. It gets better from there until it's unnoticeable unless in a silent room. You will be surprised how the brain is able to both cancel out and then rebalance the sound input to normal (should your tinnitus be one-sided). Same goes for "cracks" that you might hear if the sounds are too loud -- they also go away in time.

I might as well note that anecdotally, barotrauma makes the tinnitus better temporarily. Maybe there is an explanation -- traumatic tinnitus can be at least alleviated by going into an overpressurization chamber immediately after the traumatic event. It seems like even after the fact, a pressure difference has temporary effect. For example, my tinnitus feels better after ascend on flights, even though in this case it's underpressure.

The best motivational video that I still think of after 10 years is this: https://youtu.be/eOU0JhkHY3w

I'm a physician with lifelong bilateral tinnitus. Multiple pitches, quite loud, and acutely worse on the right side for the last 1.5 years or so (with some slight hearing loss).

I've spent a lot of time on PubMed, but so far I've not found anything that helps mine, even partially or temporarily. I've consulted with close friends that have significant expertise is relevant fields, which has not been fruitful.

Thankfully it's just part of existence as I've always known it, and so it's usually not too difficult, but can really be maddening when trying to fall asleep.