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

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

#11

Post by iamthemonster »

tikkun wrote: post #2

Yes, mine is not solved in theory but is solved in practice. The ringing is still there if I listen for it, but it’s effectively unnoticeable and I’m now unbothered by it. The solution that worked for my was basically “acceptance and commitment therapy” - I think I learned it from a book written by a Dr Russell or something like that. Would recommend, am very glad I did it. It seems kind of kooky though, it’s almost…

Dr Russ Harris: https://www.actmindfully.com.au/free-stuff/

It's not too kooky nowadays, it's a relatively widely practiced approach used by clinical psychologists.

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

#12

Post by riku_iki »

n8henrie wrote: post #9

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. Thankful…

> but can really be maddening when trying to fall asleep

does white noise help?..

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

#14

Post by deadbolt »

RelativeDelta wrote: post #3

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 i…

There's a trick which I can't recall the name of, which involves thumping your fingers across the back of your neck, which temporarily resolves tinnitus in some people. I have very mild tinnitus, and have noticed that that does quiet it.

This is a question for everyone I suppose, but does anyone know why that works? Could it be possible to develop an implant or something which generates the same effect?

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

#15

Post by mwint »

an_aparallel wrote: post #6

i think there is research being done on cilia regeneration: https://news.mit.edu/2022/frequency-therapeutics-hearing-reg... obviously time to get approved/confirm it works - etc lies ahead. other than that - i had taken up drums and was paranoid of tinnitus, i could hear ringing etc. once i got audiologist confirmation my hearing was 20/20 guess what? It went away. Anxiety levels can affect it...obviously it was mild…

> audiologist confirmation my hearing was 20/20

it’s possible you didn’t go to an audiologist.

(/s)

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

#16

Post by rewgs »

deadbolt wrote: post #14
RelativeDelta wrote: post #3

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 i…

There's a trick which I can't recall the name of, which involves thumping your fingers across the back of your neck, which temporarily resolves tinnitus in some people. I have very mild tinnitus, and have noticed that that does quiet it. This is a question for everyone I suppose, but does anyone know why that works? Could it be possible to develop an implant or something which generates the same effect?

It works for people that have tinnitus due to tight neck muscles. Tinnitus due to damaged ears is a whole different beast.

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

#17

Post by dataflow »

RelativeDelta wrote: post #3

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 i…

> The 'ringing' sound people hear isn't actually a sound.

Sometimes it is, apparently?

"If you have pulsatile tinnitus, your doctor may be able to hear your tinnitus when he or she does an examination (objective tinnitus)."

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tinnitus/symp...

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

#18

Post by rewgs »

Not yet. I have absolutely insane tinnitus -- crazy high pitched, can hear it over any sound, too many tones to count. Also have hyperacusis but that's another topic. In any case, historically I've paid a lot of attention to this space.

Perhaps the most notable attempt at a cure was Frequency Therapeutics, whose efforts were promising, but unfortunately didn't pan out.

There's a constant churn of biotech companies trying to solve this, as curing tinnitus (and/or hearing loss) would be a goldmine, but no one has really gotten anywhere yet.

If you want to stay on top of it, the /r/tinnitusresearch is a pretty good hub, and there are a few mailing lists out there.

That said, over time I found that ceasing to follow all the promises and inevitable disappointments helped me better achieve the only real "treatment" we have right now, which is accepting it and slowly learning to live with it.

When there's a real deal cure, you'll know about it. Until then, I suggest not paying attention to the churn and the extremely dubious "treatments" out there.

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

#20

Post by beezlewax »

Considering all of our hearing gets damaged slowly over the course of our lives, why does tinnitus only effect some people? I've had it for short periods of time after listening to loud live music, but hours later it just fades out to disappear. A musician once told me that it was the sound of your ear getting damaged and when you hear that you'll likely never hear those frequencies again.

I'm not convinced it's an entirely physical issue though. Our brains can filter out all kinds of excessive external stimuli both visual and from other senses so why not that ringing also?

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