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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?

#71

Post by FLT8 »

fexed wrote: post #47

I've had it since I can remember. One of my earliest memories, I was 1 or 2 years old, was "playing" with it while falling asleep at night: I'd focus on it and made the ringing grow louder and louder till it was the only sound in my ears, then it steadily grew quiter till I fell asleep. Nowadays, I'm 27 years old, my brain filters it out, but I can still hear it when it's quite. Perhaps it's one of the reasons I alwa…

Also had it as long as I remember, at least since I was about 7 or so, which makes me think it's not related to high level noise exposure. I know that because I have clear memories of asking other kids whether in times of silence they could hear anything. It surprised me that they couldn't.

My tinnitus is a kind of hissing, predominantly at a very high pitch. I'm in my mid 40's so grew up around CRT TVs. I think it's about the 15kHz horizontal refresh frequency, which makes me wonder whether my brain was trained at a young age to expect CRT TV sounds to be around and now it's just a permanent artefact, like a noise cancellation circuit that's gone wrong.

I find it gets worse if I'm run down, or eg. If I drink too much alcohol, or if I wear headphones for too long.

If I think about it, I can hear it at any time, but generally it's not too bad. I know it's not very helpful, but acceptance of it and shifting focus to other things definitely helps me, to the point that it usually fades away and is generally not noticeable at all.

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

#72

Post by lazy_moderator1 »

ddmf wrote: post #56

My tinnitus is there pretty much all of the time, and then for an hour or so it will disappear. Over the last year or so I've developed really bad hyperacusis, this coupled with misophonia had made me severely suicidal, I even contacted the local mental health services and autism charities. I've reduced that by wearing coloured lenses, I had been diagnosed with irlen but I see it as a little bit woo, however the colo…

where did you get the glasses from?

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

#74

Post by dataengineer56 »

vohk wrote: post #45
riku_iki wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but can really be maddening when trying to fall asleep does white noise help?..

Not the same user, but I've found the most relief from pink noise like rain or a waterfall played through decent speakers. I find it to be easier on the ears and less distracting than white noise. I'd recommend anyone suffering play around with the generators on myNoise. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they kept me going when I was first adjusting to the ringing. https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/rainNoiseGener…

I can't sleep with any colour of noise from a speaker, but a physical fan in the corner of the room does wonders.

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

#76

Post by wruza »

stuxnet79 wrote: post #29
deadbolt wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Your tinnitus is likely being caused by tight sternocleidomastoid muscles (SCM). I would look into stretches to resolve that.

I thought that works because it creates a complex of sensations that overload your audio “tract”. For example if I do the described trick without isolating/covering my my ears with palms, it does nothing. The difference is not in pressure, but in the fact whether I can/can’t deep-hear the punches that my fingers create. Not a doctor, but something tells me there’s more to that. All scans shown that I have zig-zagged vessels in my neck, but within what they see as a “norm”.

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

#77

Post by sinuhe69 »

c7DJTLrn wrote: post #38

I'll use this thread as an opportunity to say this: if you ever have sudden hearing loss in one or both ears, seek immediate medical attention. Demand a proper consultation and don't take "give it a few weeks" as an answer from a GP. Sudden hearing loss can be reversed with prompt steroid injections but if it's left then it will become permanent. My mother woke up one day with no hearing in one ear. Unfortunately, by…

So far I can see, sudden loss of any sense (gettin hearing, smell, sight) is always a cause for concern. I will request my doctor to do a deep investigation.

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

#78

Post by P-Nuts »

r_sz wrote: post #75

I'm just speculating here. If somehow we could determine the exact waveform of the ringing, wouldn't be possible to just play the reverse waveform and cancel it out? Like how active noise cancelling headphones are doing.

My tinnitus, that my second covid infection gave me, is outside my current hearing frequency range.

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

#79

Post by steve1977 »

r_sz wrote: post #75

I'm just speculating here. If somehow we could determine the exact waveform of the ringing, wouldn't be possible to just play the reverse waveform and cancel it out? Like how active noise cancelling headphones are doing.

Unlikely, because tinnitus is (from what I understand) a malfunction of the auditory part of the brain. There is nothing physical to cancel out.

Also, mine for example, is not completely static.

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

#80

Post by bmitc »

r_sz wrote: post #75

I'm just speculating here. If somehow we could determine the exact waveform of the ringing, wouldn't be possible to just play the reverse waveform and cancel it out? Like how active noise cancelling headphones are doing.

The ringing is from the nerves and not an actual acoustical wave, isn't it?
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