Live data from Hacker News

An FDA approved device offers a new treatment for tinnitus

npr.org

11–20 of 184 posts

Re: An FDA approved device offers a new treatment for tinnitus

#11
post #4

> It includes a plastic mouthpiece with stainless steel electrodes that electrically stimulate the tongue. All I can picture is the device John Lithgow uses in Buckaroo Banzai. I might need to try this soon. I've had tinnitus for about 6 months after a cold. Last week, the doctor said my hearing is perfect and to just wait it out. It's frustrating.

IMO there's not research into it as a brain issue. Especially in medicine where we pretend there's a clean biological separation between provider specialties.

Re: An FDA approved device offers a new treatment for tinnitus

#13

cricket sleep music seems to be the common go-to cure. But an elevated one to check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke2BopotSIU

> cricket sleep music seems to be the common go-to cure.

I'll check it out but the video card announces 4.5khz virtues. I'm at 11.5khz.

I've been using a streaming rain channel after I realized that a running tub quiets it down more than anything else.

For a cause, my best theory is 6 years of road road/engine noise from the current car. Most of us have a theory; some of us might even be right.

Re: An FDA approved device offers a new treatment for tinnitus

#14
post #9

Hmm, seems interesting but it's intended to take the "focus" off of the ringing rather than actually fix the underlying cause. Personally, having tinnitus for so long I don't even notice it anymore; it would be nice to experience complete "silence" again though.

It doesn’t sound to me like it would help you in that case, if it is just about attention.

I have tinnitus as well and after months of focusing on it trying to “cure” it, I learned to adapt and now it is better and doesn’t keep me up at night or interfere with anything. This sounds like a shortcut to the acceptance that patients need to achieve in order to move on. But maybe it would make a real difference to very high intensity patients.

Re: An FDA approved device offers a new treatment for tinnitus

#15
post #9

Hmm, seems interesting but it's intended to take the "focus" off of the ringing rather than actually fix the underlying cause. Personally, having tinnitus for so long I don't even notice it anymore; it would be nice to experience complete "silence" again though.

I don't understand it that way.

My understanding of the underlying cause of tinnitus iirc, is that it's caused by damage to hair cells in your inner ear. Our brains interpret this damage and loss of signal as a signal; thus, we hear a high-pitched tone even when it is silent.

Training your brain to ignore this seems like treating the underlying cause, which is a misinterpretation of auditory signals or the lack thereof.

I have tinnitus but most times I don't notice it. Go to a loud venue for a while and even with earplugs it noticeably comes back for up to a week or two.

Re: An FDA approved device offers a new treatment for tinnitus

#16
post #4

> It includes a plastic mouthpiece with stainless steel electrodes that electrically stimulate the tongue. All I can picture is the device John Lithgow uses in Buckaroo Banzai. I might need to try this soon. I've had tinnitus for about 6 months after a cold. Last week, the doctor said my hearing is perfect and to just wait it out. It's frustrating.

It’s frustrating, I’ve been through that - hearing is fine, but tinnitus persists.

There’s no single recommended treatment studied by medicine so far. I’m not a doctor but I visited multiple doctors and tried many things, and I’m doing better now.

The obvious stuff:

- Stress management.

- Cut caffeine and alcohol. These substances affect blood flow of the inner ear.

- Do you have neck pain? Pain in the neck region affects the inner ear. Seek physiotherapy.

- Do you grind teeth or snore while sleeping? Seek TMJ disorder treatment.

Less obvious stuff:

- Supplement magnesium. Magnesium chelated is best. Most people are lacking it today, it is a muscle relaxant and also had an important effect to regulate blood flow.

- Ginko biloba tea or extract can help on headache and promotes blood flow on the brain as well. Must be consumed in small quantities as it has a strong blood thinner effect, so if you can get standardized capsules is best.

- B6/B12 rich diet or supplementation to help repair damaged nervous cells of the inner ear after infection.

The treatments are a mix of things that help repair the inner ear, promote blood flow and avoid pain signals in the area.

Re: An FDA approved device offers a new treatment for tinnitus

#17
post #9

Hmm, seems interesting but it's intended to take the "focus" off of the ringing rather than actually fix the underlying cause. Personally, having tinnitus for so long I don't even notice it anymore; it would be nice to experience complete "silence" again though.

Are you implying the underlying cause is never a brain malfunction?

I think of it a little like phantom limb pains If you feel pain in a hand or foot that you no longer have, retraining your brain is one way to fix it. Maybe regrowing a foot would be better, but we don't know how to do that.

Re: An FDA approved device offers a new treatment for tinnitus

#19
35 year old male. I developed tinnitus in my left ear only after covid last December. It's been constant since December 21st, 2023.

I have an amazingly huge level of empathy of anyone dealing with this - the first few days were some of the longest of my life. Through it all so far, it's amazing how little we seem to know about tinnitus - TL;DR my doctors have said we don't have any great answers for it.

Thanks for posting the link - I will try any "trick" or treatment for this.

Post reply on HN