Thread: Any Tinnitus Sufferers out there?

I assume there are. I've had it (constant ringing in the ears) since childhood. I've more or less learned to live with it (don't have a choice!). Recently I went in for a hearing test. My hearing is normal and even better than normal on the low frequencies and my Tinnitus is on the higher end of the spectrum in regard to its loudness.

One thing I learned that I never knew: Apparently Tinnitus signals the brain's fight or flight response. It was explained to me that in effect, Tinnitus puts your brain on alert.....all....the....time. No wonder I've felt like I've never been able to fully relax!

The audiologist wanted to hook me up with some iPod like device for sound therapy that if used for six months helps in many cases by rewiring the brain to lessen the volume of the ringing. There was a "good" unit and a "better" unit. The good unit was $2800 and the better $4600. No to either one. Crazy.

It did get me Googling though and I stumbled on a site that rather than just provide common masking sounds (white noise, nature sounds, etc) it has you determine, if you're able to, the frequency of the Tinnitus. Then, that frequency is removed from the sounds you have the choice of listening to. "Notched" therapy, apparently. $100 for customized sounds with the frequency of my Tinnitus "notched" out. I found that my ringing is at 7500 Hertz. There's a free tool on the site that helps you figure out the frequency of your Tinnitus.

Anyway, I've been trying to do the sound therapy (I'm doing it right now, actually) every day for about an hour total and I've been doing this for less than one week. I'm encouraged to say I think it's working. I'm less aware of my Tinnitus and I think the volume of it is a bit lower. A main thing I've found is that when I'm listening to the sound therapy, as soon as I put on the headphones, it's like my brain goes "Ahhhhhhhh". You know when you have a muscle cramp like a foot cramp and then the muscle just relaxes? It's like Tinnitus is a brain cramp all the time and I never really realized it whereas this notched sound therapy, for me, is the relief.

ChrisL