Discuss on Tinnitus Talk Forum
How can clinicians and patients work together? Why is tinnitus sub-typing important? Does loudness matter? What does habituation really mean? What different forms of counselling and treatment are available for tinnitus? These are some of the questions addressed in this episode.
Tinnitus Talk spoke with Richard Tyler, from university of Iowa. His career in tinnitus spans many decades. He has vast experience in both tinnitus research and patient care and is passionate about connecting those two worlds.
Richard also talks about the annual conference on tinnitus management that he is organising this year for the 27th time in Iowa. The conference is open to patients.
If you want to take part in Richard’s “Random Acts of Tinnitus Relief” project – which he talks about at 53:28 – you can email him at tinnitus2@healthcare.uiowa.edu.
Skip to: 00:00 Introducing Richard Tyler.
Skip to: 03:46 27th International Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Conference 2019.
Skip to: 12:36 Sub-Typing of Tinnitus.
Skip to: 15:04 Drugs to Potentially Help with Tinnitus.
I think the first step should be exploring counselling and sound therapy and hearing aid options.
Skip to: 17:25 Other Potential New Treatments.
Skip to: 21:01 Does Tinnitus Volume Matter?
Skip to: 24:06 Tinnitus Retraining Therapy versus Tinnitus Activities Treatment.
Skip to: 30:03 Tinnitus and Understanding Speech.
Skip to: 33:35 Can Tinnitus Be Effectively Managed?
They’ll say: I’ve had tinnitus for ten years and it does not bother me, but if you have found a cure, I will fly to Iowa City next week.
Skip to: 36:35 Compensation and Payment for Treatments.
Skip to: 44:10 Coping with Severe Tinnitus.
It’s quite reasonable to say: This is not fair. Why does this happen to me?
Skip to: 47:35 Sleep and Impact on Tinnitus.
Skip to: 49:38 Habituation, What Does it Really Mean?
Habituation doesn’t have to be the goal here. The goal could be acceptance.
Skip to: 53:28 Random Acts of Tinnitus Relief – Share Your Stories!
How can you not discuss the drugs that are currently being developed like FX-332 and OTO-313?
We will have several episodes in future about hearing regeneration and drug therapies! This episode did not focus on that topic since it’s not Richard’s expertise per se.
We try to keep each episode somewhat focused on a particular theme, yet each time there’s people complaining we didn’t discuss something else, LOL!
Yes! Let’s stay cutting edge.
Drugs are a very, very, very long shot IMO. Some people *may* get lucky but most won’t. Most tinnitus is now believed to be somatosensory in nature – 60%-70% and it may even be higher. This is a result of neuromuscular inflammation that’s a process of healing with physical therapies, exercise, etc. A great deal of the time a loss of neuroplasticity plays a major role in the onset of tinnitus. And it’s a key factor to resolving it which is why devices – like Neuromod – and research for treatment directed at this – like the work of Dr. Susan Shore. Will more than likely be much more effective on the whole for most people. It’d be nice if there was a magic bullet, but I doubt it’ll ever happen. Repairing neuroplasticity and resetting the fusiform cells in the DCN have shown to be far more efficacious.
Wow what a great presentation, very informative, “not a good sound, not a bad sound, but my sound” will be my outlook going into the future. Thank you so much.
Glad you found it helpful, that does make our hard work worthwhile, even if we help just one person! I wish you all the best, Ronald!
I’ve had pulsatile tinnitus in my left ear for ten years. The only way I can describe it is a carousel-like sound at 78 speed. Nothing helps. I work a lot to keep myself focused “outside” myself.
It began following an extended period of sleeplessness and severe anxiety.
Sorry to hear that, Tom. We have a dedicated section on the Tinnitus Talk forum for sufferers of pulsatile tinnitus; you might find it helpful.
Yes, check the Pulsatile Tinnitus forums. Leave a detailed message of what diagnostics and tests you’ve undergone and the results, if any. And name any specialists you’ve seen – not actual names but types of doctor, e.g. neurologist, neurotologist, et al. It’s important to know if you’ve seen the right people and had the right tests done.
Besides it possibly being neurological it could be venous (arteriosclerosis or an prominent emissary carotid) or even manifested by bone loss in the inner ear, a condition known as SSCD – Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence (I have this myself).
Thank you for such a great podcast and interview. To some degree, it is always so disheartening to keep hearing that there is no cure, and all you can do is “manage” tinnitus. But, to that degree, Dr. Tyler’s comments and suggestions are much appreciated. I need to check his “Random Acts of Tinnitus Relief” project. Thank you so much for all the information.
Sonia , I well understand your point. While there is no absolute UNIVERSAL cure, it is true that many people have resolved their tinnitus, and it simply no longer exists for them.
It has long been recognized that there is no cure for cancer, yet that isn’t emphasized over and over to cancer patients. People are effectively treated for cancer all the time and we commonly hear of people in remission who remain ‘cancer free” for the rest of their lives. They have been effectively ‘cured’.
I believe the same thing occurs with tinnitus patients, but perhaps not often among those who have become convinced that there is ‘no cure’.
I am curious why this post states that there is no cure for cancer.
T always ends sooner or later. For most its sooner, for some poor souls it’s later. One day it’ll end. However we’re getting much, much closer to being able to expedite that process to resolution and a return to normalcy.
Thank you for sharing this podcast. I have Meniere’s disease with now profound deafness in my affected ear with of course tinnitus. I have worked hard to retrain my brain to get used to my tinnitus. There are some days it is really loud and hard to function as a full time worker and mother of a 5 year old, tantrums and all. I have to remind myself during those hard times, is that…it will quiet down to my baseline tolerate level. I need to acknowledge, accept and release. Hello, tinnitus… yes, I hear you more today than yesterday. I need to focus on being kind to myself; and stressing out is not going to make it better.
Tinnitus is ruining my quality of life. I am 78 years old… and have always worried and been stressed out. It would be wonderful to get help for this condition.
Seek mental help. Look into Tinnitus Retraining Therapy or some sort of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Worry and stress only make it worse. Learn to manage stress. Learn to let go. And your T will end sooner than later. Talk to your doctor about meds if you’re not on them already. Nortriptyline – 20mg a day is my suggestion – and 1mg Lorazepam tablets as needed – will really help.
I can’t find any medication, or any doctor to really take this seriously. I want to die. My days are brutal. I can’t enjoy anything.
I have the same problem. Even family members have no idea what I go through every day, all day. It becomes quite discouraging day in and out. My tinnitus never goes away. I’ve been to several ENT’s, Miracle Ear, and my GP. The noise gets so bad it causes migraines and the meds are no help. It’s been so long like this, I have no idea what NORMAL hearing is any longer.
It has become very discouraging. I’ve heard before there is no money to be made with a cure, and it makes me sad that our quality of life relies on the amount of dollars lost if a cure were to be found, or revealed! I also have been told there is a cure but it would be devastating financially for places like Miracle Ear etc, therefore it will not be made available. How sad for the people that could have normal lives once again to be denied that so money can be made off of our misfortune.