MemberFirstly, @mintblue welcome on board (unfortunaly we all came on board)
Anyway, your remarks absolutely make sense, however, what brings you then to TinnitusTalk?
For myself, i shouldn't be around this forum that much (slowers acceptance etc... for sure).
At the other hand it gave me much support, direction, hope for a future threatment and avoided me to do stupid thing (exposure to certain sounds which I would have considered safe but as well take/took away suicidal thoughts I never had before since the T onset!!!). it also makes me aware of potential threatment (AM 101) for me, since I'm a noise induced T victim through prolonged earbuds exposure (not the loudnest but the lengthy time did for sure his hellish job). Thus this is the contradication I face for myself the last few weeks since I'm active on this forum!?!
Should I stay or should I go!!!
Regarding below
The brain hasn't "learned" the sound by any means and that's been disputed several times over. The sound comes specifically from a dysfunction in your auditory system, most likely the neurons over-firing.
It is said that over time the sounds move from the ear to other parts of the brain and that it more or less get inprinted in the mind! You are telling that this isn't the case if I understand you correctly, right?
Do you have a paper or reference which supports your remark, since this is very interesting so to say.
I also read an interesting article about white noise which seems opposite to yours;
White noise The theory that tinnitus is created by the loss of inhibitory stimuli has resulted in the most promising new therapy for tinnitus so far: white noise therapy. White noise, such as that produced by a radio tuned to an empty frequency or a sound generator like a Marsona, has two effects: first, it masks the ringing sound; and second, it helps to stimulate the inhibitory pathways by producing a continuous background of sound. The extent to which these pathways can be rewired is still not entirely clear, but it is clear that white noise creates additional excitatory and inhibitory stimuli that appear to be able to influence the synaptic regrowth in the DCN, and prevent tinnitus from starting. (They are also great for preventing insanity caused by having a neighbor who is overly fond of rock music.)
According to the theory described above, noise-induced hearing loss produces tinnitus because it is, in effect, creating silence. Indeed, most normal people will experience tinnitus when placed in an anechoic chamber. Therefore, one could logically expect background noise to prevent it. However, this is difficult to prove, because noise also masks tinnitus.
Nevertheless, it is true--at least in animals. Noreña and Eggermont have found that if white or blue noise (5kHz-20kHz) is presented immediately after noise trauma and maintained over a period of several weeks, the neuronal changes that cause tinnitus and hearing loss are abolished [9, 10]. This remarkable finding shows that it may be possible to prevent noise-induced tinnitus even in cases of acoustic trauma.
It goes without saying that white noise, or any other noise, above 85 decibels will cause hearing loss, especially if maintained for long periods of time. Moreover, there is some suggestion that white noise could be harmful for infants. Also, it stands to reason that sound therapy, or any other therapy, will not work unless whatever caused the tinnitus in the first place is stopped.
The theory would predict that for a maximal effect, a sound generator would have to be running continuously, not just when the patient's ears are ringing. Also, the closer the frequency of the generated sound to the frequency of the tinnitus, the more effective it should be.
For more info see
Tinnitus: Causes and Treatment
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