Can Anyone Else Make Their Tinnitus Disappear by Listening to a Tone?

[Dave T]

Is this common? I've had tinnitus for about two months. It's a constant high pitched ringing in my left ear. Early on, I came across this article, from a tinnitus sufferer:
https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/07/baby-driver-and-the-terrifying-truths-about-tinnitus/

In it, he has a link to a YouTube video with an approximation of what he says his tinnitus sounds like. Here's a direct link to the video:


This sounds very similar to mine.

So if I listen to that for 30 seconds or so, then turn it off, it makes my tinnitus COMPLETELY disappear (!). Unfortunately, only for 10-30 seconds though. :-(

When my tinnitus first started, I used to listen to this all the time, just to get a moment's relief. Now I am doing it less and less.

But, my question is - is this common? Does it characterize my tinnitus in such a way to point me to a treatment that would best work for me? Right now I am considering TRT, and researching alternatives before I make a decision.

 

[GregCA]

When my tinnitus first started, I used to listen to this all the time, just to get a moment's relief. Now I am doing it less and less.

But, my question is - is this common? Does it characterize my tinnitus in such a way to point me to a treatment that would best work for me?

Yes, it's common. It's called residual inhibition.
It's not a predictor to a "best treatment" unfortunately, but if your T is tonal, there are a few options you can try, such as Windowed White Noise, White Notch Therapy, or Acoustic Coordinated Reset Neuromodulation. To get started with these you need to pinpoint your T frequency. You can try to do that here.

 

[Dave T]

Huh. Thanks! That Windowed White Noise therapy makes some serious claims. Has anyone here tried that? I tried searching, and couldn't find any threads on it in the post title.

 

[linearb]

When I'm in a quiet and still place I can often make my tinnitus tones disappear very briefly just by thinking about them, as in, trying to mentally create the same sound in my mind.

Some people find that these tones make their tinnitus better, or worse, or don't change them at all. It probably implies all kinds of interesting things, but so far we don't collectively know what those things are.

 

[Jomo]

this youtube clip was my savior when i first got T...it sounded exactly the way my T was at the time...it has changed for the better. That was rough when it sounded like this. The residual inhibition worked for me for a while and then when my tone changed it didnt. I then found my new sound and it worked for a while. Havent tried anything in a long time. Hang in there man it gets better to deal with..

Here is a nice masking sound that can help you sleep. I find that steam sounds are the best for masking

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...nitus-disappear-by-listening-to-a-tone.24888/

 

[GregCA]

Huh. Thanks! That Windowed White Noise therapy makes some serious claims. Has anyone here tried that? I tried searching, and couldn't find any threads on it in the post title.

I don't know if anyone in here has tried it, but at best this forum provides anecdotal evidence on treatments that have been implemented with questionable diligence. No offense to the participants - it's just what it is when you don't have clinical supervision.
I prefer to rely on scientific studies, such as this one about Windowed White Noise.

 

[Dave T]

Jomo - I just saw your post. I think I need to modify my forum settings so I get notified of new posts. Can you add that link to the tone you were talking about? You accidentally put a link to this thread.

GregCA - I just read the abstract of that study. It looks like WWN had positive results. I'd love to hear any (anecdotal) testimonials of any other forum members who have tried it.

 

[GregCA]

GregCA - I just read the abstract of that study. It looks like WWN had positive results. I'd love to hear any (anecdotal) testimonials of any other forum members who have tried it.

I'd love to hear that too, but I doubt it will happen. I've never seen any clinic offer this type of therapy anywhere: I've only seen it applied in the context of clinical trials. If you'd like to try it, you can build the sound yourself following the spec in the published papers, or just buy it online for a fee.

 

[Greg Sacramento]

@GregCA I've been looking to find a platform like the one above that you posted to buy online. All the tones above are to too flat for me.

My T is high pitch loud somatic. It's higher pitched than a lot of alka seltzer tablets fizzing in a glass and a bunch of eggs being fried. Maybe like an electronic high pitched sharp static noise that rings like a fire alarm. It's probably like a sharp electrical ring. I'm using a static rain CD now. Any ideas appreciated.

 

[GregCA]

@GregCA I've been looking to find a platform like the one above that you posted to buy online. All the tones above are to too flat for me.

My T is high pitch loud somatic. It's higher pitched than a lot of alka seltzer tablets fizzing in a glass and a bunch of eggs being fried. Maybe like an electronic high pitched static noise that rings like a fire alarm. I'm using a static rain CD now. Any ideas appreciated.

Can you pinpoint a frequency that sounds like your T? You can use this page to try to match it.
If you do, then you have a choice in sound therapies you can try. There's no silver bullet and you may have to try a few different options before you settle on something that works for you. For some of them the protocol is a bit grueling (you have to listen to it for a few hours a day for months), so it's not uncommon to see issues with compliance. The most common therapy is the Acoustic Coordinated Reset Neuromodulation, but there are others.
If your rain CD seems to be helpful to you, you could try this. You get a wav file so you could burn it to a CD if that medium is preferable for your use.

Good luck!

 

[Jomo]

Jomo - I just saw your post. I think I need to modify my forum settings so I get notified of new posts. Can you add that link to the tone you were talking about? You accidentally put a link to this thread.

GregCA - I just read the abstract of that study. It looks like WWN had positive results. I'd love to hear any (anecdotal) testimonials of any other forum members who have tried it.

srry lol