From 10/10 “Suicide Tinnitus” to Periods of Almost Silence — Possible, But Not Without Some Effort

[SoundB0und]

DISCLAIMER: This post is not medical advice. Please consult your doctor before trying any of the alternative treatments mentioned here. I will not be held responsible for any damages, physical or otherwise, resulting from anybody trying these treatments.

I thought about not writing a success story but I feel I have valuable knowledge to share, knowledge that I wish I had when I first got my horrific tinnitus.

I have mentioned only ototoxicity in my profile but thinking back I was abusing my ears for years with loud music. The antidepressant I was on for 6 years probably made my hearing loss a bit, if not a lot more easily acquirable, but a lot of the damage was from noise exposure as well.

I had mild tinnitus that crept up to a higher volume within 6 years, but still in early 2018 it was very manageable. I could listen to music and ride in a car without protection and it wasn't a huge problem. I almost never thought about my tinnitus. I sort of had bigger problems in my life, all that changed in March 2018.

I was put on a very new medication in February that year. At first things were great, but I soon found out what real intrusive tinnitus was. I had 2 things going on, what we think happened was the new medication caused rapid ototoxicity and also I had a bad cold and there began my severe tinnitus journey.

Within a couple of weeks my tinnitus ramped up to what I call "suicide levels". It was absolute torture, even for Tinnitus Talk I think I'd been a very bad case. I also acquired very severe hyperacusis. I soon found myself in the ENT office and it was discovered that my hearing loss was 85 decibels at 8kHz.

Even the ENT, who probably sees bad cases all the time, was visibly shocked at how bad my hearing was at my age(late 20s). I just got told the usual, "you're gonna have to live with it".

At my worst, I could not read a book because of how loud the tinnitus was and my hyperacusis was so bad I had earmuffs on when using the tap. I was up 3 nights in a row(meaning not a minute of sleep) taking 6 times the dose of sleep med each night that usually knocks me out cold. Riding in a car with double protection spiked the tinnitus a lot.

Dishes were incredibly painful. The worst were "synthetic" sounds, meaning sounds from speakers. Listening to music so low I could not hear the words would spike the tinnitus within 3 seconds to crazy levels.

My doctor who prescribed me the med told me that this medication should not cause tinnitus and to not even quit it. Against her judgment I did quit the medication and my tinnitus stopped getting worse. After coming back from the ENT I was not phased, I thought for sure on the forums or online there'd be talk of effective alternative treatments.

It was only after I had read some forum posts from newbies who came to the forum with their plight and veterans who said the same thing my ENT had told me that I became really worried. I don't think I could have habituated to my tinnitus, it was too loud.

Also, had I not taken the steps I will soon talk about, it would have surely gotten worse, because even though I have lived like a hermit to protect my ears, I was still exposed to several loud situations. What I will say is, incredibly good recoveries are possible, in 2020, before regenerative medicine and without neuromodulation devices.

At the moment, though I don't have silence, and probably will not have it for a while, things are not far off in my right ear(the reason my right is better than left is because of me doing one of the treatments wrong, something which I will get into soon).

There will be people saying "the things you have done to treat yourself didn't work and it was just the normal habituation and healing process that happens". Part of the healing was normal plus habituation, but I'm absolutely sure I accelerated and amplified the end result of my healing by a lot.

I think had I done even more research and found some very beneficial things sooner and tried them, I would have made a complete recovery. My diet could have been better, could have exercised more, many things like that as well.

I joined the forum on the 29th of April 2018, the reason for that was that my sign ups were caught by the spam filter and thus I was unable to sign up. Changing my email, my IP, the device I registered from etc didn't enable me to sign up. That is why there were no hysterical posts by me on this forum early on, I was panicking pretty bad and thought there's a very good chance my life is over.

It came clear to me early on, from reading the forum for a couple of months, that what you do early on is very important, like with HBOT or other things. HBOT was unavailable for me. Back then the laser threads were more active so they caught my eye fast. 2 months in I realized I probably will have to buy the laser, but put it off because almost everybody, including a verified doctor, said they were snake oil scams.

2,5 months in I had a spike to my tinnitus due to loud noise exposure and it became clear to me that I had not much to lose, because if the laser didn't work I'd be dead anyways and the 800 euros I was going to spend on it, well, I could not have taken it to the grave with me. I ordered the laser and started lasering 3 months from my initial spike.

I didn't have much faith in the treatment overall, I was just hoping to get some relief for the years before regenerative medicine comes out. The tinnitus spiked at first and again I was unable to sleep even with sleep medication on some nights, it was also summer and very hot so that didn't help sleep.

Gradually things settled down and got better. I was very careful with protecting my ears and super diligent with the laser. Then I found out I had made a horrific mistake, where I missed or at least exposed the cochlea in my left ear to much less of the laser. You can read more about it here:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/low-level-laser-therapy-lllt-for-tinnitus-%E2%80%94-long-lasting-everyday-home-practiced-experiences.25110/page-7#post-390133

This inadvertently and unfortunately proved to me that the laser worked and worked well, that it wasn't only the normal healing process.

I continued doing research and scouring Tinnitus Talk for different things that could help, because with tinnitus, the sooner you try things the better. Here's everything I tried in my tinnitus journey, I tried to make the list chronological but I'm not sure it is:

Ginkgo - made tinnitus worse.

Betaserc - did nothing.

Apple Cider Vinegar - did nothing.

Ear Tone by New Nordic, pills - Did very little, maybe 10-15 percent reduction, not worth the steep price.

ACRN - made tinnitus worse(maybe did it wrong).

Notched Sound Therapy - helped a bit.

Konftec Laser - responsible for, I'd say, at least 75 percent of the recovery, if not more. I'm still lasering every day and have for almost 2 years now.

Turmeric With Curcumin – helped but had to quit very soon because of side effects (psoriasis worsening rapidly).

Nicotinamide Riboside - very good effect, but I'm very sensitive to supplements and couldn't tolerate the side effects. Took only 10 doses. It is the most undervalued alternative treatment on TT imo.

NAC - Good effect, got very bad heart trouble and had to quit.

R. David Case Tinnitus Mix sound file - definitely worth a shot if you don't have hyperacusis. Seemed to work the first time around at first but second time I tried it about a year later didn't have the same effect.

Lion's Mane - Did nothing.

CoQ10 - mild effect, potentiates the laser.

Oxygen Concentrator while doing cardio (exercise bike) - HBOT was not available, had a good effect but again had to quit soon because of side effects.

Intermittent Fasting - helped a lot already, even though lots of time had passed since I got tinnitus.

Cold Showers – Similar to intermittent fasting, helps with cumulative effects. First month or so I noticed no difference, but almost 6 months of intermittent fasting and cold showers seemed to have worked well. Had to quit cold showers but still doing IF.

Hemp CBD Oil – massive temporary spike.

Probiotics – I didn't take them for tinnitus relief, took them to heal my gut as I had pretty bad GERD. Surprisingly, in addition to my GERD being fixed, they helped tinnitus quite a bit as well.

(All of these things have a thread on Tinnitus Talk)

I also have my eye on BPC-157, a synthetic peptide. I probably won't try it because my situation is already so good I can go out without hearing protection to quieter venues where they play music and the peptide has its dangers, but it's good to know I have an ace in the back pocked in case things were to get bad again after an accident. Though it would be interesting to see if it would cure me completely.

That is all I can think of right now, probably missing a couple of things and it's not a comprehensive list of everything worth trying, just the stuff I tried. Obviously there's things like PRP, stem cells and Lenire, which I am not opposed to trying, but I didn't have the money or in the case of Lenire the hearing ability necessary to try it.

Not counting the countless vitamins and minerals I took, most helpful of which have been Magnesium and Zinc. As you can see, I had to quit half or more things that worked well, because of side effects. Most people, almost all people, won't have that issue. I am still improving, after over 2 years since my spike, but the gains have gotten really slow because of the amount of time passed.

Had everything been tolerable, I would easily have made a complete recovery from 10/10 tinnitus with both ears I believe, maybe even silence. I've noticed over the years that all sorts of treatments have good effects on me more often and usually yield better results than for the average person, but I also have much worse side-effects than the average person.

Even if out of the things that had a good effect that I had to quit 2-3 had worked without intolerable side effects, or if I hadn't messed up with the laser, I would be resuming usual life probably. Yes, the tinnitus alternative treatment options are rife with scams, one needs to exercise some common sense, but there are things that help. If they don't, it's a small investment for big potential gains.

I believe my recovery isn't too impressive. In my opinion, most people, had they tried all of those things within the right timeframe (meaning soon, within 3 months or less) after getting tinnitus while being careful and protecting well, would have had a better recovery, because I had to quit so many things. Some things on that list are obviously more worth trying and sooner than others, a couple might not be worth trying at all.

My tinnitus in the right ear(which I would also have in my left had I not made the mistake) is back to pre spike levels, perhaps even better. I'm hoping to make some gains still with the left one which is worse. My tinnitus switches ears daily and fluctuates a lot. If I had to put numbers to it, if in my right, it's 0.5-1.5 severity and in my left about 2-3.5. My hyperacusis is virtually nonexistent during day to day activities.

More recently my left ear has been catching up to the right, it's still much worse but the right ear isn't improving much, not sure if it has improved at all within the last half a year or so. I attribute that to the right ear probably being already at the level I had before my horrific spike where it was at a very low volume tinnitus for 6 years.

Because I had the mild tinnitus for so long I doubt my right ear will improve much anymore, but it doesn't have to, it's at an amazingly low level at the moment with almost no hyperacusis and very mild reactivity.

I'd say I did TONS of things wrong with my recovery. I waited a bit too long to buy the laser, because people(most of whom hadn't even tried it) said it was snake oil, messed up the left ear, I should have done even more research into things and tried more things, sooner, better diet and exercise routine, etc.

There was a thread a while back where people could vote how much money they would spend on a cure, can't find it now. Most people were willing to pay 10 000 dollars or more for a cure. I have spent less than 2000 dollars on my ears.

One of the most important things is also how well I protected my hearing, most people would have called it overprotecting over here. I was willing to basically have no life for almost 2 years in order to recover from this.

It seems to me that a lot of people try a couple of things and then give up, if they even do that. In my opinion that is not the way to go. If you get relief of 10 percent from 1 thing that is already very good, if more then even better.

Combine a few, as long as they're safe, and you'll have a significant improvement of your situation. And remember, the first couple of months are crucial.

In my opinion people are too stingy with spending time and money on their health, it is the greatest investment you can make.

 

[scotty03874]

DISCLAIMER: This post is not medical advice. Please consult your doctor before trying any of the alternative treatments mentioned here. I will not be held responsible for any damages, physical or otherwise, resulting from anybody trying these treatments.

I thought about not writing a success story but I feel I have valuable knowledge to share, knowledge that I wish I had when I first got my horrific tinnitus.

I have mentioned only ototoxicity in my profile but thinking back I was abusing my ears for years with loud music. The antidepressant I was on for 6 years probably made my hearing loss a bit, if not a lot more easily acquirable, but a lot of the damage was from noise exposure as well.

I had mild tinnitus that crept up to a higher volume within 6 years, but still in early 2018 it was very manageable. I could listen to music and ride in a car without protection and it wasn't a huge problem. I almost never thought about my tinnitus. I sort of had bigger problems in my life, all that changed in March 2018.

I was put on a very new medication in February that year. At first things were great, but I soon found out what real intrusive tinnitus was. I had 2 things going on, what we think happened was the new medication caused rapid ototoxicity and also I had a bad cold and there began my severe tinnitus journey.

Within a couple of weeks my tinnitus ramped up to what I call "suicide levels". It was absolute torture, even for Tinnitus Talk I think I'd been a very bad case. I also acquired very severe hyperacusis. I soon found myself in the ENT office and it was discovered that my hearing loss was 85 decibels at 8kHz.

Even the ENT, who probably sees bad cases all the time, was visibly shocked at how bad my hearing was at my age(late 20s). I just got told the usual, "you're gonna have to live with it".

At my worst, I could not read a book because of how loud the tinnitus was and my hyperacusis was so bad I had earmuffs on when using the tap. I was up 3 nights in a row(meaning not a minute of sleep) taking 6 times the dose of sleep med each night that usually knocks me out cold. Riding in a car with double protection spiked the tinnitus a lot.

Dishes were incredibly painful. The worst were "synthetic" sounds, meaning sounds from speakers. Listening to music so low I could not hear the words would spike the tinnitus within 3 seconds to crazy levels.

My doctor who prescribed me the med told me that this medication should not cause tinnitus and to not even quit it. Against her judgment I did quit the medication and my tinnitus stopped getting worse. After coming back from the ENT I was not phased, I thought for sure on the forums or online there'd be talk of effective alternative treatments.

It was only after I had read some forum posts from newbies who came to the forum with their plight and veterans who said the same thing my ENT had told me that I became really worried. I don't think I could have habituated to my tinnitus, it was too loud.

Also, had I not taken the steps I will soon talk about, it would have surely gotten worse, because even though I have lived like a hermit to protect my ears, I was still exposed to several loud situations. What I will say is, incredibly good recoveries are possible, in 2020, before regenerative medicine and without neuromodulation devices.

At the moment, though I don't have silence, and probably will not have it for a while, things are not far off in my right ear(the reason my right is better than left is because of me doing one of the treatments wrong, something which I will get into soon).

There will be people saying "the things you have done to treat yourself didn't work and it was just the normal habituation and healing process that happens". Part of the healing was normal plus habituation, but I'm absolutely sure I accelerated and amplified the end result of my healing by a lot.

I think had I done even more research and found some very beneficial things sooner and tried them, I would have made a complete recovery. My diet could have been better, could have exercised more, many things like that as well.

I joined the forum on the 29th of April 2018, the reason for that was that my sign ups were caught by the spam filter and thus I was unable to sign up. Changing my email, my IP, the device I registered from etc didn't enable me to sign up. That is why there were no hysterical posts by me on this forum early on, I was panicking pretty bad and thought there's a very good chance my life is over.

It came clear to me early on, from reading the forum for a couple of months, that what you do early on is very important, like with HBOT or other things. HBOT was unavailable for me. Back then the laser threads were more active so they caught my eye fast. 2 months in I realized I probably will have to buy the laser, but put it off because almost everybody, including a verified doctor, said they were snake oil scams.

2,5 months in I had a spike to my tinnitus due to loud noise exposure and it became clear to me that I had not much to lose, because if the laser didn't work I'd be dead anyways and the 800 euros I was going to spend on it, well, I could not have taken it to the grave with me. I ordered the laser and started lasering 3 months from my initial spike.

I didn't have much faith in the treatment overall, I was just hoping to get some relief for the years before regenerative medicine comes out. The tinnitus spiked at first and again I was unable to sleep even with sleep medication on some nights, it was also summer and very hot so that didn't help sleep.

Gradually things settled down and got better. I was very careful with protecting my ears and super diligent with the laser. Then I found out I had made a horrific mistake, where I missed or at least exposed the cochlea in my left ear to much less of the laser. You can read more about it here:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/low-level-laser-therapy-lllt-for-tinnitus-%E2%80%94-long-lasting-everyday-home-practiced-experiences.25110/page-7#post-390133

This inadvertently and unfortunately proved to me that the laser worked and worked well, that it wasn't only the normal healing process.

I continued doing research and scouring Tinnitus Talk for different things that could help, because with tinnitus, the sooner you try things the better. Here's everything I tried in my tinnitus journey, I tried to make the list chronological but I'm not sure it is:

Ginkgo - made tinnitus worse.

Betaserc - did nothing.

Apple Cider Vinegar - did nothing.

Ear Tone by New Nordic, pills - Did very little, maybe 10-15 percent reduction, not worth the steep price.

ACRN - made tinnitus worse(maybe did it wrong).

Notched Sound Therapy - helped a bit.

Konftec Laser - responsible for, I'd say, at least 75 percent of the recovery, if not more. I'm still lasering every day and have for almost 2 years now.

Turmeric With Curcumin – helped but had to quit very soon because of side effects (psoriasis worsening rapidly).

Nicotinamide Riboside - very good effect, but I'm very sensitive to supplements and couldn't tolerate the side effects. Took only 10 doses. It is the most undervalued alternative treatment on TT imo.

NAC - Good effect, got very bad heart trouble and had to quit.

R. David Case Tinnitus Mix sound file - definitely worth a shot if you don't have hyperacusis. Seemed to work the first time around at first but second time I tried it about a year later didn't have the same effect.

Lion's Mane - Did nothing.

CoQ10 - mild effect, potentiates the laser.

Oxygen Concentrator while doing cardio (exercise bike) - HBOT was not available, had a good effect but again had to quit soon because of side effects.

Intermittent Fasting - helped a lot already, even though lots of time had passed since I got tinnitus.

Cold Showers – Similar to intermittent fasting, helps with cumulative effects. First month or so I noticed no difference, but almost 6 months of intermittent fasting and cold showers seemed to have worked well. Had to quit cold showers but still doing IF.

Hemp CBD Oil – massive temporary spike.

Probiotics – I didn't take them for tinnitus relief, took them to heal my gut as I had pretty bad GERD. Surprisingly, in addition to my GERD being fixed, they helped tinnitus quite a bit as well.

(All of these things have a thread on Tinnitus Talk)

I also have my eye on BPC-157, a synthetic peptide. I probably won't try it because my situation is already so good I can go out without hearing protection to quieter venues where they play music and the peptide has its dangers, but it's good to know I have an ace in the back pocked in case things were to get bad again after an accident. Though it would be interesting to see if it would cure me completely.

That is all I can think of right now, probably missing a couple of things and it's not a comprehensive list of everything worth trying, just the stuff I tried. Obviously there's things like PRP, stem cells and Lenire, which I am not opposed to trying, but I didn't have the money or in the case of Lenire the hearing ability necessary to try it.

Not counting the countless vitamins and minerals I took, most helpful of which have been Magnesium and Zinc. As you can see, I had to quit half or more things that worked well, because of side effects. Most people, almost all people, won't have that issue. I am still improving, after over 2 years since my spike, but the gains have gotten really slow because of the amount of time passed.

Had everything been tolerable, I would easily have made a complete recovery from 10/10 tinnitus with both ears I believe, maybe even silence. I've noticed over the years that all sorts of treatments have good effects on me more often and usually yield better results than for the average person, but I also have much worse side-effects than the average person.

Even if out of the things that had a good effect that I had to quit 2-3 had worked without intolerable side effects, or if I hadn't messed up with the laser, I would be resuming usual life probably. Yes, the tinnitus alternative treatment options are rife with scams, one needs to exercise some common sense, but there are things that help. If they don't, it's a small investment for big potential gains.

I believe my recovery isn't too impressive. In my opinion, most people, had they tried all of those things within the right timeframe (meaning soon, within 3 months or less) after getting tinnitus while being careful and protecting well, would have had a better recovery, because I had to quit so many things. Some things on that list are obviously more worth trying and sooner than others, a couple might not be worth trying at all.

My tinnitus in the right ear(which I would also have in my left had I not made the mistake) is back to pre spike levels, perhaps even better. I'm hoping to make some gains still with the left one which is worse. My tinnitus switches ears daily and fluctuates a lot. If I had to put numbers to it, if in my right, it's 0.5-1.5 severity and in my left about 2-3.5. My hyperacusis is virtually nonexistent during day to day activities.

More recently my left ear has been catching up to the right, it's still much worse but the right ear isn't improving much, not sure if it has improved at all within the last half a year or so. I attribute that to the right ear probably being already at the level I had before my horrific spike where it was at a very low volume tinnitus for 6 years.

Because I had the mild tinnitus for so long I doubt my right ear will improve much anymore, but it doesn't have to, it's at an amazingly low level at the moment with almost no hyperacusis and very mild reactivity.

I'd say I did TONS of things wrong with my recovery. I waited a bit too long to buy the laser, because people(most of whom hadn't even tried it) said it was snake oil, messed up the left ear, I should have done even more research into things and tried more things, sooner, better diet and exercise routine, etc.

There was a thread a while back where people could vote how much money they would spend on a cure, can't find it now. Most people were willing to pay 10 000 dollars or more for a cure. I have spent less than 2000 dollars on my ears.

One of the most important things is also how well I protected my hearing, most people would have called it overprotecting over here. I was willing to basically have no life for almost 2 years in order to recover from this.

It seems to me that a lot of people try a couple of things and then give up, if they even do that. In my opinion that is not the way to go. If you get relief of 10 percent from 1 thing that is already very good, if more then even better.

Combine a few, as long as they're safe, and you'll have a significant improvement of your situation. And remember, the first couple of months are crucial.

In my opinion people are too stingy with spending time and money on their health, it is the greatest investment you can make.

Which Konfec laser did you recommend that I buy? The 15 commercial laser treatments I did in Florida helped me a lot. It took me from 9 to a 2 I would say. I still have spikes after I work out, ride my loud motorcycle etc but it relaxes within a hour or so back down to normal levels. I want to continue and try more home sessions...

 

[SoundB0und]

Which Konfec laser did you recommend that I buy?

I have the emLas 520 BCB and I'm happy with it.

I still have spikes after I work out, ride my loud motorcycle etc

Thinking back, I probably didn't stress this enough in my story, but the biggest factor in my recovery wasn't anything I did, its the stuff I didn't do, meaning how well I protected and avoided loud noise. I was close to pedantic about it.

I wouldn't even dream of, even now, riding a motorcycle. If you don't protect well from sound that's too loud for you there's nothing in the world that'll cure your tinnitus. I would really suggest you protect your hearing from now on, your tinnitus would still be at a 2 if you had protected well. Some stuff you just can't ever do again.

I would also suggest you try at least one of the supplements I mentioned. I think the top 3 is Nicotinamide Riboside, NAC and Curcumin. I'm very unlucky that I wasn't able to tolerate any of them, but I think some of them them long term might be as effective, maybe even more effective for some, than the laser. BPC-157 might be the best in terms of efficiency but that's only for the really brave ones(there's not even human studies done on it).

And do your research, put the work in, that's what I did. Don't expect to have spectacular results if you do what everybody is doing, which is trusting the "tinnitus status quo". I was always the type of person who sort of went against the grain a bit and that helped me in my recovery. Had I really believed everybody saying there's nothing to do about tinnitus, I'd probably not have survived this.

 

[AnxiouslyWaiting]

I have the emLas 520 BCB and I'm happy with it.

Thinking back, I probably didn't stress this enough in my story, but the biggest factor in my recovery wasn't anything I did, its the stuff I didn't do, meaning how well I protected and avoided loud noise. I was close to pedantic about it.

I wouldn't even dream of, even now, riding a motorcycle. If you don't protect well from sound that's too loud for you there's nothing in the world that'll cure your tinnitus. I would really suggest you protect your hearing from now on, your tinnitus would still be at a 2 if you had protected well. Some stuff you just can't ever do again.

I would also suggest you try at least one of the supplements I mentioned. I think the top 3 is Nicotinamide Riboside, NAC and Curcumin. I'm very unlucky that I wasn't able to tolerate any of them, but I think some of them them long term might be as effective, maybe even more effective for some, than the laser. BPC-157 might be the best in terms of efficiency but that's only for the really brave ones(there's not even human studies done on it).

And do your research, put the work in, that's what I did. Don't expect to have spectacular results if you do what everybody is doing, which is trusting the "tinnitus status quo". I was always the type of person who sort of went against the grain a bit and that helped me in my recovery. Had I really believed everybody saying there's nothing to do about tinnitus, I'd probably not have survived this.

Thanks for this @SoundB0und, I've started taking Curcumin and have seen probably a 50-60% reduction in volume right away.

I've been looking into getting some NAC but there isn't any stock at my stores at the moment but I'll get some as soon as I can find stock.

This is the first time I've seen Nicotinamide Riboside mentioned, I can't seem to find it locally and it looks to be quite expensive. Did this one help much more than the others? I'm wondering if I should stick with the other 2 or splurge to import some of this.

 

[Momme]

Thanks for this @SoundB0und, I've started taking Curcumin and have seen probably a 50-60% reduction in volume right away.

I've been looking into getting some NAC but there isn't any stock at my stores at the moment but I'll get some as soon as I can find stock.

This is the first time I've seen Nicotinamide Riboside mentioned, I can't seem to find it locally and it looks to be quite expensive. Did this one help much more than the others? I'm wondering if I should stick with the other 2 or splurge to import some of this.

Which curcumin is it (brand name)?

 

[SoundB0und]

Did this one help much more than the others? I'm wondering if I should stick with the other 2 or splurge to import some of this.

I'm glad about your improvement with the Curcumin. The fact that your tinnitus is so new might play a part in it being this effective right off the bat. I don't know your financial situation, but I personally am willing to trade a lot of money for better health, if I can. I think the 1600 or so dollars I spent was hardly a lot to save my life, even though I'm not rich by any means. Your tinnitus intrusiveness and thus the sense of urgency is probably different, I realize that.

That being said, I learned the hard way over the years that I should always start one supplement at a time, give it 2 weeks or so, then add another one if I want to. Otherwise you don't know what's causing side effects, if it's an interaction etc. Out of those 3, I think NAC is the most important to start soon, and NR the least important(though it still probably matters if you start it fast).

So if the price of NR is splurging for you, I guess you could wait and try NAC first and see in a couple of weeks if you still want to spend the money. I think it did work better but also, NR is something most people need to take on an ongoing basis, months, maybe a year or so, to heal the ears well.

Curcumin is similar obviously but if money is a big factor it's something to consider. I don't know this from studies but it seems to be so from the forum posts, people give up too soon. Also, I don't know how safe it is to combine a lot of these specific supplements, nobody's studied this obviously.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

 

[scotty03874]

I'm confused which laser it is. I attached a pic, please tell me the exact model as the website lists it. Thanks in advance...

 

[SoundB0und]

The exact model I have is emLas 520 BCB, you need to scroll down. It has 660 nm and 808 nm wavelenght. Alternatively, you can get the emLas 520 BC which is the same model except with a white controller, no other difference, but the black one is more professional looking and it's not only me saying that. See this post on how I laser(not saying you need to do the same, test and experiment around).

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...racticed-experiences.25110/page-9#post-510274

Recently I did a test of doing only 660nm wavelenght for 10 days straight, I wanted to be sure I need the 808nm one as Wilden's laser only has 650nm and also a poster said 808 is dangerous. By the 10th day my ears started craving the 808 laser, I don't know any other way to describe it than "craving". It was like something was missing and I knew exactly what it was. I resumed the 808nm laser for 2 days and it went away. So for me at least it seems 808nm is necessary and beneficial, but your results may vary.

 

[scotty03874]

The exact model I have is emLas 520 BCB, you need to scroll down. It has 660 nm and 808 nm wavelenght. Alternatively, you can get the emLas 520 BC which is the same model except with a white controller, no other difference, but the black one is more professional looking and it's not only me saying that. See this post on how I laser(not saying you need to do the same, test and experiment around).

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/low-level-laser-therapy-lllt-for-tinnitus-—-long-lasting-everyday-home-practiced-experiences.25110/page-9#post-510274

Recently I did a test of doing only 660nm wavelenght for 10 days straight, I wanted to be sure I need the 808nm one as Wilden's laser only has 650nm and also a poster said 808 is dangerous. By the 10th day my ears started craving the 808 laser, I don't know any other way to describe it than "craving". It was like something was missing and I knew exactly what it was. I resumed the 808nm laser for 2 days and it went away. So for me at least it seems 808nm is necessary and beneficial, but your results may vary.

What is wrong with this one below? Any input? Sorry for all the questions SoundB0und??? I just don't understand the difference.

Money isn't here issue for me, I just want to understand...

emLas-520B 2 x 808nm@90mW $550

 

[SoundB0und]

This option, 520B, only has 808nm instead of 660nm + 808nm. The letters stand for wavelenghts, A is 780, B is 808 and C is 660, the names are basically combination of those letters, so 520 BCB is 808 and 660, with the last "B" in the name standing for Black. I thought about buying only B or 808 years ago when I was contemplating buying the Konftec laser but I'm glad I went with the 2 wavelenght option, seems to work better than 1 wavelenght and I've tried both separately for at least a month.

 

[scotty03874]

If I buy the one with both, what's the weekly protocol you follow or do they recommend? Switch daily wavelengths etc and how many minutes etc?

 

[AnxiouslyWaiting]

Which curcumin is it (brand name)?

It's a local brand - https://www.biogen.co.za/products/platinum-range/curcumin-anti-inflammatory/

I don't think it is anything special but it has helped me a lot.

 

[AnxiouslyWaiting]

I'm glad about your improvement with the Curcumin. The fact that your tinnitus is so new might play a part in it being this effective right off the bat. I don't know your financial situation, but I personally am willing to trade a lot of money for better health, if I can. I think the 1600 or so dollars I spent was hardly a lot to save my life, even though I'm not rich by any means. Your tinnitus intrusiveness and thus the sense of urgency is probably different, I realize that.

That being said, I learned the hard way over the years that I should always start one supplement at a time, give it 2 weeks or so, then add another one if I want to. Otherwise you don't know what's causing side effects, if it's an interaction etc. Out of those 3, I think NAC is the most important to start soon, and NR the least important(though it still probably matters if you start it fast).

So if the price of NR is splurging for you, I guess you could wait and try NAC first and see in a couple of weeks if you still want to spend the money. I think it did work better but also, NR is something most people need to take on an ongoing basis, months, maybe a year or so, to heal the ears well.

Curcumin is similar obviously but if money is a big factor it's something to consider. I don't know this from studies but it seems to be so from the forum posts, people give up too soon. Also, I don't know how safe it is to combine a lot of these specific supplements, nobody's studied this obviously.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

Thank you for the response, I definitely am willing to spend a lot of money to curb the suffering. The curcumin has already helped so much that I would have been willing to spend much more on such an improvement (It's only been 5 days but hopefully it stays).

I will try the NAC first as the NR will be difficult to find locally and I might have to import it once the COVID19 situation calms down.

Do you mind posting a link to the NR that you used?

 

[SoundB0und]

If I buy the one with both, what's the weekly protocol you follow or do they recommend? Switch daily wavelengths etc and how many minutes etc?

I posted a link to how I do it in this thread. What I recommend is make your own protocol, test and experiment. You could take mine as a baseline and expand on that. It might be true that there's no optimal way to do this that is true for every person, just like supps affect people differently the optimal laser protocol might be different.

 

[all to gain]

DISCLAIMER: This post is not medical advice. Please consult your doctor before trying any of the alternative treatments mentioned here. I will not be held responsible for any damages, physical or otherwise, resulting from anybody trying these treatments.

I thought about not writing a success story but I feel I have valuable knowledge to share, knowledge that I wish I had when I first got my horrific tinnitus.

I have mentioned only ototoxicity in my profile but thinking back I was abusing my ears for years with loud music. The antidepressant I was on for 6 years probably made my hearing loss a bit, if not a lot more easily acquirable, but a lot of the damage was from noise exposure as well.

I had mild tinnitus that crept up to a higher volume within 6 years, but still in early 2018 it was very manageable. I could listen to music and ride in a car without protection and it wasn't a huge problem. I almost never thought about my tinnitus. I sort of had bigger problems in my life, all that changed in March 2018.

I was put on a very new medication in February that year. At first things were great, but I soon found out what real intrusive tinnitus was. I had 2 things going on, what we think happened was the new medication caused rapid ototoxicity and also I had a bad cold and there began my severe tinnitus journey.

Within a couple of weeks my tinnitus ramped up to what I call "suicide levels". It was absolute torture, even for Tinnitus Talk I think I'd been a very bad case. I also acquired very severe hyperacusis. I soon found myself in the ENT office and it was discovered that my hearing loss was 85 decibels at 8kHz.

Even the ENT, who probably sees bad cases all the time, was visibly shocked at how bad my hearing was at my age(late 20s). I just got told the usual, "you're gonna have to live with it".

At my worst, I could not read a book because of how loud the tinnitus was and my hyperacusis was so bad I had earmuffs on when using the tap. I was up 3 nights in a row(meaning not a minute of sleep) taking 6 times the dose of sleep med each night that usually knocks me out cold. Riding in a car with double protection spiked the tinnitus a lot.

Dishes were incredibly painful. The worst were "synthetic" sounds, meaning sounds from speakers. Listening to music so low I could not hear the words would spike the tinnitus within 3 seconds to crazy levels.

My doctor who prescribed me the med told me that this medication should not cause tinnitus and to not even quit it. Against her judgment I did quit the medication and my tinnitus stopped getting worse. After coming back from the ENT I was not phased, I thought for sure on the forums or online there'd be talk of effective alternative treatments.

It was only after I had read some forum posts from newbies who came to the forum with their plight and veterans who said the same thing my ENT had told me that I became really worried. I don't think I could have habituated to my tinnitus, it was too loud.

Also, had I not taken the steps I will soon talk about, it would have surely gotten worse, because even though I have lived like a hermit to protect my ears, I was still exposed to several loud situations. What I will say is, incredibly good recoveries are possible, in 2020, before regenerative medicine and without neuromodulation devices.

At the moment, though I don't have silence, and probably will not have it for a while, things are not far off in my right ear(the reason my right is better than left is because of me doing one of the treatments wrong, something which I will get into soon).

There will be people saying "the things you have done to treat yourself didn't work and it was just the normal habituation and healing process that happens". Part of the healing was normal plus habituation, but I'm absolutely sure I accelerated and amplified the end result of my healing by a lot.

I think had I done even more research and found some very beneficial things sooner and tried them, I would have made a complete recovery. My diet could have been better, could have exercised more, many things like that as well.

I joined the forum on the 29th of April 2018, the reason for that was that my sign ups were caught by the spam filter and thus I was unable to sign up. Changing my email, my IP, the device I registered from etc didn't enable me to sign up. That is why there were no hysterical posts by me on this forum early on, I was panicking pretty bad and thought there's a very good chance my life is over.

It came clear to me early on, from reading the forum for a couple of months, that what you do early on is very important, like with HBOT or other things. HBOT was unavailable for me. Back then the laser threads were more active so they caught my eye fast. 2 months in I realized I probably will have to buy the laser, but put it off because almost everybody, including a verified doctor, said they were snake oil scams.

2,5 months in I had a spike to my tinnitus due to loud noise exposure and it became clear to me that I had not much to lose, because if the laser didn't work I'd be dead anyways and the 800 euros I was going to spend on it, well, I could not have taken it to the grave with me. I ordered the laser and started lasering 3 months from my initial spike.

I didn't have much faith in the treatment overall, I was just hoping to get some relief for the years before regenerative medicine comes out. The tinnitus spiked at first and again I was unable to sleep even with sleep medication on some nights, it was also summer and very hot so that didn't help sleep.

Gradually things settled down and got better. I was very careful with protecting my ears and super diligent with the laser. Then I found out I had made a horrific mistake, where I missed or at least exposed the cochlea in my left ear to much less of the laser. You can read more about it here:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/low-level-laser-therapy-lllt-for-tinnitus-%E2%80%94-long-lasting-everyday-home-practiced-experiences.25110/page-7#post-390133

This inadvertently and unfortunately proved to me that the laser worked and worked well, that it wasn't only the normal healing process.

I continued doing research and scouring Tinnitus Talk for different things that could help, because with tinnitus, the sooner you try things the better. Here's everything I tried in my tinnitus journey, I tried to make the list chronological but I'm not sure it is:

Ginkgo - made tinnitus worse.

Betaserc - did nothing.

Apple Cider Vinegar - did nothing.

Ear Tone by New Nordic, pills - Did very little, maybe 10-15 percent reduction, not worth the steep price.

ACRN - made tinnitus worse(maybe did it wrong).

Notched Sound Therapy - helped a bit.

Konftec Laser - responsible for, I'd say, at least 75 percent of the recovery, if not more. I'm still lasering every day and have for almost 2 years now.

Turmeric With Curcumin – helped but had to quit very soon because of side effects (psoriasis worsening rapidly).

Nicotinamide Riboside - very good effect, but I'm very sensitive to supplements and couldn't tolerate the side effects. Took only 10 doses. It is the most undervalued alternative treatment on TT imo.

NAC - Good effect, got very bad heart trouble and had to quit.

R. David Case Tinnitus Mix sound file - definitely worth a shot if you don't have hyperacusis. Seemed to work the first time around at first but second time I tried it about a year later didn't have the same effect.

Lion's Mane - Did nothing.

CoQ10 - mild effect, potentiates the laser.

Oxygen Concentrator while doing cardio (exercise bike) - HBOT was not available, had a good effect but again had to quit soon because of side effects.

Intermittent Fasting - helped a lot already, even though lots of time had passed since I got tinnitus.

Cold Showers – Similar to intermittent fasting, helps with cumulative effects. First month or so I noticed no difference, but almost 6 months of intermittent fasting and cold showers seemed to have worked well. Had to quit cold showers but still doing IF.

Hemp CBD Oil – massive temporary spike.

Probiotics – I didn't take them for tinnitus relief, took them to heal my gut as I had pretty bad GERD. Surprisingly, in addition to my GERD being fixed, they helped tinnitus quite a bit as well.

(All of these things have a thread on Tinnitus Talk)

I also have my eye on BPC-157, a synthetic peptide. I probably won't try it because my situation is already so good I can go out without hearing protection to quieter venues where they play music and the peptide has its dangers, but it's good to know I have an ace in the back pocked in case things were to get bad again after an accident. Though it would be interesting to see if it would cure me completely.

That is all I can think of right now, probably missing a couple of things and it's not a comprehensive list of everything worth trying, just the stuff I tried. Obviously there's things like PRP, stem cells and Lenire, which I am not opposed to trying, but I didn't have the money or in the case of Lenire the hearing ability necessary to try it.

Not counting the countless vitamins and minerals I took, most helpful of which have been Magnesium and Zinc. As you can see, I had to quit half or more things that worked well, because of side effects. Most people, almost all people, won't have that issue. I am still improving, after over 2 years since my spike, but the gains have gotten really slow because of the amount of time passed.

Had everything been tolerable, I would easily have made a complete recovery from 10/10 tinnitus with both ears I believe, maybe even silence. I've noticed over the years that all sorts of treatments have good effects on me more often and usually yield better results than for the average person, but I also have much worse side-effects than the average person.

Even if out of the things that had a good effect that I had to quit 2-3 had worked without intolerable side effects, or if I hadn't messed up with the laser, I would be resuming usual life probably. Yes, the tinnitus alternative treatment options are rife with scams, one needs to exercise some common sense, but there are things that help. If they don't, it's a small investment for big potential gains.

I believe my recovery isn't too impressive. In my opinion, most people, had they tried all of those things within the right timeframe (meaning soon, within 3 months or less) after getting tinnitus while being careful and protecting well, would have had a better recovery, because I had to quit so many things. Some things on that list are obviously more worth trying and sooner than others, a couple might not be worth trying at all.

My tinnitus in the right ear(which I would also have in my left had I not made the mistake) is back to pre spike levels, perhaps even better. I'm hoping to make some gains still with the left one which is worse. My tinnitus switches ears daily and fluctuates a lot. If I had to put numbers to it, if in my right, it's 0.5-1.5 severity and in my left about 2-3.5. My hyperacusis is virtually nonexistent during day to day activities.

More recently my left ear has been catching up to the right, it's still much worse but the right ear isn't improving much, not sure if it has improved at all within the last half a year or so. I attribute that to the right ear probably being already at the level I had before my horrific spike where it was at a very low volume tinnitus for 6 years.

Because I had the mild tinnitus for so long I doubt my right ear will improve much anymore, but it doesn't have to, it's at an amazingly low level at the moment with almost no hyperacusis and very mild reactivity.

I'd say I did TONS of things wrong with my recovery. I waited a bit too long to buy the laser, because people(most of whom hadn't even tried it) said it was snake oil, messed up the left ear, I should have done even more research into things and tried more things, sooner, better diet and exercise routine, etc.

There was a thread a while back where people could vote how much money they would spend on a cure, can't find it now. Most people were willing to pay 10 000 dollars or more for a cure. I have spent less than 2000 dollars on my ears.

One of the most important things is also how well I protected my hearing, most people would have called it overprotecting over here. I was willing to basically have no life for almost 2 years in order to recover from this.

It seems to me that a lot of people try a couple of things and then give up, if they even do that. In my opinion that is not the way to go. If you get relief of 10 percent from 1 thing that is already very good, if more then even better.

Combine a few, as long as they're safe, and you'll have a significant improvement of your situation. And remember, the first couple of months are crucial.

In my opinion people are too stingy with spending time and money on their health, it is the greatest investment you can make.

This post is one of the most uplifting posts I've seen on Tinnitus Talk. Thanks for posting it. My tinnitus was also caused by ototoxicity and then made worse by noise.

I have a number of questions though:

1. What intermittent fasting diet did you follow, i.e. 8:16 or 5:2 or what?
2. Did you follow any particular eating plan, i.e. low carb, high fat, low salt, low salicylates etc?
3. I take it you are not married or have children? If you do have children, how did you avoid the screams etc?
4. Why did you quit the cold showers?
5. An 85 dB loss at 8000 Hz certainly is severe? Have you recovered any hearing?
6. What antidepressant were you on that made your tinnitus get to 10/10 levels?
7. Likewise, what antidepressant were you on when you first got tinnitus?
8. What NR brand did you use, and same for NAC and Magnesium?
9. How can you be sure what helped and what didn't if you were trying so many things?
10. What is your current supplement routine?
11. Did you find that any foods spiked your tinnitus?

Lots of questions lol. You seem very sensitive to meds and supps. I am, too, but I need to try some supps to see if they help. I'm not sure about lasers though, as I know little about them, and they don't seem to get that much attention on here.

 

[SoundB0und]

Do you mind posting a link to the NR that you used?

It was NiaCel by Thorne Research, I think it's discontinued now, couldn't find it on iHerb(where I ordered it), nor on Amazon. The same company now makes with the same picture product that has Resveratrol and some other stuff in it in addition to NR, mine was only NR. Up to you if you want to try it, I think I'd try to get pure NR just because if I get side effects I don't know which one is causing it.

But it might be more difficult to find pure NR now than when I tried it almost a year ago, quick glance by me to Amazon and most of them have NMN also in it and other stuff. Also, because NR is patented I think I heard it being made/synthesized only by the patent holder, so it doesn't probably matter much which brand you buy, they just slap a different label on and the fillers or gel capsule might be different. At least that's how it was when I first read about it and tried it. I suggest you read the thread on NR if you want to try it. 1 last thing, be careful not to buy Nicotinamide, that's just B3 and won't do the trick.

 

[SoundB0und]

Thanks for calling my post uplifting, @all to gain . I'll try to answer your questions the best I can.

1. 8:16
2. Gluten and dairy free. No alcohol or caffeine for 6 years now. Other than that, trying to avoid low quality salt (I mostly try to use Celtic Sea Salt) and drinking lots of non tap water, my diet wasn't that special. Like I said in my first post, it could have been better. I do eat a lot of veggies and fruits and try to be healthy in general, but I don't avoid carbs or meat or anything like that.
3. I don't have children. I live in the countryside and it limits my exposure to noise a lot.
4. My derealization/depersonalization got worse. Cold showers have an effect on the dopamine system somehow and something went wrong, as it usually does and I get side effects. It went back to normal when I quit.
5. Yes, 85 dB and 8 kHz and it was a sharp dip, then the "wall" of 8 kHz came. Probably even worse at higher frequencies. It would be considered severe by most, I don't qualify for neuromodulation devices so it really was important that I get this tinnitus fixed. I had one audiogram straight after my ototoxicity which showed the same hearing loss as the one 1 year after, which surprised me, because my tinnitus had improved a lot. At that point, one year after, I had done the laser for 9 months. I might get another one one day but there's not much point. I think if I'd try BPC-157 I definitely would have one more.
6. It was not an antidepressant, I was the first in the country who tried it. I'd rather keep it to myself. That was 2 years ago and I hear from my doctor that tinnitus with it is uncommon, if not unheard of. In fact, the med transformed my life so much, that 2 months ago I tried it again, yes, a huge risk. We thought that it was probably an interaction with my antidepressant or the other medication I was on. A much lower dose. 1 dose spiked my hyperacusis noticeably and it took a couple of weeks to recover from that with the laser, tinnitus didn't get worse. Now I'm back to gaining ground.
7. It was Wellbutrin.
8. Mentioned NR in previous post. NAC was Natural Factors(like that brand because they don't put a lot of weird stuff in the pills) and Magnesium was Doctor's Best, Chelated. I'm not sure why people ask the brand so much, not that it matters that much.
9. That's why it's important to try only 1 thing at once, and if you are able to tolerate it, wait at least 2 weeks, possibly 1 month, before you add anything new. I only tried 1 thing at once.
10. CoQ10, Magnesium, D3, Zinc, Calcium, Folate, Vitamin C, Probiotics; don't take much weird stuff atm.
11. Yes, gluten. Dairy only if I have lots of it. I don't have any of either. And cheap salt.

 

[all to gain]

Thanks for calling my post uplifting, @all to gain . I'll try to answer your questions the best I can.

1. 8:16
2. Gluten and dairy free. No alcohol or caffeine for 6 years now. Other than that, trying to avoid low quality salt (I mostly try to use Celtic Sea Salt) and drinking lots of non tap water, my diet wasn't that special. Like I said in my first post, it could have been better. I do eat a lot of veggies and fruits and try to be healthy in general, but I don't avoid carbs or meat or anything like that.
3. I don't have children. I live in the countryside and it limits my exposure to noise a lot.
4. My derealization/depersonalization got worse. Cold showers have an effect on the dopamine system somehow and something went wrong, as it usually does and I get side effects. It went back to normal when I quit.
5. Yes, 85 dB and 8 kHz and it was a sharp dip, then the "wall" of 8 kHz came. Probably even worse at higher frequencies. It would be considered severe by most, I don't qualify for neuromodulation devices so it really was important that I get this tinnitus fixed. I had one audiogram straight after my ototoxicity which showed the same hearing loss as the one 1 year after, which surprised me, because my tinnitus had improved a lot. At that point, one year after, I had done the laser for 9 months. I might get another one one day but there's not much point. I think if I'd try BPC-157 I definitely would have one more.
6. It was not an antidepressant, I was the first in the country who tried it. I'd rather keep it to myself. That was 2 years ago and I hear from my doctor that tinnitus with it is uncommon, if not unheard of. In fact, the med transformed my life so much, that 2 months ago I tried it again, yes, a huge risk. We thought that it was probably an interaction with my antidepressant or the other medication I was on. A much lower dose. 1 dose spiked my hyperacusis noticeably and it took a couple of weeks to recover from that with the laser, tinnitus didn't get worse. Now I'm back to gaining ground.
7. It was Wellbutrin.
8. Mentioned NR in previous post. NAC was Natural Factors(like that brand because they don't put a lot of weird stuff in the pills) and Magnesium was Doctor's Best, Chelated. I'm not sure why people ask the brand so much, not that it matters that much.
9. That's why it's important to try only 1 thing at once, and if you are able to tolerate it, wait at least 2 weeks, possibly 1 month, before you add anything new. I only tried 1 thing at once.
10. CoQ10, Magnesium, D3, Zinc, Calcium, Folate, Vitamin C, Probiotics; don't take much weird stuff atm.
11. Yes, gluten. Dairy only if I have lots of it. I don't have any of either. And cheap salt.

Thanks for the indepth reply. No gluten or dairy would be difficult for me, especially no dairy.

You still take a lot of vitamins. People want to know the brand because they hope they will get the same result or that maybe the brand is of a better quality.

I will have to think about a laser, but I know so little about them. Again, first thing I think about is side effects.

 

[Tony Phylactou]

DISCLAIMER: This post is not medical advice. Please consult your doctor before trying any of the alternative treatments mentioned here. I will not be held responsible for any damages, physical or otherwise, resulting from anybody trying these treatments.

I thought about not writing a success story but I feel I have valuable knowledge to share, knowledge that I wish I had when I first got my horrific tinnitus.

I have mentioned only ototoxicity in my profile but thinking back I was abusing my ears for years with loud music. The antidepressant I was on for 6 years probably made my hearing loss a bit, if not a lot more easily acquirable, but a lot of the damage was from noise exposure as well.

I had mild tinnitus that crept up to a higher volume within 6 years, but still in early 2018 it was very manageable. I could listen to music and ride in a car without protection and it wasn't a huge problem. I almost never thought about my tinnitus. I sort of had bigger problems in my life, all that changed in March 2018.

I was put on a very new medication in February that year. At first things were great, but I soon found out what real intrusive tinnitus was. I had 2 things going on, what we think happened was the new medication caused rapid ototoxicity and also I had a bad cold and there began my severe tinnitus journey.

Within a couple of weeks my tinnitus ramped up to what I call "suicide levels". It was absolute torture, even for Tinnitus Talk I think I'd been a very bad case. I also acquired very severe hyperacusis. I soon found myself in the ENT office and it was discovered that my hearing loss was 85 decibels at 8kHz.

Even the ENT, who probably sees bad cases all the time, was visibly shocked at how bad my hearing was at my age(late 20s). I just got told the usual, "you're gonna have to live with it".

At my worst, I could not read a book because of how loud the tinnitus was and my hyperacusis was so bad I had earmuffs on when using the tap. I was up 3 nights in a row(meaning not a minute of sleep) taking 6 times the dose of sleep med each night that usually knocks me out cold. Riding in a car with double protection spiked the tinnitus a lot.

Dishes were incredibly painful. The worst were "synthetic" sounds, meaning sounds from speakers. Listening to music so low I could not hear the words would spike the tinnitus within 3 seconds to crazy levels.

My doctor who prescribed me the med told me that this medication should not cause tinnitus and to not even quit it. Against her judgment I did quit the medication and my tinnitus stopped getting worse. After coming back from the ENT I was not phased, I thought for sure on the forums or online there'd be talk of effective alternative treatments.

It was only after I had read some forum posts from newbies who came to the forum with their plight and veterans who said the same thing my ENT had told me that I became really worried. I don't think I could have habituated to my tinnitus, it was too loud.

Also, had I not taken the steps I will soon talk about, it would have surely gotten worse, because even though I have lived like a hermit to protect my ears, I was still exposed to several loud situations. What I will say is, incredibly good recoveries are possible, in 2020, before regenerative medicine and without neuromodulation devices.

At the moment, though I don't have silence, and probably will not have it for a while, things are not far off in my right ear(the reason my right is better than left is because of me doing one of the treatments wrong, something which I will get into soon).

There will be people saying "the things you have done to treat yourself didn't work and it was just the normal habituation and healing process that happens". Part of the healing was normal plus habituation, but I'm absolutely sure I accelerated and amplified the end result of my healing by a lot.

I think had I done even more research and found some very beneficial things sooner and tried them, I would have made a complete recovery. My diet could have been better, could have exercised more, many things like that as well.

I joined the forum on the 29th of April 2018, the reason for that was that my sign ups were caught by the spam filter and thus I was unable to sign up. Changing my email, my IP, the device I registered from etc didn't enable me to sign up. That is why there were no hysterical posts by me on this forum early on, I was panicking pretty bad and thought there's a very good chance my life is over.

It came clear to me early on, from reading the forum for a couple of months, that what you do early on is very important, like with HBOT or other things. HBOT was unavailable for me. Back then the laser threads were more active so they caught my eye fast. 2 months in I realized I probably will have to buy the laser, but put it off because almost everybody, including a verified doctor, said they were snake oil scams.

2,5 months in I had a spike to my tinnitus due to loud noise exposure and it became clear to me that I had not much to lose, because if the laser didn't work I'd be dead anyways and the 800 euros I was going to spend on it, well, I could not have taken it to the grave with me. I ordered the laser and started lasering 3 months from my initial spike.

I didn't have much faith in the treatment overall, I was just hoping to get some relief for the years before regenerative medicine comes out. The tinnitus spiked at first and again I was unable to sleep even with sleep medication on some nights, it was also summer and very hot so that didn't help sleep.

Gradually things settled down and got better. I was very careful with protecting my ears and super diligent with the laser. Then I found out I had made a horrific mistake, where I missed or at least exposed the cochlea in my left ear to much less of the laser. You can read more about it here:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/low-level-laser-therapy-lllt-for-tinnitus-%E2%80%94-long-lasting-everyday-home-practiced-experiences.25110/page-7#post-390133

This inadvertently and unfortunately proved to me that the laser worked and worked well, that it wasn't only the normal healing process.

I continued doing research and scouring Tinnitus Talk for different things that could help, because with tinnitus, the sooner you try things the better. Here's everything I tried in my tinnitus journey, I tried to make the list chronological but I'm not sure it is:

Ginkgo - made tinnitus worse.

Betaserc - did nothing.

Apple Cider Vinegar - did nothing.

Ear Tone by New Nordic, pills - Did very little, maybe 10-15 percent reduction, not worth the steep price.

ACRN - made tinnitus worse(maybe did it wrong).

Notched Sound Therapy - helped a bit.

Konftec Laser - responsible for, I'd say, at least 75 percent of the recovery, if not more. I'm still lasering every day and have for almost 2 years now.

Turmeric With Curcumin – helped but had to quit very soon because of side effects (psoriasis worsening rapidly).

Nicotinamide Riboside - very good effect, but I'm very sensitive to supplements and couldn't tolerate the side effects. Took only 10 doses. It is the most undervalued alternative treatment on TT imo.

NAC - Good effect, got very bad heart trouble and had to quit.

R. David Case Tinnitus Mix sound file - definitely worth a shot if you don't have hyperacusis. Seemed to work the first time around at first but second time I tried it about a year later didn't have the same effect.

Lion's Mane - Did nothing.

CoQ10 - mild effect, potentiates the laser.

Oxygen Concentrator while doing cardio (exercise bike) - HBOT was not available, had a good effect but again had to quit soon because of side effects.

Intermittent Fasting - helped a lot already, even though lots of time had passed since I got tinnitus.

Cold Showers – Similar to intermittent fasting, helps with cumulative effects. First month or so I noticed no difference, but almost 6 months of intermittent fasting and cold showers seemed to have worked well. Had to quit cold showers but still doing IF.

Hemp CBD Oil – massive temporary spike.

Probiotics – I didn't take them for tinnitus relief, took them to heal my gut as I had pretty bad GERD. Surprisingly, in addition to my GERD being fixed, they helped tinnitus quite a bit as well.

(All of these things have a thread on Tinnitus Talk)

I also have my eye on BPC-157, a synthetic peptide. I probably won't try it because my situation is already so good I can go out without hearing protection to quieter venues where they play music and the peptide has its dangers, but it's good to know I have an ace in the back pocked in case things were to get bad again after an accident. Though it would be interesting to see if it would cure me completely.

That is all I can think of right now, probably missing a couple of things and it's not a comprehensive list of everything worth trying, just the stuff I tried. Obviously there's things like PRP, stem cells and Lenire, which I am not opposed to trying, but I didn't have the money or in the case of Lenire the hearing ability necessary to try it.

Not counting the countless vitamins and minerals I took, most helpful of which have been Magnesium and Zinc. As you can see, I had to quit half or more things that worked well, because of side effects. Most people, almost all people, won't have that issue. I am still improving, after over 2 years since my spike, but the gains have gotten really slow because of the amount of time passed.

Had everything been tolerable, I would easily have made a complete recovery from 10/10 tinnitus with both ears I believe, maybe even silence. I've noticed over the years that all sorts of treatments have good effects on me more often and usually yield better results than for the average person, but I also have much worse side-effects than the average person.

Even if out of the things that had a good effect that I had to quit 2-3 had worked without intolerable side effects, or if I hadn't messed up with the laser, I would be resuming usual life probably. Yes, the tinnitus alternative treatment options are rife with scams, one needs to exercise some common sense, but there are things that help. If they don't, it's a small investment for big potential gains.

I believe my recovery isn't too impressive. In my opinion, most people, had they tried all of those things within the right timeframe (meaning soon, within 3 months or less) after getting tinnitus while being careful and protecting well, would have had a better recovery, because I had to quit so many things. Some things on that list are obviously more worth trying and sooner than others, a couple might not be worth trying at all.

My tinnitus in the right ear(which I would also have in my left had I not made the mistake) is back to pre spike levels, perhaps even better. I'm hoping to make some gains still with the left one which is worse. My tinnitus switches ears daily and fluctuates a lot. If I had to put numbers to it, if in my right, it's 0.5-1.5 severity and in my left about 2-3.5. My hyperacusis is virtually nonexistent during day to day activities.

More recently my left ear has been catching up to the right, it's still much worse but the right ear isn't improving much, not sure if it has improved at all within the last half a year or so. I attribute that to the right ear probably being already at the level I had before my horrific spike where it was at a very low volume tinnitus for 6 years.

Because I had the mild tinnitus for so long I doubt my right ear will improve much anymore, but it doesn't have to, it's at an amazingly low level at the moment with almost no hyperacusis and very mild reactivity.

I'd say I did TONS of things wrong with my recovery. I waited a bit too long to buy the laser, because people(most of whom hadn't even tried it) said it was snake oil, messed up the left ear, I should have done even more research into things and tried more things, sooner, better diet and exercise routine, etc.

There was a thread a while back where people could vote how much money they would spend on a cure, can't find it now. Most people were willing to pay 10 000 dollars or more for a cure. I have spent less than 2000 dollars on my ears.

One of the most important things is also how well I protected my hearing, most people would have called it overprotecting over here. I was willing to basically have no life for almost 2 years in order to recover from this.

It seems to me that a lot of people try a couple of things and then give up, if they even do that. In my opinion that is not the way to go. If you get relief of 10 percent from 1 thing that is already very good, if more then even better.

Combine a few, as long as they're safe, and you'll have a significant improvement of your situation. And remember, the first couple of months are crucial.

In my opinion people are too stingy with spending time and money on their health, it is the greatest investment you can make.

I think you should go on Guinness Book of World Records. You have tried more than all of us put together. Well done.

 

[Renee W]

@SoundB0und

Hi sound bound, I really appreciate your post. I have some questions about the laser device you use. If I'm 18 months into tinnitus, do you think it's too late to have success with the emLAS-520 BCB? I'm also looking on the knoftec website and there are many devices to choose from. All I see are emLAS-520, but not finding the BCB model. Does this device use red and infrared light or just infrared? How long did you use the device to notice a difference?

 

[SoundB0und]

Hi sound bound, I really appreciate your post.

Thank you.

If I'm 18 months into tinnitus, do you think it's too late to have success with the emLAS-520 BCB?

I am sorry to say this, but I think so. By accident, I started the laser on my right ear 3 months into my spike and on the left 7-8 months into it. That means I've done the laser on my right for 22 months and left 14-15 months, doesn't seem like a huge difference but my left is much much worse and my right hasn't improved in the past 6 months or so(because it's been at the level it was before the spike).

My left will probably never fully catch up to the right because I missed the window of it working well. And the probe was in my left ear with light coming out of it, I just think the left ear got some light but not enough of it to work well, had it gotten no light it would have been even worse.

So unfortunately I don't think you can expect good or maybe even any results after 18 months. What you can do is buy it and use it if you want but mostly as a precautionary measure for further spikes, if you want. Nicotinamide Riboside might still work for you might need to use it for many months to see an improvement.

not finding the BCB model

You need to scroll down on the online store.

Does this device use red and infrared light or just infrared?

There are 2 sets of probes on emLas 520 BCB that plug into the controller that you can switch, one is red and one infrared.

How long did you use the device to notice a difference?

2-3 months I think, not sure it was almost 2 years ago.

 

[Renee W]

@SoundB0und

Thank you so much for your reply. I found the device you use on the site! I may just order it and see what happens. I did some more research and found that one guy found improvement after 6 years of tinnitus. The device I found is $820. Does that seem about right?

Just a few more questions, sorry! What treatment protocol do you use? For instance, how long and often do you use the red and infrared light? Daily, weekly, monthly? Can you treat both ears at once?

 

[SoundB0und]

The device I found is $820. Does that seem about right?

Yes.

What treatment protocol do you use?

See post 8. in this thread. I do 1 wavelength 1 day and the other one the next, not 2 the same day. I don't take days off.

Can you treat both ears at once?

Yes, you're supposed to, even if you have tinnitus in only 1 ear.

 

[all to gain]

What side effects did you get from NR? You say you got a good effect, but what was the effect exactly?

What exactly did NAC do to you, ie what do you mean by very bad heart trouble?

These are very two supps I want to try first, and as I am also sensitive to a lot of things, I want to know what I could expect.

 

[SoundB0und]

What side effects did you get from NR? You say you got a good effect, but what was the effect exactly?

See this post:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...-induced-hearing-loss.7101/page-4#post-383994

It's very rare to get this much side effects.

Think it helped my tinnitus and hyperacusis, I could feel the effect somewhat from 10 doses already, had I taken it longer it'd been a cumulative effect.

What exactly did NAC do to you, ie what do you mean by very bad heart trouble?

NAC was a weird one. I took it also for like a few months a few years ago, I had heart trouble back then too but it was 10x milder. I took NAC again for tinnitus after a smoke alarm went off 1 meter from my head like 1,5 years ago(I had it ready so I took it instantly).

I woke up in the middle of the night with heart fluttering and acting all weird, it wasn't too painful but it freaked me out. The tinnitus acted weird too, it was sort of pulsating with it being very quiet in between for 1 second and then regular loudness after. I have no idea what it was.

My sensitivity to supplements is insane, I doubt you'll have these problems with NAC and NR. I wouldn't have quit them if the side effects weren't super bothersome.

 

[all to gain]

See this post:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...-induced-hearing-loss.7101/page-4#post-383994

It's very rare to get this much side effects.

Think it helped my tinnitus and hyperacusis, I could feel the effect somewhat from 10 doses already, had I taken it longer it'd been a cumulative effect.


NAC was a weird one. I took it also for like a few months a few years ago, I had heard trouble back then too but it was 10x milder. I took NAC again for tinnitus after a smoke alarm went off 1 meter from my head like 1,5 years ago(I had it ready so I took it instantly).

I woke up in the middle of the night with heart fluttering and acting all weird, it wasn't too painful but it freaked me out. The tinnitus acted weird too, it was sort of pulsating with it being very quiet in between for 1 second and then regular loudness after. I have no idea what it was.

My sensitivity to supplements is insane, I doubt you'll have these problems with NAC and NR. I wouldn't have quit them if the side effects weren't super bothersome.

Believe me, I have become very sensitive to many things. It started with meds, but now many foods spike my tinnitus within minutes if not seconds. All the same, I'm going to give these two a go. May get lucky.

 

[humptydumpty69]

@SoundB0und,

It's funny that you mention how we don't have an account of your hysterical posts; I think back to some of the posts that I made, and I really empathize with that statement. I remember veterans talking to me and just kinda' being like, "you'll adjust and calm down Man, we all do"; but I was like, "No way, this is my livelihood, and how can I ever exist without the profundity of music and the manifestation of my mind?" Well, I do, haha, and it sucks, but I do.

I wonder though, regarding the positioning of your laser, and how you improperly placed it: I remember posting in the laser threads about how I had chosen Wilden's laser because of the beam's circumference that it projects, I wonder if you would have had this complication if your beam's projection was wider? I've never really had any complications with placement. I'm not suggesting that people get Wilden's laser, but mostly because I believe it costs just under 3 thousand USD. Yours is a much more affordable option, although may require some finesse. People have argued plenty about which laser model is appropriate or strongest; after using an LED panel, I realize that not even laser (as some people theorize) is specific to the healing benefits that come with red light. Although, regarding the ears, I imagine that laser is necessary to penetrate that far into the anatomy as opposed to LED.

I'm very glad for you my friend, that you have found some solace and that you manage to enlighten and enable other people who are scared and dejected and without direction.

Sincerely,

Humpty



P.S. @scotty03874, motorcycle?? lol

 

[SoundB0und]

I wonder though, regarding the positioning of your laser, and how you improperly placed it: I remember posting in the laser threads about how I had chosen Wilden's laser because of the beam's circumference that it projects, I wonder if you would have had this complication if your beam's projection was wider? I've never really had any complications with placement. I'm not suggesting that people get Wilden's laser, but mostly because I believe it costs just under 3 thousand USD. Yours is a much more affordable option, although may require some finesse.

Yes, I still think had I not stretched the opening of my ear canal by pushing an earplug in too deep I wouldn't have had this problem. You can actually change the circumference of the beam the Konftec laser projects with cutting the base of the rubber tip that goes onto the probe 5 mm, which makes it much wider. I suggest everybody using the Konftec device do this.

For some reason for me the probes don't stay in the ear well at all when I do this, but for most who tried this it was fine. I have placed some tape on the part the probes touch the ears to lift them and so that the angle is right pretty much every time, though I do check from the mirror from time to time that it is.

Another thing to consider besides the beam circumference is that the Wilden Laser has these hooks that make it attach to the ear (I imagine) much better. I'm guessing this makes the angle of the probes much more consistent and harder to mess up. Haven't seen the Wilden laser with my own eyes but this is what it looks like from their homepage:

So yes the Konftec device has it's drawbacks, but they can be at least somewhat mitigated by cutting the base of the rubber tip and with being careful with the device, the big upside is you can save a lot of cash. I don't think the quality of light is that much different from the Konftec devices, but I might be wrong. Learn from my mistakes people.

I'm very glad for you my friend, that you have found some solace and that you manage to enlighten and enable other people who are scared and dejected and without direction.

Thanks, friend. I felt I needed to give back, my recovery wouldn't have been possible without this forum, its administrators and the people who post on here.

 

[AnxiouslyWaiting]

Thanks for calling my post uplifting, @all to gain . I'll try to answer your questions the best I can.

1. 8:16
2. Gluten and dairy free. No alcohol or caffeine for 6 years now. Other than that, trying to avoid low quality salt (I mostly try to use Celtic Sea Salt) and drinking lots of non tap water, my diet wasn't that special. Like I said in my first post, it could have been better. I do eat a lot of veggies and fruits and try to be healthy in general, but I don't avoid carbs or meat or anything like that.
3. I don't have children. I live in the countryside and it limits my exposure to noise a lot.
4. My derealization/depersonalization got worse. Cold showers have an effect on the dopamine system somehow and something went wrong, as it usually does and I get side effects. It went back to normal when I quit.
5. Yes, 85 dB and 8 kHz and it was a sharp dip, then the "wall" of 8 kHz came. Probably even worse at higher frequencies. It would be considered severe by most, I don't qualify for neuromodulation devices so it really was important that I get this tinnitus fixed. I had one audiogram straight after my ototoxicity which showed the same hearing loss as the one 1 year after, which surprised me, because my tinnitus had improved a lot. At that point, one year after, I had done the laser for 9 months. I might get another one one day but there's not much point. I think if I'd try BPC-157 I definitely would have one more.
6. It was not an antidepressant, I was the first in the country who tried it. I'd rather keep it to myself. That was 2 years ago and I hear from my doctor that tinnitus with it is uncommon, if not unheard of. In fact, the med transformed my life so much, that 2 months ago I tried it again, yes, a huge risk. We thought that it was probably an interaction with my antidepressant or the other medication I was on. A much lower dose. 1 dose spiked my hyperacusis noticeably and it took a couple of weeks to recover from that with the laser, tinnitus didn't get worse. Now I'm back to gaining ground.
7. It was Wellbutrin.
8. Mentioned NR in previous post. NAC was Natural Factors(like that brand because they don't put a lot of weird stuff in the pills) and Magnesium was Doctor's Best, Chelated. I'm not sure why people ask the brand so much, not that it matters that much.
9. That's why it's important to try only 1 thing at once, and if you are able to tolerate it, wait at least 2 weeks, possibly 1 month, before you add anything new. I only tried 1 thing at once.
10. CoQ10, Magnesium, D3, Zinc, Calcium, Folate, Vitamin C, Probiotics; don't take much weird stuff atm.
11. Yes, gluten. Dairy only if I have lots of it. I don't have any of either. And cheap salt.

I just saw the brand of Magnesium you were/are using is Doctors Best. Is this still the brand you're using?

I saw this incidentally but bought Doctors Best magnesium a while ago and every time I take it I feel uneasy and start feeling like I have bad anxiety coming on. I feel it mostly in my chest, arms and legs.

I'm not sure if this is due to magnesium supplements not being for me or if my batch was dodgy.

 

[SoundB0und]

I just saw the brand of Magnesium you were/are using is Doctors Best. Is this still the brand you're using?

Yes I'm still using it, but find that the serving (2 tablets) they recommend is way too much and I take like half a pill at a time and not every day even. I get irregular heart beat if I take too much. You could try lowering the dose or another brand, but I doubt the batch was dodgy, though everything is possible. I've been using that brand magnesium for years and also a bunch of other supps I get that same brand.