Ginger for Noxacusis

[chinup]

I've been drinking a lot of Ginger ale and Ginger tea lately, and I believe it may be helping to temporarily calm the burning "sunburn" pain from noxacusis. Kind of like popping an Aspirin for a headache.

I was wondering if other folks with noxacusis could try upping their Ginger intake for a week or two and seeing if anything happens. The effects are pretty quick for me. The burning goes away within 5-10 minutes of consuming Ginger, and seems to stay away for an hour or two.

 

[Brian Newman]

Good find. I'll give it a try.

 

[GoatSheep]

Is it just because it's anti-inflammatory or is there other properties possibly at work?

 

[ZFire]

If I may add a suggestion, I would look into buying or making Ginger shots if you're able to. It's a day's worth of Ginger intake.

I used to down Ginger shots (1) on an empty stomach each morning as a pre workout routine. I always felt good during the workouts.

The only downside with this form of intake is that it's kind of expensive if you want to buy them. It also has a very acidic taste when consumed. Burning sensations in the throat. If you can tolerate it, go for it.

@GoatSheep, I think it's likely for the anti-inflammatory properties. I was taking it for some knee pain. Something was working there.

 

[chinup]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has given this a shot. It definitely works for me 100% of the time thus far. It's a massive, massive game-changer.

 

[Athens]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has given this a shot. It definitely works for me 100% of the time thus far. It's a massive, massive game-changer.

I have been doing it for a few days now (two teaspoons of Ginger each day). You can drink it with hot water and call it tea. I have not noticed any change but I do not have pain hyperacusis (mine is loudness).

 

[chinup]

I have been doing it for a few days now (two teaspoons of Ginger each day). You can drink it with hot water and call it tea. I have not noticed any change but I do not have pain hyperacusis (mine is loudness).

Yeah I think it's only something for noxacusis, probably won't do much for loudness sadly.

 

[GoatSheep]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has given this a shot. It definitely works for me 100% of the time thus far. It's a massive, massive game-changer.

I'll be trying it soon. Next time I do a supplement shop I'll get some tea and maybe some gummies or something.

 

[Athens]

Yeah I think it's only something for noxacusis, probably won't do much for loudness sadly.

On a different topic, would a low histamine diet only be effective for pain hyperacusis rather than loudness hyperacusis?

 

[GoatSheep]

I got some lemon and ginger tea. I was going to get a supplement, but I couldn't find anything at my local Kroger. Looks like I'll have to go somewhere like a supplement store or another grocery store like Whole Foods.

I'll update the thread at some point.

 

[GoatSheep]

I got some lemon and ginger tea. I was going to get a supplement, but I couldn't find anything at my local Kroger. Looks like I'll have to go somewhere like a supplement store or another grocery store like Whole Foods.

I'll update the thread at some point.

Unfortunately, I haven't noticed any effect on my pain from either Ginger supplement or tea.

 

[Taw]

Unfortunately, I haven't noticed any effect on my pain from either Ginger supplement or tea.

I also tried Ginger. I have some nausea pills that you should keep in your mouth until they dissolve. They are very spicy (having Ginger, of course) but no effect on hyperacusis, only upset my stomach.

 

[chinup]

I'm at an utter loss guys. Why would this work so well for me? Doesn't make sense at all.

I am seeing improvement from my last major setback that took place around November. I think it's mostly just time for me, but the Ginger does help with the burning. Doesn't touch my loudness hyperacusis at all, just that deep sunburn type of pain from noxacusis.

I'm able to watch TV again at low levels and can even listen to some music again at low levels. Harsh guitar still makes my ears burn within minutes after exposure so I'm not listening to much of that for now.

Every setback I've had has been caused by either listening to music on my phone/laptop or using headphones. I have completely removed all of these speakers from my life and now only listen to stuff from a sound system at low volume.

Hopefully I can continue to improve...

 

[Taw]

@chinup, indeed phone/laptop/headphones should disappear for a long time from our lives. I feel the same, in November I could watch TV at minimum but now I watch it only on mute.

TBH I would not listen to music for a time, because, as you noticed, some frequencies like guitars (also drums for me) will make us worse.

 

[Vassili]

Today I made pork cutlets with white bread, cream, onions, garlic, ginger, salt and black pepper. Well, here goes nothing...

 

[Juan]

I've been drinking a lot of Ginger ale and Ginger tea lately, and I believe it may be helping to temporarily calm the burning "sunburn" pain from noxacusis. Kind of like popping an Aspirin for a headache.

I was wondering if other folks with noxacusis could try upping their Ginger intake for a week or two and seeing if anything happens. The effects are pretty quick for me. The burning goes away within 5-10 minutes of consuming Ginger, and seems to stay away for an hour or two.

Some food items are good for ears. Ginger, curcumin, garlic, onion, fresh fruit and vegetables, avocados, smoked salmon, dry fruits, sunflower seeds, etc...

 

[StoneInFocus]

I used to make Ginger tea by putting thin slices of Ginger root in hot water.

In the last couple of days I've brewed it by putting grated Ginger in a pan and cooking it on a stove for 10-15 minutes.

It is a major difference between methods, the latter will make your tea much spicier and it appears to be a more economical use of Ginger.

1 chunk of Ginger will give you a day's worth of delicious Ginger tea.

It does wonders for my throat.

Probably going to use it everyday and see how it affects my hyperacusis, even though it is probably hard to single out the decisive factor, among things such as supplements and amount of sleep, which is responsible for the most improvement.

 

[Aaron91]

Just wanted to chime in here and say that ginger flares up my TTTS, which in turn makes my hyperacusis worse.

Initially, this didn't make much sense to me as the tonic tensor is linked to the trigeminal nerve, whereas taste is transmitted by the facial nerve and glossopharyngeal nerve (or at least so I thought).

It was only upon further investigation did I find out that although the facial nerve and glossopharyngeal nerves are responsible for taste, it is the trigeminal nerve that is responsible for transmitting the specific signal for heat/spice when we eat capsaisin (the active component of chilli peppers). This activates the pain pathway, hence why we react badly to hot chilli. Turns out the molecular structure for gingerol (the active component in ginger) is very similar to capsaisin, which in turn allows it to bind to the same TRP ion channel.

TLDR: Ginger can flare up TTTS.

 

[Hottopic29]

I drink Ginger daily except yesterday. And today I noticed my ears burn. I'm drinking Ginger now and my ears feel better than earlier today.

 

[chinup]

Updating this thread: I'm really improving. This is up there with the best I've been since my noise injury in May 2019 that started this nightmare. I would say I'm a very solid 70% recovered. I can function somewhat normally and am carefully reintegrating back into my social life.

I went to a wedding in a major city a few weeks ago and wore heavy duty foam earplugs the entire time. They were playing loud music and the wedding lasted for several hours. The wedding also involved flying to and from the city, as well as going out and about during the day and dealing with horns, sirens and other noise pollution.

I was extremely worried I was gonna have a major setback, as there were multiple instances of dangerous volume levels, but the entire time I protected my ears and consumed tons of ginger ale, ginger tea, ginger gummies, etc.

I made it back home and made sure to avoid as much sound as possible for 2-3 days, and I'm thrilled to say I didn't have a setback at all.

Since then I've started listening to music again pretty regularly. Always at a safe low level and always thru a high quality speaker system. Never headphones and never cheap speakers like phones or laptops.

Lately there are nights where I just sit and listen to music for 7-8 hours straight. If you're reading this and you're a musician who has been robbed of the ability to even listen to music for years because of hyperacusis, then you'll understand why I do this.

That said, I still force myself to take a day off here and there, just to make sure.

My ears still lightly burn now and then, and I still feel pain when there's a loud sound, but the constant intense noxacusis has fortunately subsided. My goal now is to prevent another setback at all costs. This means completely avoiding talking on the phone or using laptop speakers for many years, avoiding indoor concerts, movie theaters, sporting events, etc. It also means taking a day of "noise rest" every few days just to make sure I don't overdo anything.

I'll update this thread if something changes, there's definitely room for more improvement but if things could just remain like this until better treatments arrive I'd take that in a heartbeat.

 

[UKBloke]

Updating this thread: I'm really improving.

It seems to be increasingly difficult lately to find positive outcomes on this site unfortunately. So whenever I read stories like yours it gives me a real lift. Thanks for coming back and posting. I'm overjoyed for you!

 

[Athens]

Updating this thread: I'm really improving. This is up there with the best I've been since my noise injury in May 2019 that started this nightmare. I would say I'm a very solid 70% recovered. I can function somewhat normally and am carefully reintegrating back into my social life.

I went to a wedding in a major city a few weeks ago and wore heavy duty foam earplugs the entire time. They were playing loud music and the wedding lasted for several hours. The wedding also involved flying to and from the city, as well as going out and about during the day and dealing with horns, sirens and other noise pollution.

I was extremely worried I was gonna have a major setback, as there were multiple instances of dangerous volume levels, but the entire time I protected my ears and consumed tons of ginger ale, ginger tea, ginger gummies, etc.

I made it back home and made sure to avoid as much sound as possible for 2-3 days, and I'm thrilled to say I didn't have a setback at all.

Since then I've started listening to music again pretty regularly. Always at a safe low level and always thru a high quality speaker system. Never headphones and never cheap speakers like phones or laptops.

Lately there are nights where I just sit and listen to music for 7-8 hours straight. If you're reading this and you're a musician who has been robbed of the ability to even listen to music for years because of hyperacusis, then you'll understand why I do this.

That said, I still force myself to take a day off here and there, just to make sure.

My ears still lightly burn now and then, and I still feel pain when there's a loud sound, but the constant intense noxacusis has fortunately subsided. My goal now is to prevent another setback at all costs. This means completely avoiding talking on the phone or using laptop speakers for many years, avoiding indoor concerts, movie theaters, sporting events, etc. It also means taking a day of "noise rest" every few days just to make sure I don't overdo anything.

I'll update this thread if something changes, there's definitely room for more improvement but if things could just remain like this until better treatments arrive I'd take that in a heartbeat.

Are you referencing not talking on any phone or just certain types of phones (with digital sound, etc.)?

 

[chinup]

Are you referencing not talking on any phone or just certain types of phones (with digital sound, etc.)?

No phone speakers at all. If I absolutely need to talk on the phone I will connect it to a better speaker via Bluetooth. My latest setback last year was 100% caused by listening to rock music on my phone. The setback before that (2020) was caused by listening to rock music with headphones. Never at loud volumes for either setback. So I'm done with headphones and phone speakers forever (or until there is a cure for hyperacusis).

 

[Athens]

No phone speakers at all. If I absolutely need to talk on the phone I will connect it to a better speaker via Bluetooth. My latest setback last year was 100% caused by listening to rock music on my phone. The setback before that (2020) was caused by listening to rock music with headphones. Never at loud volumes for either setback. So I'm done with headphones and phone speakers forever (or until there is a cure for hyperacusis).

I have a traditional phone that is connected to the internet. I talk on it at a soft volume. I am not certain if it is considered digital sound or not.

 

[GeorgeLG]

Updating this thread: I'm really improving. This is up there with the best I've been since my noise injury in May 2019 that started this nightmare. I would say I'm a very solid 70% recovered. I can function somewhat normally and am carefully reintegrating back into my social life.

I went to a wedding in a major city a few weeks ago and wore heavy duty foam earplugs the entire time. They were playing loud music and the wedding lasted for several hours. The wedding also involved flying to and from the city, as well as going out and about during the day and dealing with horns, sirens and other noise pollution.

I was extremely worried I was gonna have a major setback, as there were multiple instances of dangerous volume levels, but the entire time I protected my ears and consumed tons of ginger ale, ginger tea, ginger gummies, etc.

I made it back home and made sure to avoid as much sound as possible for 2-3 days, and I'm thrilled to say I didn't have a setback at all.

Since then I've started listening to music again pretty regularly. Always at a safe low level and always thru a high quality speaker system. Never headphones and never cheap speakers like phones or laptops.

Lately there are nights where I just sit and listen to music for 7-8 hours straight. If you're reading this and you're a musician who has been robbed of the ability to even listen to music for years because of hyperacusis, then you'll understand why I do this.

That said, I still force myself to take a day off here and there, just to make sure.

My ears still lightly burn now and then, and I still feel pain when there's a loud sound, but the constant intense noxacusis has fortunately subsided. My goal now is to prevent another setback at all costs. This means completely avoiding talking on the phone or using laptop speakers for many years, avoiding indoor concerts, movie theaters, sporting events, etc. It also means taking a day of "noise rest" every few days just to make sure I don't overdo anything.

I'll update this thread if something changes, there's definitely room for more improvement but if things could just remain like this until better treatments arrive I'd take that in a heartbeat.

What a great story, thank you for keeping us posted on your success. Ginger is on my list for this and other inflammatory issues, I will be moving it on deck for a personal trial. My story is very similar to yours. I am finally able to play guitar again but at extremely low volumes using a small warm creamy tube amp through a load box with fractional wattage to a warm speaker facing away from my bad ear.

George

 

[KDMG]

Updating this thread: I'm really improving. This is up there with the best I've been since my noise injury in May 2019 that started this nightmare. I would say I'm a very solid 70% recovered. I can function somewhat normally and am carefully reintegrating back into my social life.

I went to a wedding in a major city a few weeks ago and wore heavy duty foam earplugs the entire time. They were playing loud music and the wedding lasted for several hours. The wedding also involved flying to and from the city, as well as going out and about during the day and dealing with horns, sirens and other noise pollution.

I was extremely worried I was gonna have a major setback, as there were multiple instances of dangerous volume levels, but the entire time I protected my ears and consumed tons of ginger ale, ginger tea, ginger gummies, etc.

I made it back home and made sure to avoid as much sound as possible for 2-3 days, and I'm thrilled to say I didn't have a setback at all.

Since then I've started listening to music again pretty regularly. Always at a safe low level and always thru a high quality speaker system. Never headphones and never cheap speakers like phones or laptops.

Lately there are nights where I just sit and listen to music for 7-8 hours straight. If you're reading this and you're a musician who has been robbed of the ability to even listen to music for years because of hyperacusis, then you'll understand why I do this.

That said, I still force myself to take a day off here and there, just to make sure.

My ears still lightly burn now and then, and I still feel pain when there's a loud sound, but the constant intense noxacusis has fortunately subsided. My goal now is to prevent another setback at all costs. This means completely avoiding talking on the phone or using laptop speakers for many years, avoiding indoor concerts, movie theaters, sporting events, etc. It also means taking a day of "noise rest" every few days just to make sure I don't overdo anything.

I'll update this thread if something changes, there's definitely room for more improvement but if things could just remain like this until better treatments arrive I'd take that in a heartbeat.

@chinup, could you please post a more detailed account of what you did to improve so much?

Your story really is interesting and it could help others in a similar situation.

Did you avoid sound for a while by any chance?

 

[KDMG]

Just wanted to chime in here and say that ginger flares up my TTTS, which in turn makes my hyperacusis worse.

Initially, this didn't make much sense to me as the tonic tensor is linked to the trigeminal nerve, whereas taste is transmitted by the facial nerve and glossopharyngeal nerve (or at least so I thought).

It was only upon further investigation did I find out that although the facial nerve and glossopharyngeal nerves are responsible for taste, it is the trigeminal nerve that is responsible for transmitting the specific signal for heat/spice when we eat capsaisin (the active component of chilli peppers). This activates the pain pathway, hence why we react badly to hot chilli. Turns out the molecular structure for gingerol (the active component in ginger) is very similar to capsaisin, which in turn allows it to bind to the same TRP ion channel.

TLDR: Ginger can flare up TTTS.

@Aaron91, this is a very interesting finding.

In what way was ginger causing your TTTS to flare up? Increased pain or clicking/thumping sensations?

Does turmeric or pepper also cause flare-ups?

 

[Bimmerboy]

@chinup, could you go through details of how you prepare the ginger tea? Do you drain ginger once boiled in water? And does it have to be fresh ginger or can it be ginger teabags mixed with other herbs? What are you specifically preparing? Thanks.

 

[Aaron91]

@Aaron91, this is a very interesting finding.

In what way was ginger causing your TTTS to flare up? Increased pain or clicking/thumping sensations?

Does turmeric or pepper also cause flare-ups?

I would get instant fluttering, like a butterfly in my ear, which is the tensor tympani basically spasming.

I can't comment on raw turmeric although high dose curcumin supplements do seem to help me.

But in all honesty nothing makes sense. The fact @chinup seems to be getting better from ginger while my TTTS flares up goes to show how idiopathic and weird this condition can be. It could also be a matter of subtype. I have a pain component with sound-induced trigeminal neuralgia, which may explain why that gets worse. I'm not sure if @chinup has the same presentation or just loudness?

 

[chinup]

What a great story, thank you for keeping us posted on your success. Ginger is on my list for this and other inflammatory issues, I will be moving it on deck for a personal trial. My story is very similar to yours. I am finally able to play guitar again but at extremely low volumes using a small warm creamy tube amp through a load box with fractional wattage to a warm speaker facing away from my bad ear.

George

Good to hear. Be sure to use musician's earplugs while playing. I haven't played much the past 6 months but starting to get back into my keyboard at low volumes.