Is Sound Therapy a Cure for Tinnitus or Just a Distraction?

[Dja]

I am wondering whether sound therapy can work as a cure for tinnitus because I am ready to ditch it completely since it just gets annoying to carry with me after a certain time. I have been carrying it with me for a long time but lately it hasn't been practical.

I am going to live together soon and I wonder if the distraction of company could just replace it.

 

[Digital Doc]

More of a distraction than anything else. With white noise at night while asleep, my tinnitus worsens. If not helping you, try and stop it and see what happens. Tinnitus requires some experimentation to see what works best for you.

 

[MattS]

More of a distraction than anything else. With white noise at night while asleep, my tinnitus worsens. If not helping you, try and stop it and see what happens. Tinnitus requires some experimentation to see what works best for you.

Agreed.

I find that depending on the pitch/mood of my tinnitus, I either do or don't like masking noises.

When it's high pitched and loud, I find bird chirps and water drips successfully pull my attention away. But sometimes I find the same masking noises just annoy me. And when my tinnitus is quieter, I actually prefer quiet environments, because I find the tinnitus can increase with the ambient noise.

So, long story short, like Doc said: if the masking sounds aren't helping you, feel free to ditch em.

 

[Michael B]

With white noise at night while asleep, my tinnitus worsens.

I experimented not using a masking device for the first time in years and I'm having the quietest day in a long time.

 

[Dja]

Thanks a lot guys. I guess I'll use it when nescesary.

 

[MattS]

Oooh, I think that may be my first hug! Was my description sufficiently pitiful?

 

[Michael Leigh]

I am wondering whether sound therapy can work as a cure for tinnitus because I am ready to ditch it completely since it just gets annoying to carry with me after a certain time. I have been carrying it with me for a long time but lately it hasn't been practical.

I am going to live together soon and I wonder if the distraction of company could just replace it.

@Dja

Sound therapy does not necessarily cure tinnitus but it can help a person to successfully habituate to the condition and in most cases treat and cure oversensitivity to sound. In addition to this, it must be administered properly and to one's liking. With respect to some of the members on this thread, I do not believe they fully understand how it works or the various ways it should be used correctly. If these guidelines are not followed then sound therapy will not work.

First of all I am dealing with "Noise induced tinnitus" because I am familiar with it. Many people with noise induced tinnitus will usually have some sensitivity to sound known as hyperacusis. Hyperacusis affects people differently and the level of intensity will be different too. However, there are often similarities between people affected by the condition. Please note, it is possible for a person's tinnitus to reduce over time without treatment but they are still affected by hyperacusis. Some people incorrectly call this " Reactive tinnitus" for which there is no such thing. It is a term that was made up in tinnitus forums and has become commonly used, to explain one's oversensitivity to sound.

The way to treat noise induced tinnitus and a hypersensitive auditory system ( hyperacusis) is sound therapy. It must be properly administered to gain maximum effect and duration of the treatment can take many months. Sound therapy to treat tinnitus and hyperacusis or sensitivity to sound is not using Masking Masking is the wrong terminology to use today the right word is Sound Enrichment. The reason being, if the tinnitus is masked, covered up by another sound the person affected by tinnitus will never habituated to the noise and in fact can make tinnitus worse. The correct way to use sound enrichment, is to set it at a level below the tinnitus so that it does not cause irritation to the auditory system. Failure to do this can often make the tinnitus spike, increase or the ears become more sensitive to sound.

One of the best ways to administer sound therapy is by using white noise generators. These are unique devices specifically made for treating tinnitus and hyperacusis. The white or pink noise, should be set below the level of the tinnitus and not mask it or cover it up. Over time the brain focuses on the white noise and slowly pushes the tinnitus further into the background. In addition to this, the oversensitivity to the auditory system (hyperacusis) is also treated by desensitising it using sound therapy. This is the by far the best way to treat oversensitivity to sound, hyperacusis. If this is not treated a person will in most cases always have an over sensitivity to sound.

This can result in the tinnitus reacting to certain sounds known as spiking. The person will deliberately seek quiet environments and avoid going to noisy places, and use earplugs. Thinking they are helping the problem they are in fact making it worse. Unfortunately this practice over time can create other problems by lowering the loudness threshold of the auditory system making the ears ever more sensitive to sound.

Sound therapy can also be administered using a standalone sound machine by the bedside at night for sound enrichment. Please click on the links below for further information on the use of sound therapy.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/sound-machines-and-tinnitus.12072/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/should-i-mask-my-tinnitus.17964/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/sound-enrichment-and-white-noise-generators-for-the-tinnitus-newbie.18130https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-complexities-of-tinnitus-and-hyperacusis.25733//

 

[Dja]

Thanks for your contribution again Michael Leigh. I think I can conclude from experience that total silence is the biggest enemy of this whole disorder. I learned that again today after sleeping with earplugs through the night and going to the supermarket and all of a sudden hearing the fridge noises really loud. Hadn't experienced that in a long time so it's clear to me that having constant noise in your life isn't an issue, which sound therapy is the perfect way to do it. I like white noise overall the best but I just can't really be sure whether it is better than other ones or even damaging. The state of my affected ear just changes so much throughout the day, as if it's drunk or something. It hears the noises differently throughout the whole day.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Thanks for your contribution again Michael Leigh. I think I can conclude from experience that total silence is the biggest enemy of this whole disorder. I learned that again today after sleeping with earplugs through the night and going to the supermarket and all of a sudden hearing the fridge noises really loud. Hadn't experienced that in a long time so it's clear to me that having constant noise in your life isn't an issue, which sound therapy is the perfect way to do it. I like white noise overall the best but I just can't really be sure whether it is better than other ones or even damaging. The state of my affected ear just changes so much throughout the day, as if it's drunk or something. It hears the noises differently throughout the whole day.

@Dja

Thank you for your kind comments. I only saw your post by chance. In future if you want to alert me then please write my name as: @Michael Leigh then I will receive an alert message.

Sleeping with earplugs is one of the worst things that you can do if you have tinnitus. The reason being you are allowing your brain to focus on the internal sounds of your body and auditory system. This can also increase the level of the tinnitus by blocking sounds from the outside environment. I also advise you not to overuse earplugs during the day. It better not to use them. If you must then use "noise reducing" earplugs that have filters but use them sparingly. More information about this in my post: Hyperacusis, As I see it in the link above.

Please read all the posts in the links that I have given you in the above post. All the information is there on the type of sound enrichment to use and how to use them. You can use low level music during the day and white noise or nature sounds at night by the bedside. Remember, sound enrichment should be at a level where you can comfortably ignore it, so it's not drawing attention to itself.

All the best
Michael

 

[JohnAdams]

I think sound therapy can reduce sound sensitivity.