Looking for the Best Tinnitus Clinic in Europe
- Thread starter MJv
- Start date
MemberI have five four to five tones too, how long do you have hyperacusis? usually it degrades over time.
Cam you find tones that erase your tinnitus for 1-2 min? Helped me a lot in bad times. I upload a picture of the tone erasing my tinnitus 90% for a min after 5 seconds hearing it.
Use in ear but low volume, don't listen to music if your hyperacusis is strong, I found nature sounds soothing but just the level of my tinnitus or even below.
Actually I think a good clinic does not exist, because they all want money for nothing. While there is no cure, which is a tough statement, there is like 95% a relief in some way. But since you are treating symptoms without knowing why you have to find what works for you. as far as know a healthy lifestyle, a lot sleep, yoga etc helped nearly everyone
But maybe a good clinic helps you faster to habituate. Worth a try, but found there a tons of money graves out there, that overpromise and underdeliver.
Try a tone generator and Google residual inhibition. Also try noise apps like mynoise.
Wish you all the best
Hugs from Bangkok
Cam you find tones that erase your tinnitus for 1-2 min? Helped me a lot in bad times. I upload a picture of the tone erasing my tinnitus 90% for a min after 5 seconds hearing it.
Use in ear but low volume, don't listen to music if your hyperacusis is strong, I found nature sounds soothing but just the level of my tinnitus or even below.
Actually I think a good clinic does not exist, because they all want money for nothing. While there is no cure, which is a tough statement, there is like 95% a relief in some way. But since you are treating symptoms without knowing why you have to find what works for you. as far as know a healthy lifestyle, a lot sleep, yoga etc helped nearly everyone
But maybe a good clinic helps you faster to habituate. Worth a try, but found there a tons of money graves out there, that overpromise and underdeliver.
Try a tone generator and Google residual inhibition. Also try noise apps like mynoise.
Wish you all the best
Hugs from Bangkok
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lol
What I don't understand is why new sounds keep coming and always louder than the old ones.
Is this an ear or brain (stress) issue?
The audiologist didn't give me an explanation and wants me to try Ritrovil.
Is this an ear or brain (stress) issue?
The audiologist didn't give me an explanation and wants me to try Ritrovil.
@MJv You have had tinnitus for quite some time and usually one would have habituated by now. As I said to you yesterday, if there is no underlying medical condition that is responsible for your tinnitus getting worse, then the usual cause is sound. If you have been using headphones, going to places where loud music is played including the cinema. Or being exposed to other loud sounds. This is the usual reason a person hears new sounds being introduced.
Another factor can be stress. Stress can make tinnitus worse. The more intrusive the tinnitus is the more stressful a person will become. It can become a vicious circle. As I said to you yesterday, I believe you need professional help and your Audiologist is probably correct in advising you to try Rivitrol also known as Clonazepam. It is sometimes given to people that have severe tinnitus and also hyperacusis. I have been prescribed it and found it helpful. However, I no longer take it regularly. Try not to take too regularly as it can become addictive. Follow the advice of your healthcare professional.
Michael
@Michael Leigh
I don't sleep well, even taking 3x zopiclon 7,5 mg.
And I think the zopiclon is making the t and h worse.
I do need professional help. I am considering doing emdr and trt
I don't sleep well, even taking 3x zopiclon 7,5 mg.
And I think the zopiclon is making the t and h worse.
I do need professional help. I am considering doing emdr and trt
@MJv you haven't answered my question yet and I have asked this a number of times. Have you been using headphones or attending places where loud music is played? Or being exposed to other loud sounds? Please answer as it can help to understand what might be causing your tinnitus to get worse, thanks.
By the sounds of things, I think you are under the care of good health professionals. I have already explained to you what I think is the best treatment for you so won't go over this again as you have chosen not to go down this path. Therefore, I advise that you discuss the matter with your doctors and audiologist.
Michael
As I suspected. It is headphone use and other loud music that has caused the increase in your tinnitus. If you decide to try TRT, which I think is the best treatment for you, with counselling. When you start using the white noise generators, only wear them for 1 or 2 hrs then take them off for 1 or 2hrs. Then put them back in for 1 to 2hrs. Slowly build up the wearing time until you reach 8hrs preferably 10hrs. Use a sound machine at night by your bedside and set it to play throughout the night until morning. Keep the volume below your tinnitus.
Providing you build up the wearing time of white noise generators slowly to your ears in the manner I have mentioned, I don't think you will have any problems.
Michael
@MJv
Try to stop looking for problems before you have even started treatment. If you do this it is a sure way in preventing yourself from getting better, as you will convince yourself that nothing can be done to help you. This is NEGATIVE thinking and you need to get of this mindset. As I said to you yesterday. PRINT my article: Posivity and Tinnitus and read it often. Also, print some of the positivity messages from other forum members. You have to make an effort even though I know it isn't easy for you at the moment. Take small steps and gradually you will improve. However, if you carry on putting up Walls and looking for problems that aren't there, you are stopping yoursself from being healed.
The fact that you got out of bed this morning and dressed yourself and had something to eat and switched on your computer, suggests to me that you have NO brain damage. If you had any ear damage, which I doubt then you would not be able to hear anything, so try to stop worrying.
You have some noise trauma but that can improve with treatment. Start by getting a sound machine and using it at night as I've mentioned in my article - don't sleep in a quiet room. Try to stop worrying and looking for problems that are not there.
Michael
@MJv TRT is not a quick treatment it takes time and alot depends on your attitude. My hyperacusis started to make improvements withing a few weeks and so did my tinnitus. However, it was a slow process that took 2 years. Not everyone is the same. Use a sound machine at night, and I advise you not to use headphones.
It took me almost a year to habituate my reaction (anxiety/stress) to tinnitus. Now I can listen to the sound in silence without being distressed. It was not TRT alone that helped. It took a load of discipline and positive thinking too.
For me it was all about the neuroplasticity of my brain. The brain can be learned pretty much anything. You hate the smell of cow dung, it makes you vomit? In theory: if you think about positive things long enough when being near cow dung, your brain might start to like it at some point. The brain is a biological programmable machine and if you tell it something over and over again, it will eventually believe you. I told my brain that tinnitus is nothing to worry about, even if I did not believe it at the moment. I listened to the sounds of my brain every now and then, forcing myself to not react in any way to the sound. I even thought of tinnitus as being something positive ("it's the sound of the universe and I am one of a few who has the privilege of being able to hear it!!"). And in time, it became easier and easier. Now I'll just have to wait until my brain performs the habituation of perception trick (well, actually I do not wait since I do not care whether the tinnitus will go or stay).
Just bear in mind that it is a very veeery slow process. Be patient! It will become better, I am pretty sure about that.
@RudyL90 A very positive post that can give inspiration and hope, to someone that might be having difficulty coping with tinnitus at the moment.
I have hyperacusis since march 2015 and it became extreme since march 2016. Normal little sounds are like bomb explosions for my ears and head.
The big problem is that I sleep very little
even when I take 3x sleeping tablets. And I really think the meds are making the t and h worseThank you for your reply. I have t and h. 6 sounds of t very very loud. The thing is that the hyperacusis complicates it. I can't mask the different sounds. I wear earplugs even inside the house because I can't tolerate normal little sounds. I try every day to be positive but also understand that t and h have different degrees of severity and loudness. Like i said before i have a very extreme condition and have very bad thoughts often about it.
Nobody stands in my shoes to trully understand how it feels for me
The first time I had TRT which was 1996, I took an antidepressant but only for around 6 months. By the time I started TRT late 96 I came off it. 2008 I started TRT for 2nd time until 2010. I wasn't on any prescription antidepressant although, I was talking St John's Wort, which is a mild herbal antidepressant and still take it. After I finished TRT 2010, I had improvement but it wasn't as successful as the first time. I was then prescribed clonazepam/Rivitrol. It took me another 2 years to habituate. On the advice of my consultant I only took the clonazepam when my tinnitus reached very severe levels. If it is taken often, the body quickly habituates to it and the drug is no longer as effective. It only helps some people. I only take it occasionally now.
Michael
According to Jastreboff et al., about 50% of the tinnitus patients cannot mask their tinnitus at all. They have no other choice but to constantly hear it. And they still habituate to it.
Someone probably already told you (I did not take the time to read all the reponses since I am at holiday right now) that using earplugs when having H is not such a good idea. Yes, you will suffer less from the external sounds at short term. But your brain will start searching for sounds harder (probably enhancing the tinnitus with it too) and in the long run you will become even more sensitive to external sounds. Using earplugs and thus living in relative silence hinders TRT.
I have not much knowlegde on H, but I can image that rebuilding your tolerance towards external sounds is best done starting small. For instance by using noise isolating earphones with noise at a low volume... Just an idea, I presume other H sufferers can give better advise.
@RudyL90 I have had very severe hyperacusis that was so bad when people spoke to me my ears hurt. Please read he post below on hyperacusis, as I see it.
Hyperacusis, As I See It.
Some members have asked for my opinion on hyperacusis as they are finding it increasingly difficult to live with. They want to know if there is a way of treating this condition so that their life can become a little easier? Or whether it can be completely cured? For a few it has become so distressing they have decided to only leave their homes when it's absolutely necessary. This is because of the fear of making the symptoms worse, by subjecting their ears to the hustle and bustle of everyday road traffic noise and other environmental sounds that we are all familiar with.
Reading some of the posts in this forum, one can easily see that certain people daren't leave their homes without first checking they have their earmuffs and an assortment of earplugs in various degrees of attenuation, in readiness for any potential environment that they happen to find themselves in. The cinema, nightclub, restaurant, or on public transport. If money is no object aspiring to custom made moulded earplugs for some is the way to go. It can bring the added assurance they will be getting the best hearing protection. Whether this is true or not doesn't really matter because it's what the person believes and this helps to give them that peace of mind which is something many of us strive for at one time or another.
The above may seem a little extreme until I tell you one member provoked a lot of discussion here, when he mentioned having the air bag in a car that he had just purchased disabled in case it was deployed in an accident. I suppose the thought of 170 decibels raining down on his auditory system and the possibility of his tinnitus and hyperacusis shooting through the roof was too much too bear and is more important than a potential life saving device. As strange as this might seem, others have discussed doing the same thing elsewhere on the Internet.
I am not an expert in this field but do have the experience of living with very severe hyperacusis that was brought on with the onset of my tinnitus twenty years ago due to loud noise exposure. It was so severe; conversation with someone at times caused immense pain. However, it was completely cured in two years with TRT and having counselling with a hearing therapist. I wore white noise generators for 10hrs a day and used a sound machine throughout the night until morning for sound enrichment. My tinnitus had reduced to a very low level.
Some people believe hyperacusis cannot be cured and if treatment such as TRT works then it merely suppresses the condition. In the event of future loud noise exposure it will return and the condition will be worse than before. I believe it's up to the individual to take care of their hearing and not subject themselves to loud noise exposure. However, accidents do happen as in my case. I have previously explained in this forum that my tinnitus increased to very severe levels in 2008 due to noise exposure so won't go over it again. To my surprise the hyperacusis did not return and has remained the same till this day, completely silent.
This summer I went onto the Brighton Pier and into the arcade. The place was a hive of activity and many people were using the slot machines. Music was playing and mixed with loud laughter so everyone seemed to be having a good time. I had my sound level meter and also a sound App on my mobile phone. Just in case things got too uncomfortable I had my noise reducing earplugs with me that reduce sound levels by 18 decibels. This was a test and not something I normally do or recommend anyone else to try.
The sound level in that place remained constant at just over 100 decibels. My ears didn't feel uncomfortable and I felt no pain. I stayed at the venue for 30 minutes and then left.
The next morning my tinnitus was silent and I experienced no symptoms of hyperacusis. I do not believe that it is a good idea for someone with tinnitus or hyperacusis (or both) to wear earplugs or noise-reducing earplugs with filters too often, because it's possible for the auditory system to become hypersensitive. In some cases it could make matters worse and cause a condition called phonophobia. This is literally having a fear of sound.
I used to counsel someone that had phonophobia like symptoms although she wasn't diagnosed. This person had hypercausis that gradually got worse and at every opportunity she kept away from sound. This got so bad going out the front door because of the noise was a problem. Her ears couldn't tolerate the sound of the microwave, dishwasher or the washing machine. She even complained of the sound of rain falling on her conservatory roof that was made of glass. Fortunately she has improved.
There is much discussion on this in the medical field from experts saying that the overuse of hearing protection isn't good and therefore discouraged as it will lower loudness threshold and I completely agree with this. I think if one isn't careful they can become paranoid over sound making their hyperacusis and tinnitus worse and I don't think it's healthy.
I believe the answer is to seek proper treatment. If TRT is unavailable then start using a sound machine by the bedside at night for sound enrichment. This usually helps to desensitise the auditory system. Try going out for long walks and getting used to everyday sounds instead of keeping away from them by staying at home. I don't normally recommend anyone to use white noise generators unless they are under the care of a hearing therapist. However, if your tinnitus is under control and you have habituated but experience hyperacusis, that some call: Reactive tinnitus. Then white noise generators could be the way to go. Two should be used to keep the auditory system in balance and set the volume level low, preferably below the tinnitus. This will help to desensitise the auditory system and treat the hypercusis.
Hearing protection is important and does have its place. If I am going to venues where I believe noise level could become loud then I have my earplugs with me. Night clubs, parties etc. I would always use them at the cinema although I haven't been to one in years. Reading some of the posts on this forum people say those places can be very loud.
When I use my petrol lawn mower or electric power tools for those DIY jobs around the home, I always use my ear defenders. I want to live life and enjoy it. Not to be living in fear of hearing a fire truck or ambulance siren coming towards me and I have to panic and quickly insert earplugs or reach for earmuffs to protect my hearing. I just think this is overkill.
Michael
PS: There is a condition called: vestibular hyperacusis. This is where the sound can cause a person to fall, lose balance or experience dizziness, and will probably require more professional help.
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