Hi OWCH,
Thanks so much for your kind, thoughtful and helpful reply to my questions regarding your trip to
see Dr. Wilden for Low-Level Laser Light treatments in Regensburg, Germany. I now have an idea what to expect, regarding cost, if I do decide to try the treatment. And, thanks for the travel tips.
Of course, I wish you had realized by now more positive changes in your tinnitus levels, etc., but as you said, you have only been using the LLLL home device from Dr. Wilden, for 7 weeks. By the way, did he give you any idea how long it typically takes to see results? Also, how severe is your tinnitus (mild, moderate or severe)? And, how many hours a day do you use the LLLL device? Did you purchase Wilden's MLS unit or the laser pen? And, what did that unit cost? All that will be most helpful to know.
Also, I hope you will find time to tell me how you got in touch with Hansi, who has written extensively on his apparently very successful treatments through Dr. Wilden.
As for me, I recently emailed Dr. Wilden to learn more. I received a reply, yesterday. He asked for my recent audiograms, which I will be emailing, soon. He said he could advise me better, once he saw them. In the email, he attached a link to his Web site
http://www.dasgesundeohr.de/ (which is all in German) but if you scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the U.S. flag icon that says "English version," you'll get a PDF file with about 70-plus pages of his info on tinnitus, hyperacusis, the "stuffy ear" syndrome, etc. (I am sure you have read this already. I am simply relating this for the benefit of other readers.) The English translation is a bit awkward; nonetheless, but I found his theories made a lot of sense, particularly about the need to protect the ear. To date, I have not decided on what my course of treatment will be yet.
My tinnitus started in early Sept. 2014, with significant hearing loss in my left ear, in lower decibel ranges. My hearing had been in the normal ranges, before the incident began. Interestingly, I showed a significant improvement in my left ear, according to my most recent audiogram, done Jan. 9, 2014. The audiologist said: "It happens." I have, the audiologist said, a mild form of tinnitus. But, I am also beginning to get ringing in my right ear, which I mentioned, but he did not address that issue, at that time.
According to Dr. Wilden, it takes a long time — years — for the ear to finally get "exhausted" from stress and strain, including certain medications and illness. And, he says the exhausted ear can recover some on its own, particularly if kept in a quiet environment. In his PDF writeup, he highly recommends protecting the ear at all times by wearing ear plugs, to help the ear recover. (For more details, read his writeup.) The audiologist I just saw, however, strongly advised me not to wear ear plugs around the house — only use them for noisy situations. He said, it would exacerbate the situation, and he compared it to wearing sunglasses indoors. He also said that driving in the car would not hurt my ears. However, I think Dr. Wilden's counsel makes more sense. I wore ear protection driving to the audiologist that day, but because of his advice, I didn't wear any during the 1 hour and 45 minute drive home. The next day, my ears were ringing significantly louder.
I went to see this audiologist to learn more about the Neuromonics program that he offers. (Readers can learn more about Neuromonics at other TinnitusTalk sites.) He said I was a candidate for Neuromonics and because I have mild tinnitus, I would benefit by using a newer, much less expensive Neuromonics device, which costs "only" $995. This model cannot be reprogrammed, however, unlike the pricey model that costs roughly $5,000. However, after reading Dr. Wilden's writeup about being careful not to expose the ear to unnecessary noise, the idea of listening to a "spectally-modified neural stimulus .... embedded within precisely designed music .... that engages the limbic system," according to their brochure, doesn't at this time, seem appealing.
Also, this audiologist told me that he has had a 90 percent success rate with Neuromonics, but that success I later learned, has been with the pricey model, not the low-cost unit. I had to ask him direct and specific questions in a phone consult after the visit, to find that out. I don't know yet, what success rate the low-cost version is having. And, I still don't know what that 90 percent success rate means? Do 90 percent of his patients achieve 100 percent improvement with the pricey device? I strongly doubt that. Within that happy 90 percent, there is most likely a bell curve — so many patients achieve 20 percent improvement, so many realize 50 percent improvement, and so on. I tried to ask him that question, but somehow, I didn't get through that day, so I will call him again, later. Suffice it to say, it pays to ask questions.
Despite a lot of gaps in my information about Neuromonics, it is hopeful that apparently, some of this audiologist's patients have shown improvements, so I have bookmarked this treatment option. I am still in an investigative phase and keeping an open mind.
One last thing: I have been in contact with a fellow named Manfred, who was treated, much to his satisfaction, by Dr. Wilden, according to his account at:
http://www.tinnituspatient.de/ukmanfred.htm
He said that Dr. Wilden is leaving his practice in Regensburg, Germany after a very difficult year, and is moving to Ibiza, Spain, to live and work there. Last summer, according to Manfred, his home was flooded out and he has been "frozen out" by ENTs in the surrounding area, so that he has had fewer and fewer patients.
Dr. Wilden's office phone in Regensburg is telefon praxis +49 (0)941 58614634 and his email is:
info@lasertherapieregensburg.de. Manfred also mentioned that Wilden's son, Amon Kaiser is doing the same laser therapy in Baden Baden, Germany. Go to: (
http://www.lumomed.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=88&lang=en).
Manfred has had a series of treatments by Dr. Wilden over the years and at home now uses an ELP laser-pen 650 nm 30 mw, which he purchased from Dr. Wilden. He believes that Wilden now has an even stronger laser pen than the one he uses, currently. He said: "My hearing is good and I have in 4 days, 2 days without any noise, and for the other 2 days, I hear a soft noise, no problem."
OWCH, thanks again for your useful information. I hope you can respond to my question about Hansi. And, I hope you begin to notice significant improvement! Keep us posted. — Ann