It's likely if not definite that Melatonin has been discussed on this forum before. but here are the results for me.
My basis synopsis. Got tinnitus after foolishly shooting .357 caliber gun rounds outdoors without hearing protection back around 1994. I've been very careful about protecting my ears since then, the tinnitus was manageable, just a bit annoying, nothing serious. Even shot more 357 rounds outdoors and at the range over the years, but of course with hearing protection with no problem.
About 3 weeks ago, decided to go shooting with a friend's military style rifle outdoors. wore both earplugs and and ear-muffs. I knew this gun was more powerful than the 357. The gun sound was acceptably muffled, but I read a few days later that even the compression from the sound can cause or spike tinnitus, and that's what happened to me. The compression from the sound was "uncomfortable" to my head at the time of shooting, but I stupidly figured that was okay because the sound was muffled. That was a big mistake.
Anyway, last night the tinnitus got to the point of horrendous, I had previously tried most of the vitamins, herbs, etc out there already the past 3 weeks, nothing made any difference. I already eat and drink, very healthy, don't smoke or use alcohol, don't take any other drugs.
Tried Melatonin last night, Saturday night...bottom line...this morning my tinnitus is "miraculously" at about 33% of what it was last night, and for right now, I am very pleased with that. I don't quite know if the Melatonin has worn off or not, but frankly, I do expect the tinnitus to probably come back to 100%, but right now I'm not sure either way.
One negative note, I did have a side effect, as my right leg cramped up a little bit for about an hour, and my right foot cramped up a lot for perhaps 30 seconds. If the tinnitus comes back to 100% strength, I'll probably take the Melatonin again perhaps only on weekends, because it does make me feel sluggish, and I work during the week and so can't be sluggish during the day on the job.
Any other shared experiences using Melatonin would be appreciated.
Steve