Should I Go to Mayo Clinic or Any Other Clinic (Best for Tinnitus)?

[Emrik]

Hi Everyone,

I am just new to this forum, as I started having tinnitus for 3.5 weeks and really panicked reading various horror stories, especially when I read that it can be permanent. I was testing a Subwoofer with a High Bass Mp3 test sound. It was not very loud, but the bass was so loud that my head was almost shaking. After that, I started hearing high pitched sound which is not going away.

I went to a walk-in clinic and doctor said, he can do nothing about it. Rather, he referred me to ENT. ENT doctor did not find anything wrong with my ear, so, he referred to an audiologist. I visited Montreal Tinnitus Clinic where audiologist found a hearing loss in high frequency. She suggested hearing some white noise and other sound therapy. Also suggested rTMS which I am not sure if it is a good idea. The thing is, no doctors seem to be interested in diagnosing and finding out exactly what is the cause of tinnitus. So, I am thinking about going to a clinic where the doctors are specialized about tinnitus and perform diagnosis. I can't find any information which makes me really helpless. I read about Mayo Clinic in the USA. I called them, they said, I need to deposit 7000US$ before the appointment. Sounds huge amount of money, but well, if they can stop tinnitus or at least reduce the loudness, 7000$ can be worth spending. But, I want to know, if any of you visited Mayo Clinic for Tinnitus. Can they really help ? or it is just another business who only cares about patient's money and won't do anything better than a regular walk in clinic doctor! I searched on the internet for reviews on Mayo Clinic, did not find any, especially about Tinnitus treatment.

Or, is there any good clinic in USA or Canada where I can go to get help? Any suggestions, please !! I still do not want to believe that, I will have to live with this for my entire life. I want some hope.

 

[dgray]

Hi Everyone,

I am just new to this forum, as I started having tinnitus for 3.5 weeks and really panicked reading various horror stories, especially when I read that it can be permanent. I was testing a Subwoofer with a High Bass Mp3 test sound. It was not very loud, but the bass was so loud that my head was almost shaking. After that, I started hearing high pitched sound which is not going away.

I went to a walk-in clinic and doctor said, he can do nothing about it. Rather, he referred me to ENT. ENT doctor did not find anything wrong with my ear, so, he referred to an audiologist. I visited Montreal Tinnitus Clinic where audiologist found a hearing loss in high frequency. She suggested hearing some white noise and other sound therapy. Also suggested rTMS which I am not sure if it is a good idea. The thing is, no doctors seem to be interested in diagnosing and finding out exactly what is the cause of tinnitus. So, I am thinking about going to a clinic where the doctors are specialized about tinnitus and perform diagnosis. I can't find any information which makes me really helpless. I read about Mayo Clinic in the USA. I called them, they said, I need to deposit 7000US$ before the appointment. Sounds huge amount of money, but well, if they can stop tinnitus or at least reduce the loudness, 7000$ can be worth spending. But, I want to know, if any of you visited Mayo Clinic for Tinnitus. Can they really help ? or it is just another business who only cares about patient's money and won't do anything better than a regular walk in clinic doctor! I searched on the internet for reviews on Mayo Clinic, did not find any, especially about Tinnitus treatment.

Or, is there any good clinic in USA or Canada where I can go to get help? Any suggestions, please !! I still do not want to believe that, I will have to live with this for my entire life. I want some hope.

Hi Emrik: what is the clinic promising for 7,000?

 

[Emrik]

I called the Minnesota branch (507-538-3270); the receptionist over the phone, said, that, I must deposit 7000$ before the first appointment. After the first appointment, they will find out what diagnosis needs to be done, but she did not give me any details about how the 7000$ will be used. So, I believe, they will use that for diagnosis. But, still not feeling confident. So, I need to hear from people who actually went there, spent money and got treatment.

 

[Jake007]

7 thousand for a appointment?

 

[Emrik]

7 thousand for an appointment?

I asked the receptionist that, how much I may need to spend for tinnitus treatment. She said, she cannot tell anything about it, but, in order to start, I must deposit 7000$ before the first appointment. If I won't deposit the 7000$, I won't get the first appointment. Maybe she meant that, after the appointment, the doctor will decide what diagnosis they will perform and maybe that 7000$ will be used for the diagnosis. BUT, that is my idea. She did not clear me about that.

 

[Alue]

@Emrik
Save your money. Even if you see the best doctor in the world and pay them a bunch of money, they won't tell you anything new. At this point, you don't know if it will be permanent or not, only time will tell, and there is no cure... not even at the Mayo Clinic.

 

[Jake007]

Alue is right, save your 7 grand. But if there was a definite cure, your dam right I'd pay 7 grand in a heart beat.

 

[Emrik]

@Emrik
Save your money. Even if you see the best doctor in the world and pay them a bunch of money, they won't tell you anything new. At this point, you don't know if it will be permanent or not, only time will tell, and there is no cure... not even at the Mayo Clinic.

Thank you @Alue for your suggestion. Feeling helpless thinking that no doctor/clinic can help me. I do not even know where should I go for help.

 

[Alue]

Thank you @Alue for your suggestion. Feeling helpless thinking that no doctor/clinic can help me. I do not even know where should I go for help.

Welcome to the club. Sorry, I don't sugar coat things, but you are still early into this. I come here to commiserate mostly.

Are you able to mask your tinnitus, or do you hear it everywhere? Does white noise help?

 

[just1morething]

I asked the receptionist that, how much I may need to spend for tinnitus treatment. She said, she cannot tell anything about it, but, in order to start, I must deposit 7000$ before the first appointment. If I won't deposit the 7000$, I won't get the first appointment. Maybe she meant that, after the appointment, the doctor will decide what diagnosis they will perform and maybe that 7000$ will be used for the diagnosis. BUT, that is my idea. She did not clear me about that.

I have no idea where the $7000 amount came from. It doesn't make much sense. I went to Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN and they had no help for my tinnitus. They actually suggested the tinnitus clinic in Edina, MN. But they will just try selling you TRT, Neuromonics, etc. and charge $400 for a evaluation and another audiogram. I've never been there but talked to them by phone. Sorry if I'm not much help. Maybe TRT would help...unsure. Maybe Xanax, Nortriptyline etc. could help.

 

[Bobby B]

get a shot of prednisone in the ear - some guys here got hearing improvements
they can do this in any country and it wont be expensive.

 

[JurgenG]

Hi Everyone,

I am just new to this forum, as I started having tinnitus for 3.5 weeks and really panicked reading various horror stories, especially when I read that it can be permanent. I was testing a Subwoofer with a High Bass Mp3 test sound. It was not very loud, but the bass was so loud that my head was almost shaking. After that, I started hearing high pitched sound which is not going away.

I went to a walk-in clinic and doctor said, he can do nothing about it. Rather, he referred me to ENT. ENT doctor did not find anything wrong with my ear, so, he referred to an audiologist. I visited Montreal Tinnitus Clinic where audiologist found a hearing loss in high frequency. She suggested hearing some white noise and other sound therapy. Also suggested rTMS which I am not sure if it is a good idea. The thing is, no doctors seem to be interested in diagnosing and finding out exactly what is the cause of tinnitus. So, I am thinking about going to a clinic where the doctors are specialized about tinnitus and perform diagnosis. I can't find any information which makes me really helpless. I read about Mayo Clinic in the USA. I called them, they said, I need to deposit 7000US$ before the appointment. Sounds huge amount of money, but well, if they can stop tinnitus or at least reduce the loudness, 7000$ can be worth spending. But, I want to know, if any of you visited Mayo Clinic for Tinnitus. Can they really help ? or it is just another business who only cares about patient's money and won't do anything better than a regular walk in clinic doctor! I searched on the internet for reviews on Mayo Clinic, did not find any, especially about Tinnitus treatment.

Or, is there any good clinic in USA or Canada where I can go to get help? Any suggestions, please !! I still do not want to believe that, I will have to live with this for my entire life. I want some hope.

So strange that you got T from that? Do you have a history of clubbing/partying/concerts without any plugs? Or anything else loud you have encountered the last years? The Subwoofer was probably the bit that pushed it over the edge. (Same theory as with my own T.)

Fact is, you are indeed fairly new, chances are it just disappears. I would get some prednisone though. (not sure about the shot). Do you have any info on where you have hearing loss? and how much?

 

[Emrik]

Are you able to mask your tinnitus, or do you hear it everywhere? Does white noise help?

No, masking won't help. In fact, whenever I try to mask with any white noise or other noise, I feel that my high pitch sound gets louder so that I can hear that pitch over the masking sound. Moreover, the masking sound makes me more frustrated and annoyed But, it happens that, whenever I can focus on something else, I do not notice the sound. Even though, I get tired of forcing myself to focus on something else all the time. So, at times, I just give up forcing myself focusing on something else, and then, the pitch attacks me. There were 1 or 2 days (within last 3 weeks), when I was completely okay, in fact, I thought that my Tinnitus is GONE. But, at night time, it came back.

 

[Emrik]

Thanks @just1morething for a solid info about the clinic. 400$ for evaluation could be okay, but I do not know why the receptionist told me about 7000$. !! I went to Montreal Tinnitus Clinic. They tried to sell rTMS. But, I read on a forum that, someone tried rTMS and his Tinnitus went worse. So, I was scared to try that. I do not know what is TRT, but I will do research on that. Thanks again.

 

[Emrik]

So strange that you got T from that? Do you have a history of clubbing/partying/concerts without any plugs? Or anything else loud you have encountered the last years? The Subwoofer was probably the bit that pushed it over the edge. (Same theory as with my own T.)

Yes, I have a history of Clubbing / Concerts, but not very regularly. I would say, 1 or 2 concerts in a Year (1 year ago). And also 3-4 Night Clubs with very loud music TWO YEARS ago. But, I did not feel any issue when I went there. It happened just 3 weeks ago.

 

[Alue]

No, masking won't help. In fact, whenever I try to mask with any white noise or other noise, I feel that my high pitch sound gets louder so that I can hear that pitch over the masking sound. Moreover, the masking sound makes me more frustrated and annoyed But, it happens that, whenever I can focus on something else, I do not notice the sound. Even though, I get tired of forcing myself to focus on something else all the time. So, at times, I just give up forcing myself focusing on something else, and then, the pitch attacks me. There were 1 or 2 days (within last 3 weeks), when I was completely okay, in fact, I thought that my Tinnitus is GONE. But, at night time, it came back.

If you have days that you don't notice it, especially only a month in, I think you're going to be okay. It may never go away, but if you can get on with life for days at a time without it bothering you, you could get to the point where it doesn't bother you most of the time. Just make sure to protect your ears from here on out from very loud noises.

 

[Martin69]

@Emrik
Good advises here already.
Save your money and get cricket sounds for your mobile. They will cover high-pitched T and give you some relief.
Try to live a normal life as good as possible - even it is hard currently. Take long showers in the morning and evening to relax and cover your T (mine can be even heard in the shower on 10/10 days).

One of my biggest issues was high anxiety for months, even two years. Lexapro helped me with that.
If you cannot sleep, take a low dosage of Remeron in the evening.
I am currently on 20 mg Lexapro (taking at noon) and only 7,5 mg Remeron two hours before sleep.
You are not a psycho that you need psych meds for this. But severe T (I have multiple high-pitched sounds > 15 kHz) is a life-changer and can cause anxiety and depression.

I was in a clinic for 7 weeks. They cannot help you with T, just with your psychological situation. They explain how the ear functions etc. But T is in most cases a brain issue. To understand it, watch

In very bad moments, take a Xanax. But not too much because of addiction and tolerance. Maybe once a week. It will give you relief for some hours.

What also helps, is reading success stories. T can go away, can get much milder (and is no longer a problem) and they are working on a cure.

For the moment, try to go through your days as good as possible. Time will help you getting better and better.
But it will need patience.

We are always here for you. We are unfortunately a very large community.

Take care.

 

[Emrik]

Thank you @Martin69
Thank you for all the useful information and hope. Also, thanks @Alue for the hopeful words.

Initially, when I searched the internet about 'High pitched sound' (I did not know the word 'Tinnitus'), I found all horror stories, and everywhere, mentioned that 'NO CURE'. I cried like a baby, I blamed myself, regretting, what damage had I done to myself!!! how come !!! I thought I would have to terminate my life.

This is the first forum where I read success stories. And that gave me hope. Day and night, I am just only reading the success stories and trying to believe that my T will go away by 3 months. I thought it would have gone by 1 week, but it did not. Now, I am on the 3rd week. Every morning, I try to believe that, it went away, then when I check that if it went away or not, I get the attack of loudness. So, in my inner mind, I have a fear that, how will I accept if it won't go away after 3 months. I bought 6 books on Tinnitus from Amazon, trying to find something from these books that can cure. But, by reading these I am not getting anything solid, rather getting more frustrated.

Anyway, I am feeling much better now after reading the response of @Martin69 and @Alue . Thank you, everyone,, who are really helping here.

 

[stophiss]

I will put this simply Emrik.
Going to the Mayo Clinic for your tinnitus will likely not improve it in the least. They will simply test you like you can be tested by any ENT that also won't help you.

The biggest improvement to you (or anybodies) tinnitus is by lowering anxiety in your life. This takes better attention to your life balance and may in fact require anti depressant medication.

Once a more normalized brain chemistry is achieved, you can begin the process of habituation. Btw, habituation can't be achieved by deliberation....like you would decide to perform a given task. In fact, by definition habituation can't be forced or made to happen deliberately or on the conscious level. Your inner mind...your sub conscious which steers the ship aka you won't have it. Habituation occurs by acceptance of tinnitus as a non threat in your life on a sub conscious basis.

Hope that makes sense.