Tinnitus Masking: MP3s, CDs, YouTube, Other Audio

[Contrast]

What screeching tapes? Be more descriptive and the answer is likely no.

 

[SteveShield]

Things like this...

 

[Steve]

Things like this...

That's one of my videos.

It's an experiment. It may help or it may not, just try it out and see what happens. That's the thing with tinnitus, there isn't anything at all that we can say works, it's a case of if it works for you then it works. I always say that you have to experiment and understand what makes your own tinnitus better or worse. It's fine to look at other people's opinions but yours is the one that matters.

I don't get as many views as some because I don't lie and call things a cure, and I don't make any false claims or have sensationalised descriptions. Better to keep your integrity

 

[SteveShield]

Thank you Steve, thats funny of all videos I pick out, it is yours.... will give it a try. How often do you listen to it?...... appreciate your honesty... not much out there anymore!!

....how did you decide on what frequency, sounds, etc, to lay down on tracks, I am low tech!....

 

[Steve]

Thank you Steve, thats funny of all videos I pick out, it is yours.... will give it a try. How often do you listen to it?...... appreciate your honesty... not much out there anymore!!

....how did you decide on what frequency, sounds, etc, to lay down on tracks, I am low tech!....

Hi,

I don't have anything firm on the listening times, but what I do say is no longer than 1 hour at any time and not for more than 4 hours per day. Listening for too long to noises like this seems to get in your brain. there is also the issue that over-listening to anything (for me) decreases the effectiveness.

When I hit on something that interferes with tinnitus I end up listening a lot when I'm making a track. And without fail those long periods of listening mean that it doesn't have the same effect as when I started. I am going to make more tracks that jump around, to try and counter that effect.

The video above is really quite basic, just developing a bit more on the ACRN device with a different approach. It was a lot of trial and error, with sounds that really didn't work, and a bit of science. If I had a tagline it would probably be "I get the spikes, so you don't have to"

 

[dan26]

I was very interested in this thing during my early weeks. I contacted him and got a reply, stating that they were launching a new version which is why it was not available for purchase, and that it should be available for sale within two or three weeks. This was in August, I believe. I followed up several weeks later and never heard back.

I kept an eye on the site and he has been adding stuff and tidying it up over the past few months. But, the product is still not available for sale.

It's not a ghost product... Another member here gave an older version of the device high marks. I'm not sure why it is taking so long to get the new one to market.

If you become an ATA member, they have a sound library with some masking sounds that you can download. Three of them are DTM sounds (DTM is the old name for Mike Petroff's system). They are only one minute long but I found the "ENature" one to be very good for masking, I created a long seamless loop of it to use for myself for background noise.

I haven't used masking in some time now but I am still keeping an eye on this device, I would probably like to purchase one to have on hand in the event that my tinnitus ever takes a serious downturn.

Way back in the early 1990's I think it was I wrote to Mike Petroff after reading an article sent to me by someone. He sent me 6 masking CDs to use for my crazy intolerable tinnitus. I still have them and use them almost daily. He never charged me a penny for them and it has helped a bit when the tinnitus roars its ugly head especially at night if I wake up. Praying a cure is found soon. Go to clinicaltrials.org for a list of clinical trials that are ongoing, completed or terminated.

 

[Niel S.]

When I first had tinnitus I used to find sound masking very helpful to sleep at night. But after a year I care less about it, tinnitus has become the normal background sound by now.

You just turn a fan on, or get a dedicated white noise generator: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H6WXUX8/
There are also apps for the smartphone available: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JBPAQM2/r

But to be honest, it's like something psychological. Why is white noise for example less annoying than tinnitus?
It's just our brain that doesn't link the sound of rain, thunder, a fan, etc. with something negative.

 

[GregCA]

Why is white noise for example less annoying than tinnitus?

Remember that tinnitus can sound many different ways, one of which is white noise.

But it turns out that a common tinnitus sound is a screeching/piercing high frequency tone, and that is indeed much more unpleasant than white noise, just like a car alarm is much more unpleasant than a stream of water in the woods.

There are sounds that are just naturally more pleasant and others that feel like an aggression (nails on chalkboard, trains on rails, Larsen effect i.e. audio feedback between speaker & mic, etc). Tinnitus is no different, since the actual processing of the sound happens downstream from its genesis.

Finally, volume is an important consideration.

 

[Mister Muso]

This one helps to calm my tinnitus sometimes. Start with it on minimum volume as there are bell sounds from the start

 

[Mister Muso]

Another one with tinnitus-like noises here. Again it may not be for everyone, but it seems to make my T quieten down as if to say "hold on what's this"! Of course I would take the words "Tinnitus Cure" in the title with a major pinch of salt.

 

[Mister Muso]

That's one of my videos.

It's an experiment. It may help or it may not, just try it out and see what happens. That's the thing with tinnitus, there isn't anything at all that we can say works, it's a case of if it works for you then it works. I always say that you have to experiment and understand what makes your own tinnitus better or worse. It's fine to look at other people's opinions but yours is the one that matters.

I don't get as many views as some because I don't lie and call things a cure, and I don't make any false claims or have sensationalised descriptions. Better to keep your integrity

Steve

I have to say that particular video is one of my favourites. I use it every day and about 8 times out of 10 it does seem to help to "flatten out" my tinnitus. Much appreciation from me!

I also use the "Bell Melody" and "Zen Garden" from the download pack - that was you as well wasn't it? I have all the sounds downloaded to all my devices, so I have them wherever I go. They're real lifesavers for me.

 

[David077]

This helps me a lot.

 

[Nina99]

This one works fine for me, crickets all the night for a nice sleep

 

[annV]

This one works fine for me, crickets all the night for a nice sleep

Thanks for sharing this! I love crickets!

 

[Mister Muso]

I'm really digging Soma FM Drone Zone at the moment. You can overlay it with crickets or other "white noise" if you like.

It strikes me this thread would be a good one to be pinned, as most of us rely on these types of masking/therapy sounds every day.

https://tunein.com/radio/SomaFM-Drone-Zone-s51002/

 

[Steve]

I have to say that particular video is one of my favourites. I use it every day and about 8 times out of 10 it does seem to help to "flatten out" my tinnitus. Much appreciation from me!

I also use the "Bell Melody" and "Zen Garden" from the download pack - that was you as well wasn't it? I have all the sounds downloaded to all my devices, so I have them wherever I go. They're real lifesavers for me.

Yes they're mine, really pleased to hear that they help.

I keep meaning to make more bell sounds, I'll gladly tailor something for you if you have requests for what sort of sounds you want to hear mixed?

 

[Mister Muso]

Yes they're mine, really pleased to hear that they help.

I keep meaning to make more bell sounds, I'll gladly tailor something for you if you have requests for what sort of sounds you want to hear mixed?

Oh excellent! I find wind chimes helpful. if possible in the key of D which knocks out my 2300Hz tones. Also waves on the beach, and maybe some gentle rain on a tent. I'm really looking for one 1 can fall asleep to, that doesn't have anything too sudden or random in it. Some White Noise seems to aggravate my ears these days, but I like how you sometimes mix in a little bit at low volumes where appropriate.

Hope those are some useful ideas!

 

[tae.aot]

Hello! I just wanted to share a video that I found the other day. My tinnitus is caused by TMJ (from clenching). It is a medium-pitched buzzing/ringing in the right ear (much louder than in the left ear) and a quiet higher-pitched whistling/ringing in the left. It also sounds like it is coming from the inside of my head, more from the right side.

If you experience similar tinnitus to mine, you might get some relief from this video as I have. It, for some reason, basically completely masks the sounds in my ears and really helps me fall asleep.

Here's the link!



Let me know if it helps any of you at all <33

 

[bobvann]

Again R2D2 on crack can help at times.

 

[KWC]

I have had tinnitus in only my right ear, along with jaw pain. I've been to the doctor route and am now giving TMJ splints a shot (11 weeks in). It has helped the bad jaw pain but the tinnitus still remains. High pitch continuous sound since 1/2020.

What I finally found that helps me is an audio clip that I play on my phone. It's basically an outdoor burning campfire. At night it is a mix of a piano/higher pitch cricket sound that I fall asleep to coupled with a noise machine in the background. These clips run for about an hour so it does not run all night long. If I get up I just restart.

I also use crickets, shower, rain... whatever works at the time.

White/pink/brown noise does not work for me.

 

[GaryTH]

Anybody have a recommendation on a good, inexpensive bedside white noise/sound masking machine? I'm back to using the Homedics SoundSpa SS-2000 ($19.95 Walmart) I've had for a couple years, and while it often helps divert attention while trying to get to sleep on evenings when the T is overwhelming, the tracks are very, very short. Each recording recycles every 15-20sec, if not less, so it's hard sometimes not to focus on the same sounds and cycles repeating over and over and over again. Defeats the purpose of white noise, actually drawing focus to the machine output. I'm hoping to find a good one around fifty bucks US or less, where the tracks are maybe ten to fifteen minutes long at least.

Get an Echo or Echo Dot from Amazon, way more selection of sleep sounds. It can be programmed to turn on at a certain time, enable a certain sound, set the volume etc. You can even use it a s a Bluetooth speaker and stream tracks from your phone over it.

 

[Rosco99]

Hi all,

I do not want to make my tinnitus any worse than it already is. Do you have any recommendations for what types of sounds I should listen to with tinnitus in the 12,000 Hz - 15,000 Hz range?

Right now I just fall asleep to pink noise but I feel like it's not doing me any good...

Any suggestions will help!

 

[AnApeNamedJoe]

I recently developed tinnitus, and have found that silence is now my enemy. As a result of this I make sure that I have calm soothing music playing in the background throughout my house.

I have been using some neo-classical and drone thus far, but as I'm new to all this I was wondering what others are using.

Those of you who can listen to music, what artists, tracks, albums and genres do you find help you manage your tinnitus?

Thanks