Your Sound Therapy Experiences — For Tinnitus Talk Podcast

[Hazel]

We need your input for the Tinnitus Talk Podcast!

We're preparing for an episode on sound therapy. That's a broad subject obviously, because there are many formal and informal treatments out there that include some element of sound. So we're really referring to any of those, from just playing masking sounds on your phone to using in-ear noise generators to purchasing an expensive device like DeSyncra or Lenire.

We know that many of you have tried at least one form of sound therapy, whether as part of a "do it yourself" approach or under healthcare supervision. So we want to hear about your experiences. What did you try? For how long? What were the pros and cons? And most importantly, did it help?

We'll play some of your contributions during the podcast episode, as examples and to give the episode some extra colour. Our aim with the episode is to give you a (more or less) complete overview of what's out there, and what to be aware of when trying sound therapy.

Looking forward to hearing from you! You can respond either in video or audio format, and the time limit for your recorded experience is 5 minutes.

 

[2noist]

@DaveFromChicago should share how DeSyncra fucked him over.

 

[DaveFromChicago]

OMG, 2noist, will I ever!

 

[bobvann]

I've tried sound therapy on 3 occasions. Twice with hearing aids (Widex, Oticon), once with bone conducting headphones. None has helped. I use it over speakers sometimes.

 

[EDDTEKK]

I tried Tinnitus Mix - no help. I tried Desyncra - no help.

 

[Mags]

Sleeping with sleep headband playing rain sounds when my tinnitus started. In my case, I kept developing new tones and felt it was because my ears were receiving constant flow of sound at night. I stopped this after 3 months and slowly the tones reduced to two or three. This was advised to me to do by a tinnitus clinic. I wouldn't do it again. I don't play sounds directly into my ears anymore. I listen to music from speakers only. Occasionally headphones on low volume.

 

[Óscar PP]

I don't know if listening to random pink noise YouTube videos counts as sound therapy but they certainly did nothing at all for me.

My tinnitus is too high pitched so nothing can mask it unless it's a sound of similar pitch which of course is equally annoying than my tinnitus, and hence misses the whole point of sound therapy.

 

[Jack Straw]

In the beginning I used white noise / cricket noises at night to help me sleep, but I didn't notice an increase in my habituation when I stopped using it. I mainly use everyday noise or music to help me if needed.

 

[Ulaid]

I have high pitched reactive tinnitus which gets louder with white noise.

Brown noise only helps me.

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

Made me worse on 2 separate occasions. White noise and pink noise.

 

[Hazel]

@DaveFromChicago, @bobvann, @EDDTEKK, @Mags, @Óscar PP, @Jack Straw, @Ulaid, @AnthonyMcDonald:

Thank you all for chiming in! We really need you to submit some soundbites though for the podcast, if you can

It would only take a minute or two and others could benefit from hearing about your experiences.

→ Here's the link again for your submissions. We really appreciate your input!

 

[Sonic17]

I have used a sound machine to help me fall asleep ever since I developed tinnitus 5 years ago. I set it for one hour, and am usually asleep before the hour is up. The sound machine has a few different settings that I can choose from: rain sounds, ocean waves, thunderstorm, babbling brook or white noise. I used to set it for all night but found this would aggravate my tinnitus even more. I also will sometimes use sweeping white noise from YouTube, but once again only for the first hour or so to put me to sleep.

 

[Jack Straw]

I recorded! I hope others do as well!

 

[bobvann]

I am going to revisit sound therapy again next week (I posted about it in Treatments → Hearing Aids). Not holding my breath. Like many have said, it's one of the few options available. I am simply hoping it gets me through rough days.

 

[Christiaan]

I've been using notched sound therapy for more than a year. My tinnitus is now way lower than it once was, but I can't say for sure if sound therapy has helped me in that case, since I also adhere to a strict anti-inflammatory, plant-based/vegan diet and HIIT exercise (to boost BDNF for neuroplasticity/neurogenesis). Those two things could also have played a part in that regard. Or maybe it's just sheer luck

 

[bobvann]

Another epic failure. After less than a day of trialing the Phonak P70, I'm having a massive spike since 3 AM. I tried to put the hearing aids in only to realize that the sharpness of the sound aggravates things. For shits & giggles I popped in my bone conducting headphones and sure enough they are not as aggravating.

 

[MartinPihl]

Notched music therapy did absolutely nothing for me.

 

[Nick47]

I have high pitched reactive tinnitus which gets louder with white noise.

Brown noise only helps me.

I'm the same. What's brown noise, @Ulaid?

 

[Lazyboy]

I'm the same. What's brown noise, @Ulaid?

The difference between white, pink, brown noise etc is the volume level of the all the individual frequencies present in the particular noise type (white, pink, brown etc).

White noise is the harshest of the 3 due to the higher frequency volume levels. Brown noise has the same frequencies present but the higher frequencies are reduced in volume. This makes you able hear more of the lower frequency spectrum present in brown noise so the sound is softer and often a lot easier to listen to.

 

[Nick47]

The difference between white, pink, brown noise etc is the volume level of the all the individual frequencies present in the particular noise type (white, pink, brown etc).

White noise is the harshest of the 3 due to the higher frequency volume levels. Brown noise has the same frequencies present but the higher frequencies are reduced in volume. This makes you able hear more of the lower frequency spectrum present in brown noise so the sound is softer and often a lot easier to listen to.

And is pink noise softer on high frequencies too?

 

[Lazyboy]

And is pink noise softer on high frequencies too?

Yes, pink noise has a lower volume of the high frequencies than white noise, and brown noise is lower still.

 

[DaveFromChicago]

The Link Between Tinnitus and Dementia | Signia

"Feb 19, 2019 · Tinnitus and hearing loss also cause the brain to "reorganize". In order to cope with the loss of hearing, the brain stops performing certain functions in order to compensate.

Our findings showed that pre-existing tinnitus was associated with a 68% increased risk of developing early-onset dementia among young and middle-aged adults. The results call for greater awareness of tinnitus as a potential harbinger of future dementia in this population."

Holy smokes, since I am 68, out of curiosity I typed in "can chronic tinnitus lead to Dementia?", and this is what I got.

And there's a lot more that even postulates that this can be a catalyst for early onset Alzheimer's.

Once again, the Habituationists, the TRTers and the CBTers are apparently utterly wrong with their pollyannaish assurances that tinnitus is "just a sound" that will have no lasting effects on the brain.

And why shouldn't we regard tinnitus as serious a condition as, for example, schizophrenia; one involves phantom voices, and the other phantom sound. Both conditions must be the result of definite brain dysfunctions.

All I know is that my reading comprehension and short-term memory have been appreciably reduced since I got this.

 

[GeorgeLG]

The Link Between Tinnitus and Dementia | Signia

Holy smokes, since I am 68, out of curiosity I typed in "can chronic tinnitus lead to Dementia?", and this is what I got.

And there's a lot more that even postulates that this can be a catalyst for early onset Alzheimer's.

Once again, the Habituationists, the TRTers and the CBTers are apparently utterly wrong with their pollyannaish assurances that tinnitus is "just a sound" that will have no lasting effects on the brain.

And why shouldn't we regard tinnitus as serious a condition as, for example, schizophrenia; one involves phantom voices, and the other phantom sound. Both conditions must be the result of definite brain dysfunctions.

All I know is that my reading comprehension and short-term memory have been appreciably reduced since I got this.

Tinnitus should be regarded as serious as schizophrenia. Both are a brain dysfunction. On this we agree.

The challenge with any initial observation about correlation is that you don't yet know anything about causation, only that they coexist. Using one of your points as an example, let's accept for a minute that reduced cognitive function is found with tinnitus and let's say we even have a statistically significant data set telling us this. The question then is why do they coexist? Is there a pre-existing condition causing the brain dysfunction of both tinnitus and dementia? Is reduced cognitive function as simple as cumulative sleep deprivation that may be treatable with coexisting tinnitus? B12 deficiency has been found to cause increased tinnitus severity and cognitive decline as an example. This goes on but you get the point.

In the meantime, we all have a choice @DaveFromChicago when this unwelcome visitor initially becomes a squatter in our heads. We can either take no initiative and wait for a cure or we can explore and take advantage of any techniques that may be able to give us relief and improve our quality of life in the present moment. For any given individual, many techniques may fail on the way to finding relief. I had to go through at least a half dozen failed attempts at reducing my pain hyperacusis before I finally found some things that worked. My tinnitus no longer affects my life due to the techniques discussed here and in other sources. No judgement brother, your life, your choices but there are others who have and will continue to benefit from some of the techniques that you referenced. Caveat emptor of course but the anecdotal report of the failed experience of one person is not a prediction of the outcome of all individuals in a larger and diverse population in any affliction.

I wish you good fortune on your journey and with whatever relief that you seek.

P.S. I am 68 as well and of all the things that I have lost, I miss my brain the most.

George

 

[Strawberryblonde]

I use a mix of brown noise and bird chirping at night on a low volume through the night which helps me sleep right through most nights anyway.