Whooshing, ringing, buzzing, pulsing, humming, beating, roaring: If you hear noises like these when there is no actual sound source, you might be one of the approximately 10 percent of Americans with tinnitus.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629ad9bc262-3456-4673-affb-8c46e14f7e5a
Can Tinnitus Be Cured? Remedies That Work There is no cure for tinnitus — most people have to incorporate lifestyle changes to soften or live with the ear ringing. The following strategies won’t completely relieve it, but they may offer some relief.
When to See a Doctor for Tinnitus When to Call a Doctor If you have pulsatile tinnitus or if your tinnitus is in only one ear, get evaluated by your doctor. It could be indicative of an underlying condition, including impacted earwax.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976294c1e4040-87c2-4997-9724-4f2fc2392f45 Pulsatile tinnitus might also reflect hearing loss.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629579dc496-aa97-4a45-9ae1-924f77a9bdb3 “The brain is used to getting a certain amount of noise input,” Kari says. “When that input decreases due to hearing loss, the brain makes up its own sensations.” In that case, hearing aids will often help.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762961371ccc-9d19-4f5e-b368-86e05a9b542d If you have subjective tinnitus, ask your doctor about new treatment protocols like neuromonics, a brain retraining therapy that involves wearing a sound machine programmed to match the rhythm of your tinnitus.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976291817837e-faab-4ab6-a937-6f06e7f99778 “This multimodality treatment teaches your brain not to care about the ringing by habituating it to the sound,” Kari says. Although it works, she adds it’s pretty intensive, not covered by insurance, and very few hearing centers offer it. Tinnitus can also come and go; recovery is not linear. “If you go through a period where you are stressed and not sleeping well, you might notice it flares. Once you are feeling better, the tinnitus should improve,” Kari says. If your tinnitus comes on suddenly or is accompanied by dizziness and vertigo, it’s best to seek medical treatment to figure out the underlying cause.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629ef2d98c1-5591-4e60-a328-5d633c5ffbc7
What Doesn’t Help Tinnitus What Doesn’t Work Research has been mixed on other purported tinnitus solutions. The following have no solid evidence to back them up. 1. Avoiding Certain Foods There’s little scientific evidence to show that certain foods worsen tinnitus. But you can try experimenting with your diet to see whether it helps — each person’s case is different.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629cd036fe9-9f63-4c93-835c-e4bb4743b60b Kari says that for some people, caffeine and alcohol exacerbate tinnitus, so limiting both may help. 2. Ear Drops Ear drops may help with earwax buildup, “but if you have tinnitus, the problem is usually much deeper than the middle ear and often the brain is involved as well,” Kari says. In other words, ear drops won’t likely do anything, she adds. 3. Jaw or Neck Exercises Some people with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction also have tinnitus. “We don’t have a good explanation for why this happens, but some people with TMJ experience pressure, discomfort, and ringing in their ears,” says Kari.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976297c140f50-b4db-49e6-972b-3ac735e42856 “Still, even if your tinnitus is caused by TMJ, jaw or neck exercises aren’t likely to help.” 4. Lipo Flavonoid Lipo Flavonoid is a supplement containing antioxidants derived from fruits and vegetables that may have neuroprotective benefits. Some people claim it can help nerves within the ear, thereby relieving tinnitus, but research has largely debunked this.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976294469fa1f-97af-4c6c-bb25-84692d90f570 “When people ask about Lipo Flavonoid, I usually shrug,” Kari says. She adds that you are better off getting antioxidants through fruits and vegetables in your diet. 5. Vitamins Vitamins D, B1, B2 (aka riboflavin), and B12 are often hailed as tinnitus cures. More research is needed, but a small study found that 51 percent of people with tinnitus had a vitamin D deficiency , compared with 22 percent in a control group.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629621fcdf1-d12f-437f-b6f4-e5ef0834c3f7 Still, there may be no correlation. “I have never seen vitamin deficiency as a contributing factor for tinnitus,” Kari says. “You can check with your primary care doctor to see if you have any deficiencies, but I would not self-treat with vitamins, because they can lead to toxicity and have negative side effects.” 6. Vicks VapoRub According to Kari, there is a myth that Vicks VapoRub — a salve that contains menthol — alleviates tinnitus, but she says there is no evidence it works, and, in fact, it can be dangerous. “I have not heard this to be effective, and I would be careful because applying it in your ears can lead to toxic effects,” Kari says.
What Is Tinnitus? What Tinnitus Is “Although we don’t fully understand tinnitus, we think it’s a brain issue rather than simply an ear problem,” says Elina Kari, MD , a neurotologist and an assistant professor of surgery at UC San Diego Health. (A neurotologist specializes in treating neurological disorders of the ear.) “The hearing pathway starts with the ear and goes up to your brain stem. And the dorsal cochlear nucleus, located on the brain stem, has been implicated in tinnitus.” There are two different kinds of tinnitus: subjective and pulsatile. More than 99 percent of people with tinnitus have subjective, where they “hear a constant high-pitched noise, like a whir or crickets,” says Dr. Kari. This type has no cause. Pulsatile tinnitus has specific known causes, such as anemia, high blood pressure, or an ear infection. “Those with pulsatile tinnitus hear a clicking sound associated with the contraction of muscles or a pulsing like your heartbeat,” Kari says. Most people experience tinnitus in both ears. The noise can be constant or intermittent. And “while it is extremely common, only a minority of people [find it debilitating],” Kari says. The best solution is to ignore it and learn to live with it, she adds. If that sounds easier said than done, we have three at-home tinnitus remedies that can bring relief — and six that probably won’t.
1. Add Background Noise The fastest and simplest way to relieve tinnitus is to avoid silence. Turn on music, the TV, a fan, or a white noise machine to distract you from the ringing in your ears.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629f2710a2d-172c-4aa4-a655-718b66a89f50 “You can even get earplugs that emit a low level of white noise,” Kari says 2. Try Meditation or Therapy Research has found that certain therapeutic approaches, such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for tinnitus, can be helpful in managing symptoms.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762922c7b9ba-59bd-4e10-8714-456a7a0a90a2 Kari is also a fan of 10-minute daily guided meditations from apps like Calm or Headspace. “Some people think they need to empty their minds to meditate, which can be stressful if you have tinnitus,” Kari says. “But guided meditation helps manage tinnitus — as well as improving your mood and sleep, and promoting a general state of well-being.” 3. Get Enough Sleep Tinnitus can affect your ability to rest. But sleep loss may worsen tinnitus, Kari says.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629395eeae5-c870-4f79-8eea-a094aba1763e Focusing on improving your sleep quality by using white noise machines or meditating at bedtime can help you fall and stay asleep.
Resources We Trust Mayo Clinic: TinnitusAmerican Tinnitus Association: Find Your Healthcare ProviderNational Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: TinnitusAARP: New Treatment for Tinnitus Can Give Relief to Those Who Suffer From Ringing in the EarsNYU Langone Health: Types of Tinnitus
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