The a2k Tinnitus Fellowship Club

Hmmmmm.

I think I have tinnitus..... if I do it is not a constant pitch, it sort of a rough buzzing. It seems to either come and go, or it is so mild that I only notice it on occasion.

Interesting idea that hypnosis might be an answer but I can't shake the skepticism nor could I afford the experiment with these seemingly unorthodox techniques.

If my tinnitus was more of a nuisance and bothered me more and if I had a job with a more flexible salary then I would experiment with these ideas.

My only present day access to medicine and medical treatment comes from the VA hospital and that's because my income is so darn low.

Soz... that's a super bummer. My buzzing comes more pronounced late at night. It helps when I actually have something to listen to while I'm whittling my evening away. Music or NPR podcasts, etc.... If I have something to concentrate on than my buzzing becomes a mere background noise.

In fact, I'm wondering why my iTunes isn't playing now. Just finished watching several Futurama episodes and now I have nothing to listen to but my floor fan on high.

Okay... that's better ... I just put on the new Arcade Fire album on.... ahhhh....

Well, when I get around to trying it, if I find the right hypnotherapist, and if I get results, I let you know.

Thanks. I'll be waiting with held breath until I hear your news (either good or bad)... Don't take too long as I can't hold my breath very long.

Mr. P. has had tinnitus for many years, Often, the effect develops many years after its cause, With him, he was in the army, training with guns. One day he ran out to practice, and forgot to put cotton in his ears. He told me that he heard organ music in his head for a week.

In his forties, he started to develop tinnitus, and now his hearing has worsened, but his brain has learned to "tune out" the ringing in his ears.
If he is reminded of the tinnitus, and made aware of it, it will bother him.

Yeah, I can do something similar by thinking of music... since it's not "real" sound it's somewhat controllable with other "unreal" sound. Only somewhat though.

Like Phoenix's husband, if I think about it it comes back -- have a bout everytime I see this thread.

Well, I had another appointment with my ear, nose, and throat doc. I had been seeing him for a problem with my sinus, which could have had something to do with my tinnitus.

Well, after finishing my prescription after 2 months, it hasn't affected the tinnitus at all. Too bad, it would have been nice.

The end concensus is that I do not appear to have any underlying medical condition that is causing my tinnitus. So, now I have to decide what to do.

In addition to possibly using hypnosis to treat it, I'm also considering acupuncture. My dilemma is now that I'm not sure what to do first. I already know an acupuncturist (in my city) that can treat this, but not a registered hynotherapist. This could be a bit of a pain.

Hmmm...

Tsarstepan, you can add another member to your club.

I've had it for decades. Like Mr P and Soz, I can usually ignore it, but stress does seem to make it worse.

When I was very young, I seemed to have ear infections all the time. When I was twelve or thirteen, it was so bad that the doctor had to lance the eardrum in my left ear. Maybe that is when it started.

Now, with hearing loss, it is sometimes worse, but still not enough to drive me crazy-been there, done that.

Soz, I can't comprehend what a problem it would be when you can't hear anything else. I'm sure it is awful.

Hypnosis and acupuncture are interesting resources.

Maybe we could find a way to record each person's tinnitus sound. Put together, we could form a sort of avant guarde recording and drive everyone else crazy...

Good idea.. New Music.

Reyn ... are either of these treatments covered by your health insurance? Oh wait... you're Canadian... <<<grumble mummble>> lucky so and so.... So is these state approved procedures?
~~~
And I also wonder who was the first person who was officially diagnosed with tinnitus and what did they think this ailment was before the diagnosis of tinnitus was discovered?

16th Century Spain:
Peasant from Madrid: "Father Pedro! I hear an angel whispering in my left ear!"

Father Pedro: "What is he trying to tell you my son?"

Peasant from Madrid: "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...."

A frowning Father Pedro: "Guards!! Grab this man!! Umm I think he's Jewish ... or light skinned Moorish ... or whatever but he's possessed by Satan!"

Guards take Peasant from Madrid away to be burned at the stake at a later date.

Quick answer - probably 'no' for me. This is for the acupucture. I may be able to recover a little, but I would need to be over a certain deductible (that's the rub) to collect.

I do, however, have private extended health coverage (provided by my employer - the one I retired from) for acupucture treatments. Again, the rub is that the coverage is only for $100 per calendar year. No doubt this will only cover a small portion.

Hypnotherapy is not covered by anyone, although I can probably get away with putting it on my annual medical costs, for my income tax return, for both services.

Right now, I'm leaning towards acupucture, because of the costs. I checked online to see what hynotherapy sessions cost at one practice at a local (neighbouring city) location. Let me tell you, if the costs there are somewhat consistent with other ones, it is unaffordable for sure.

Here's a link to that page, so you can see for yourself:

link to costs for this hypnotherapist!

The info is about half way down the page. On that same page, it also says:

[...]Hypnosis can enable a subject to break a habit in a few sessions. Most challenges like Quit Smoking or Nail Biting, Fear of flying etc. can be resolved in one or two sessions. Clients chose to come for follow-up sessions simply for reinforcement.

On the other hand, issues such as Deep Depression, Addictions to street drugs like Cocaine, C. Meth, Addictions to Pharma drugs like Oxys etc., Alcohol, Weight management, Tinnitus, Fibromyalgia, Insomnia will understandably take many more sessions.[...]

Yikes!

I just saw a commercial today on LipoFlavonoid:

Anyone heard about this supplement? Or use it? Or think about using it?

I've lived with tinnitus since '85 or 86, all the time.


No wonder I'm crabby.

Sorry, no, never heard of it. If you try it and you have success, please let us know!

count me in as a member. Both ears started ringing about two years ago. I also developed some hearing loss in my left ear. Frankly, I've had so many other medical problems in the last three years, I've mostly just ignored. xcept when I'm talking about it. Like now.

Sorry to hear about your reluctant membership Mags. Welcome aboard our ship of fools.

i get a bit in one ear, i've been a one ear earbud guy for around twenty years now, and a headphone guy fro about 30 years, since i got my first walkman, every once in a while i'll get a buzz or whine in the right ear (the main ear i have plugged in most of the time)

My understanding is that the numbers of people who have tinnitus has increased since the era of rock music played loud, and the use of headphones for music.

Many of the rock musicians suffer from tinnitus. Some have gotten smart enough to wear headphones while they are playing, to cut down on the decibel level of the sound.