Thread: TINNITUS - an interesting read from a science journal today.....

Originally Posted by woodPixel

I was talking with a scientist on Reddit the other week.

She said she was ASTOUNDED with the LACK of people who contact her directly about her science (its not Tinnitus, but another life changing thing not relevant here).

People go to the doctors, read about such things in papers, etc, but don't EVER ask the people doing the tests/science and ask questions about their doings... or ask to be involved... or ask to be kept up to date. She publishes in journals, behind pay-walls, but said that 100% of any fees paid go to the journal, the submitting team sees zero of it..... she advised to contact them directly and they are hyper-enthused to talk about their work.... SEND you the papers and whatnot for FREE.

She was quite right.... two months ago I found a fascinating article on Venus slowing its rate of spin. Various satellites and observations have shown the planet has slowed ~12 seconds over the decade. That's A LOT of angular momentum lost !!!!! So I wrote (emailed) to the two lead scientists (after reading their papers and some decent background first!) and they responded like kids at Christmas! Super keen, answered my questions, I asked some more hypotheticals and sought their opinions on things... they spent a huge chunk of time outlining everything and doing a mind-dump. Top blokes. Two new friends now!


So, for those who are affected, WRITE to the people in the papers.... ASK them if you can participate. ASK to be kept up to date.

I'd wager they would be more than happy to help out.

Evan, there is a reason why many do not seek treatment ... because there are so many charlatans who promise a cure and cannot deliver. The Internet is full of them.

I do have a suggestion that may help others as it has helped me.

My tinnitus reared its head almost over night (although no doubt it was growing slowly) some 15 years ago. Within a couple of weeks it was LOUD, and I felt like I was helpless, as in a prison with no where to escape. It was an overwhelming shock, and I felt like I was suffocating.

No doubt like many others, I visited an audiologist, who noted that I had lost about all sound about 5000Hz (average in youngsters in 20000). I was aware that background noise was an issue - trying to hold a conversation in a restaurant was a struggle, and it the microwave (in our open plan house) was on while watching TV, I could not make out what was said.

Over a few weeks it got worse, and I had a rising sense of panic. I can understand the high levels of suicide.

The audiologist prescribed hearing aids ($6000), which I purchased. The idea was to raise the sound levels and drown out the tinnitus. Also, I began a course of Sound Therapy, which was music geared to my audiological profile, which aimed at re-training the missing areas. I was so desperate I purchased the $6000 program. This was 15 years ago. One got less for the $ then.

I did all this dutifully for 12 months. No change. I will say that the promise of improvement kept me going. But finally it dawned upon me that it was not going to work, and it was time I put my psychologist's hat on.

I decided to throw it all away. Hearing aids gone. Auditory programme gone. Just glorious tinnitus.

Why? Because I realised that these "cures" were making me focus on dealing with tinnitus, and that it made every second of my day a moment when it remained in my consciousness. That made it real. I also knew that the tinnitus would stop being "foreground" and fade into the "background" eventually. Just be patient. It will go out of consciousness if I stop forcing it to stay there. In other words, get used to it.

The next day I was at Carbatec and bumped into two woodies who were discussing their tinnitus. They were talking about their new hearing aids and how much they helped them. I did not have the heart to say that I no longer used mine.

It has been about 15 years since that day, and I would say that it took about 18 months before it all began to click. My tinnitus is still there, and some days are louder than others. The difference is that I do not notice it at all (unless I am in a discussion about it, which is infrequent). It has faded into the background so much that it has no emotional impact at all. I can go for months without being aware that it exists. My hearing seems to have improved slightly. I am very conscious of hearing health in the workshop and wear hearing muffs at all times machines are on. Interestingly, I can tolerate more noise around me. There was a time near the start, over about 2 months, when I developed hyperacusis. This is a heightened sensitivity to noise - a motor car driving past me had me blocking my ears. A motor bike going by left me in a pool of stress sweat. All gone. I have run machines without hearing protection and no affect. I seem to hear the TV better than my wife now! I am not kidding myself that my hearing has improved. Just that the issues here are no longer an intrusion.

Regards from Perth

Derek