Ask HN: Trouble With Tinnitus?

[vnbn]

Hey All,

I've suffered from tinnitus in my right ear for about 4 years now.

I've been fortunate in that it's a mild case--mostly unnoticeable during the workday, but it's definitely had a deleterious effect on my life. I'm constantly worried about begin stuck in loud situations that could worsen the tinnitus, which has had an effect on my social life, since many bars are loud places.

Does anybody else here have a similar problem? Have you found a way to cope with it?

[mindcrime]

I've had issues with tinnitus, yes. Mine kinda comes and goes, and I've largely learned to just ignore it. But I did some reading a while back that suggests that Melatonin may help. I sometimes use melatonin to help me fall asleep anyway, so it's hard for me to really isolate things and say if it helps my tinnitus or not. But you may find this interesting:

http://brainposts.blogspot.com/2011/09/melatonin-for-tinnitu...

[logn]

I've read somewhere that playing high frequencies (at a reasonable volume) which resonate with the tinnitus frequency can re-align the misfiring of the eardrum hairs causing the problem. Worth a shot. An app I made where you can generate a sine wave and set the frequency: http://sourceforge.net/projects/originalsynth/

If it's any consolation, almost all professional musicians and myself included suffer from this.

[vnbn → logn]

Are you still able to go to converts? If so, do the loud noises bother you, or are you able to use earplugs or anything else to cope with the sound?

[logn → vnbn]

I still go to concerts occasionally. The loud noise does not bother me. However, in the short term it can exacerbate the tinnitus. And it the long term concert-level noise is known to cause hearing loss (and maybe worsen tinnitus). Good venues usually play the volume at a safe and enjoyable level.

[ahoyhere]

Do you take a lot of aspirin or something that's aspirin-like, like Pepto Bismol? That's what caused tinnitus for me. When I quit the Pepto, it slowly disappeared over a few months.