ARCHES Tinnitus Formula

Markku --- What about Arches Formula for tinnitus? They are actually recommending this formula at my ear doctor's office! Do you think it is safe and (for some) effective?

Arches Tinnitus Formula on Amazon.com

Arches Tinnitus Formula on iHerb.com (first-time customers get $5-10 off of their order)

 

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The above are the supplement facts for Arches Formula for tinnitus.

Ginkgo biloba doesn't do much anything for most people's tinnitus, it acts as a natural vasodilator, i.e. may theoretically improve tinnitus via improved blood flow. Still, even if it only helped every thousandth tinnitus sufferer at least a little, many are tempted to try it out. I have too.


http://www.bmj.com/content/322/7278/73.full
Results: There were no significant differences in primary or secondary outcome measures between the groups. 34 of 360 participants receiving active treatment reported that their tinnitus was less troublesome after 12 weeks of treatment compared with 35 of 360 participants who took placebo.
And some more info on Dr. Nagler's site: http://home.comcast.net/~nagler/ginkgo.html


The Arches formula is quite expensive considering you can get Garlic extract, Ginkgo biloba and Zinc separately much, much cheaper on health stores.

Okay, with separate supplements, you would need to take 3-4 capsules instead of Arches' 2 capsules.

If one buys 4 bottles of Arches Tinnitus Formula, it costs $29.95 * 4 = $119.80.
4 bottles contain 400 capsules, 1 capsule contains 120 mg of Ginkgo, 150 mg of Deodorized Garlic and 7,5 mg of Zinc.
For $119.80 you get 48 grams of Ginkgo, 60 grams of Garlic and 3 grams of zinc.

I'm comparing these facts with the prices on iHerb (as of April 22nd, 2012).
Doctor's Best Extra Strength Ginkgo costs $6.72. 120 mg of Ginkgo per capsule. 120 capsules. 14.4 grams of Ginkgo in total. We would need 3.33 bottles of Doctor's Best Ginkgo to achieve 48 grams of Ginkgo, so let's make it 4 bottles.
Four bottles of Doctor's Best Ginkgo: $6.72 * 4 = $26.88. 57.6 grams of Ginkgo.

Nature's Bounty Odorless Garlic costs $12.09. 1 gram of Garlic per capsule. 250 capsules. 250 grams of Garlic in total.

Now Food's L-OptiZinc costs $5.73. 30 mg of Zinc per capsule. 100 capsules. 3 grams of Zinc in total.


So... $26.88 + $12.09 + $5.73 = $44.70! Compared to Arches' $119.80 (and that price is only when you buy 4 or more bottles at once).

That's not all: you also get 9.6 grams more of Ginkgo, 190 grams more of Garlic and the same amount of Zinc while you save a whopping of $75.10 of money. That's almost a saving of 63%, and even more if you take into account the fact that you are getting more Ginkgo and Garlic.


So that in mind, I'd avoid Arches (and putting that much profit in the pockets of those who make money off of tinnitus sufferers some of whom are mistakenly willing to pay these exorbitant prices...).

 

Thanks for all the information! Markku, you've convinced me the Arches Formula is not worth it, that it's cheaper to buy the separate ingredients. Same with the Lipoflavinoid.

I've tried gingko, too, without much success. Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance, though. I have not yet tried zinc; I'm taking so many supplements now that I'd have to add that to the arsenal! I believe I've heard that you have to be careful with zinc --- otherwise, you can mess up the body's natural zinc/copper balance.

 

What convinced you to take it in the first place? Why not separate supplements which would have saved you a nice amount of cash?

How did you get tinnitus? It's great you are feeling better though.

What's interesting about Arches is this: http://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/the-science-behind-the-product/

The studies referenced have used the regular Ginkgo biloba extract. There is just a general lack of information on the Arches site how their Ginkgo is more "pharmaceutical grade" than the rest of the Ginkgo supplements.

If you look at: http://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-ginkgo-biloba-extract-120-mg-300-capsules

Ginkgo Biloba Extract (Standardized to 24% ginkgo flavonglycosides and 6% terpene lactones)(leaves)

Which is pretty normal for Ginkgo.

And Arches' Supplement Facts below:

The same thing is seen here, 24% of ginkgo flavone glycosides and 6% terpene lactones.

Superior? Doubt it...

http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Ginkgo-Biloba-120-mg-200-Vcaps/583
->


One thing that can play a part is the placebo effect. If one buys a product marketed specifically for tinnitus, the results expected can be greater than would be for "regular" supplements that don't have tinnitus plastered over the product. I think.

 

Here is a new study and further proof Gingko is not effective for tinnitus.


Ginkgo biloba for tinnitus

BACKGROUND:
This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in The Cochrane Library in Issue 2, 2004 and previously updated in 2007 and 2009.Tinnitus can be described as the perception of sound in the absence of external acoustic stimulation. At present no specific therapy for tinnitusis acknowledged to be satisfactory in all patients. There are a number of reports in the literature suggesting that Ginkgo biloba may be effective in the management of tinnitus. However, there also appears to be a strong placebo effect in tinnitus management.

OBJECTIVES:
To assess the effect of Ginkgo biloba in patients who are troubled by tinnitus.

SEARCH METHODS:
We searched the Cochrane Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders Group Trials Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); PubMed; EMBASE; AMED; Web of Science; BIOSIS Previews; Cambridge Scientific Abstracts; ICTRP and additional sources for published and unpublished trials. The date of the most recent search was 12 March 2012.

SELECTION CRITERIA:
Adults (18 years and over) complaining of tinnitus or adults with a primary complaint of cerebral insufficiency, wheretinnitus forms part of the syndrome.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS:
Both original authors independently extracted data and assessed trials for quality. For the 2012 update two authors determined trial eligibility, extracted data, analysed data and updated the contents of the review.

MAIN RESULTS:
Four trials with a total of 1543 participants were included in the review; we assessed all the included studies as having a low risk of bias. Three trials (1143 participants) included patients with a primary complaint of tinnitus and one (400 participants) included patients with mild to moderate dementia, some of whom had tinnitus.There was no evidence that Gingko biloba was effective in patients with a primary complaint oftinnitus. In the study of patients with dementia, mean baseline levels of tinnitus were low (1.7 to 2.5 on a 10-point subjective symptom rating scale). A small but statistically significant reduction of 1.5 and 0.7 points was seen in patients taking Gingko biloba with vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease respectively. The practical clinical significance of this is unclear. The incidence of side effects was low.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS:
The limited evidence does not demonstrate that Ginkgo biloba is effective for tinnitus when this is the primary complaint.

 

Arches formula is basically just vitamins. So unless your T is caused by some vitamin deficiency, most likely will not work. This stuff has been around for years and if it really did help that much we would all be using it. Better to save your money, eat good diet and exercise.

 

It can't really hurt you to try it. I support you guys in whatever you want and need to do.

The main issue with supplements in general is that since they are not regulated, you never know for sure if whats on the label is actually in the product. That is why I pay money and subscribe to Consumer Labs. They independently test supplements and regularly find supplements lacking in key ingredients or levels of those key ingredients especially all in one type supplements.

I am not saying Arches is the same way, but it is heavily marketed, been around for many years and if it really did work for a majority of people it would the gold standard in treating tinnitus. And it is not.

Also, I have never been a big fan of all-in-one supplements because taking them all at once might not be as beneficial with different vitamins and minerals competing all at once. Certain supplements have different requirements for maximum absorption. Some are best absorbed on an empty stomach. Others are best with food. Some are absorbed best with fats etc. Some are not absorbed very well anyway.

As it has been said many times in the past, we have to be our own guinea pigs and find out what works for us and what doesn't. Even if you are told something doesn't work or is a waste of money, sometimes you need to make that determination yourself. I was told the same thing in the beginning of my T, but I felt I needed to do something about my T so I did spend hundreds of dollars on supplements. Did any of them work? Not really, but I find a few that helped. And I needed to find out these answers for myself so I could move on to other things if I needed to. This is all only part of the natural progression of dealing with T and being human. Whatever you choose to do you have the support of most people here.