Dr. Wilden's LLLT Laser Machine Reduced My Tinnitus to 1/2 of What It Was in 6 Weeks

I see. I thought you might have had specific information related to Dr. Wildens machine causing harm.

Thank you for letting me know that I can do what ever I wish. I wasn't sure if I could or not.

If you ever find any actual facts that he's a quack, let us know so we can dismiss all the positive stories that patients of his have posted on this forum.

 

If briano had his hearing loss in 2013 like his profile suggests, it will be more likely that the improvements are due to the laser.

I'd be interested in the audiogram as well, and if you had an improvement in T or H

 

In my case, it won't be that hard to determine that. I have had 2 years of exactly the same audiograms with no real change. If there is a change in my next audiogram it will be because of the laser. I am not doing anything else differently than I have done the past few years. Please note, I too am a bit skeptical. Although I feel a difference the real proof is in the audiogram. My goal here is not to sell or promote this device. My goal is to share my experiences with people and help them to determine if this option is worth it or not. I just don't feel like sitting on my butt and not doing anything in the hopes that someone will find a cure. One thing I can say for sure is that it has not made my tinnitus any worse. There was a small spike or two during the past few months but nothing really bad to speak of. The audiogram will tell us if my hearing improved, stayed the same or got worse. Unfortunately, it can't tell you how my tinnitus is doing. Right now, I'd say that my tinnitus has probably decreased a small bit. Keep in mind, my tinnitus was never really bad to begin with. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me.

 

I just posted about my "T". In 2 and a half months of using the laser, my tinnitus may have gone down a little bit. I never really had it that bad to begin with though. I'm using the laser because of hearing loss. My hope is that if I can regain my hearing...the tinnitus will just go away. Here is my audiogram. I had this done before I started the laser treatment on 10/3/16.

 

If anyone is on the fence about buying this laser, please wait another few weeks until I get my 3 month audiogram done. As I said before, I don't expect any big changes but you may as well wait to see if there are any since my ear appointment is coming up really soon.

 

I sell mine if someone is interested.

 

@briano @another sean lynne09 There are soooo many articles, reports, studies that have shown for many years that the LLLT helps tinnitus.

My spike was over at 8 days after the 2nd dentist visit. It is back to very quiet again now... I credit this to the LLLT, Dr. Wilden's machine's infra-red ear treatments. 35 min in am, 35 min in pm.

Dr. Wilden suggested using the noise cancelling ear muffs for the dentist.

The reason it seems worse many times when use the laser treatment is it gets worse before it gets better. The intensity of the infrared light warms up the ear some and things sound a little 'squealier' for awhile. After you take a day or two off, after 5 days on, the squealy settles down and you can sense some further healing/more flatness/quietness in the activity of the tinnitus.

This process continues the healing. Just be patient during the extra squealy here and there after treatment.

 

pretty big drop at 6khz
i wonder how it looks after 8khz, i bet that's how your T is sounding, a high pitched hiss maybe ?

 

Exactly! A high pitched hiss. Unfortunately, my audiologist doesn't test the higher frequencies.

 

You can check yourself : http://onlinetonegenerator.com/

You need to use a headphone or speaker that you know has a balanced output. Listen the tones at same volume (low) and check if there is one you don't hear... It's not precise at all but it can be useful.

Don't be tempted to test your dip haha leave that to your next audiogram

 

The existing data is controversial at best.
There's at least one study that claim some usefulness, but also many that indicate LLLT is ineffective:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25606834
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24024040
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23605244

I suspect we haven't determined who is a good candidate for that therapy, and what the appropriate protocol is for them. The results are very inconsistent so far (which is very common for alternative tinnitus treatments).

 

Mandi,

Did Dr. Wilden specify in what circumstances to wear ear plugs?

 

Over 85 db in general, especially the first year when things are still super sensitive, reactive, and need to heal. He often says things like 'use your own judgment' for what you feel is working best for you...everyone different.

@briano @another sean @lynne09
Briano, thanks for posting your audiogram. We look forward to the results of your next audiogram.

I need to post my changes too. My tinnitus has bothered me more than my small hearing loss. But the laser is supposed to improve hearing as well as tinnitus, so I need to get it re-measured to show the value of this healing modality.

 

@another sean The only reason some say they think the LLLT made it worse is that they gave up too early. You have to hang in there with the louder squealing for awhile. Then it quiets down after taking a break, and things are improved. It is part of the healing.

I don't get the louder squealing as much anymore it doesn't seem, as things are more healed now. I am totally healed of the dentist spike... After 8 days, with LLLT 60 min in am and 50 min in evening, things quieted down to almost quieter than before. Now I am back to 35-40 in am, 40-50 another time of day.

 

Hi @briano, any update on the audio?

 

Here is my official 3 month update using LLLT by Dr. Wilden:

No great change in my audiogram, as I suspected. Most of the people that were helped by the laser did't really see any progress until after the 3 month mark. I'm told that a (5 - 10 db change) is nothing really significant. Anything above that would show real promise. The only thing that might be promising is that the higher decibels on my right ear got better and my huge dip on my left ear (at the higher decibel) got slightly better too. I believe that Dr. Wilden originally said that his laser helps the higher decibels first and then works its way down to the lower decibels.

I contacted Dr. Wilden with my audiogram results and he was not happy with them. He asked me to increase the therapy time to 30 min. twice per day. He also wants me to get a monthly audiogram done. I'm not sure if I will do that or not. I did make a 6 month LLLT audiogram appointment in April. Unless my hearing gets worse, I'm gonna stick with this therapy for 2 years. I think that is plenty of time to tell if this laser stuff is going to help me or not. Hopefully, we'll see some better results at the 6 month LLLT mark.

 

@briano Did your ear fullness totally go away ? And your T?

 

Hi Briano, Thank you very much for sharing. 6K is indeed improved. But many of the other frequencies unfortunately not if a put them into a xls. I understood that the lower frequencies should improve first and higher are the hardest. At the left side it seems a bit of a constant decline a few 5 Db's so maybe it wasn't your day (just after new year's eve) or maybe you had a cold.

Any idea why dr. Wilden is proposing that you have to do a audio each month? That might be a interesting question. And of course: what was the assesment from the ENT.

 

Needless to say that I do hope that improvement will follow in the upcoming months.

 

The fullness has definitely decreased and the tinnitus level has lowered a bit. I could be wrong about which frequencies are supposed to get better first. I thought it was the higher ones. Anyway, I am a little upset that some frequencies have lowered but I am happy that the big dip in my left ear got better. Overall, there hasn't been a great deal of change in my audiogram. Dr. Wilden was not really happy with the results. In a way, his response makes me feel a little better. At least I know that he cares and wants this laser to work for me. When I had the audiogram done, I felt like I was hearing better. I thought I was going to do much better than the last time. Maybe I had an off day. Who knows. Maybe that is why Dr. Wilden wants more frequent audiograms. Maybe he thinks I had an off day too. I can't do monthly audiograms though. That can get a little expensive. I will try to get them a little more frequently though. I did not see the ENT. It would have been an additional fee and they don't even know what LLLT is and were not interested. I have begun the 30 min. x 2 treatment per day. Let's see what happens with that. I'm going to remain optimistic. I will keep you updated on my progress.

 

Do them on your phone. If you keep the same app, same phone and same headphones/earbuds, you'll have a consistent test bench you can use, so you can trust the results for the purpose of trending.
I use the mimi hearing test app on iOS and it's surprisingly accurate (vs audiologists' pro audiogram).

 

@briano
Thanks for taking the time to update us.
It does take time, I am on my 12 month mark with light therapy, and I am still getting gradually but very slowly better overall, both for sound quality and a bit of T improvements.

On paper LLLT works, but I'm convinced that those small "home laser" units are not very effective as they are under powered.

In fact we have studies on brain injury treatment saying the same thing.

I used the lucky laser and it has 120mw on 650nm but its still a far cry compared to what Wilden uses at his clinic.

Maybe you should consider adding a high power LED light source to your daily treatment - a lot more power and coverage for the price of a glass of wine at a fancy restaurant

 

I recently downloaded that app thanks to Lymebite,it's great and very accurate for an app on an IPhone I have to say.
Beats paying some dude in an office to do what you can do in your living room.
Here's my latest results,I still have to pay for the full version for more accurate results but it's a good benchmark tool for anyone undergoing LLLT.Still have unbearable H mind you.

 

Are you actually using the flashlight @Bobby B ? Do you have a pulse method for it?

 

I also downloaded this app,not accurate but gives you an idea of how well you can hear the upper frequencies.
I write down how much I have to increase the volume to hear each frequency in each ear,so let's say 1 bar for 10,000hz and 2 bar for 16,000hz 4 bar for 17,000 etc
(Be careful when using this with headphones)

I'm starting my LLLT treatment soon so I have pretty good benchmark to work from.

 

Will receive it next week week - will update you guys on how it compares with the lucky and the other devices I use

 

I didn't have to pay to get the audiogram (which is as accurate as you can get - within limits of the test bench itself): just tap on the "Hearing Landscape" icon at the bottom.
I make a point of doing a screen shot of my iPhone's screen when the audiogram is showing, so I can then replay them (I build a movie out of the screenshots) and look for trends. It's very nice because all the screenshots have the same size and layout, so you only see the graphs moving with time, which gives you a really good idea of the trend.

 

Thanks for the app info. I'll consider using it. To be honest, I avoid earbuds. I'm kind of afraid of them. Will a headset work just as well?

I've considered going to see Dr. Wilden to get LLLT at his office but he told me that his home laser would do the job. So for now, I'm gonna stick with that treatment.

 

Yes.

 

So, I'm new to this funky thing called Tinnitus and it is making me crazy. I got it from going scuba diving. I went scuba diving because I really love the water and wanted to give it a try. On my third dive, I came up and my ear has been ringing ever since. I've seen some doctors, had two hearing tests. My tests show that I've lost hearing in the upper frequencies and my tinnitus is a high pitched buzzing sound with a higher note coming in every once in awhile. Sometimes I imagine that I'm underwater again. It is like my ear speaker is broken. I thank everyone for writing about your experiences. I have written to Dr. Wilden a bunch of times and given him a lot of trouble about his method of payment for the ear laser, but ultimately, I want to give it a try in this early stage and hope for the best. I'm trying to do a bank transfer as that is what Dr. Wilden requires. Everyone of my friends says not to do it but they don't have this condition so they wouldn't understand paying this much cash for a hope at silence. Once I get the laser, I will post more info. Aloha.