Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

@Jan64, how quickly after onset would you say?

 

Dear Joe, thank you for your question. I read in a scientific article that there is a significant difference between the success rate before and after 14 days (time between onset and treatment). Unfortunately, I can not find that article anymore.

Körpinar et al (2011) (see attachment) stresses the importance of the time between onset and treatment. Another paper suggested that being younger or older than 50 is also a factor. So when you are younger, the chance of getting relief is better.

It also important what you see as 'onset'. Is that the starting of tinnitus, the noise trauma, or a large amount of smaller noise traumas... HBOT ensures a high concentration of oxygen (500%) in the organ of Corti. This induces healing processes. In my opinion, the chance that damaged hair cells heal, strongly depends on the time between damage and getting the oxygen.

In 1996 I was treated for the first time with HBOT. The time between onset (aggravation) was and treatment was 77 days. And that was an successful treatment. Then I was younger than 50 (32).

From 1996 till now I underwent a total of 154 sessions... and experienced getting treatment within 1-2 days after onset or aggravation is the best. For me 5 days is already quite a long time.

 

That's quite an informed answer, @Jan64, thanks. It sounds like you found your solution to tinnitus management.

Sadly for me, I've had my sudden onset 4 months ago and there wasn't a singular cause I could point at, just a number of possible factors. And I've had gradual hearing loss for years now. That rules out HBOT for me.

I hope it continues to be a good treatment for you.

 

Hi @Joe Cuber -- Just to give you a little information: HBOT has been shown to be highly effective for people who've suffered strokes, aneurysms, and even some cases of paralysis. This has been the case even when the therapy was administered years after one of those occurrences.

There's so much that is unknown about whether or not HBOT will work for certain conditions, because it's never been researched on a wide scale. But I've come to believe it can work very well for situations where you would objectively think it might not.

I had a home mHBOT unit (with the "m" standing for mild), and was able to use it 3-4x/week for over a year. It eventually got burned in a house fire. During the time I was using it regularly, my tinnitus did seem to improve somewhat, but I can't say it was the mHBOT that was responsible.

What I can say is that I found the sessions to be so relaxing, that it greatly helped me in coping with tinnitus. I could be severely on edge prior to going into the chamber, and be quite relaxed coming out. That feeling would stay with me for hours, and even at times lead to better sleep.

If you're interested, you can purchase one of these, and get a 30-day money back warranty on it. So you could experiment for many sessions, and see if this could help you on an ongoing basis. I certainly believe regular mHBOT therapy can go a long way toward preventing many health conditions, and improving quality of life in the present.

Also, if you wanted to do it regularly for a year, and then discontinue it, you could always resell the unit. They apparently hold their value well, and you could end up with many very low-cost sessions in the mean time.

 

Thanks for the info @Lane, I didn't realize you could get a home mHBOT units, fascinating. I'll research the units and their benefits, thanks again

 

I got tinnitus 8 days ago. Can someone please point me to the source of the claim that HBOT can be helpful in the early days?

 

Read this 11 page document. I would try it.

 

I see, thank you. It seems like the biggest flaw here is that the vast majority of studies cited don't have a control group, so, while they generally show positive benefits of HBOT in the first 2 weeks, it could be just signaling that people with 2 weeks of tinnitus are prone to recovery regardless.

Interesting, regardless.

 

If you do it, then wear hearing protection because it can be quite loud sometimes.

 

I underwent 10 HBOT sessions (10 consecutive days) and I have to say that it did help. I had very mild hearing loss in high frequencies and now my audiogram is back to normal (up to 8 kHz) and my tinnitus is somewhat better. I took a lot of antioxidants and vitamins during the course of the sessions and I continue to taking them.

I have decided to pay for another 10 sessions in a private center in a different city and hopefully my tinnitus will fade away completely. My ENT doesn't want to prescribe me more sessions because my audiogram is ok and "I'm healthy". I start next week on Monday and I will keep you updated.

 

Dear VTae,

Sorry to hear you suffer from tinnitus. I hope you can cope with it.

Regarding your question: it depends. You mention that your tinnitus is caused by ultrasonic cleaning. That can be a trigger of tinnitus. It is helpful to examine whether there are underlying causes of your tinnitus? Going to festivals, loud music, power tools, factory noise, long ride on motorcycles, listening to mp3 devices, etc.

Only 'fresh' hearing loss, arising from the cochlea, can be 'repaired' with HBOT.

Apart from that, and along with HBOT, you could also try Prednisone 60 mg a day for 3-5 days and then tapering off with 10 mg / day. E.g., 60 mg, 60 mg, 60 mg, 50 mg, 40 mg, 30 mg, 20 mg, 10 mg, 10 mg, 10 mg.

Do not wait too long for making the choice... Every hour counts...

Good luck!

Regards,
Jan

 

I can tell you with absolute certainty that my tinnitus isn't caused by anything related to sound. I never listened to music and I spent most of the day in absolute silence. Sadly, I contacted the few HBOT clinics around my city. They denied treating me. I will be out of the 2 weeks opportunity window soon.

 

Dear VTae,

I feel your pain. How sad. Is there a possibility to go to a treatment center elsewhere?

Kind regards,
Jan

 

So, I will be ending my second round of 10 sessions of HBOT soon. I'm undergoing them in private facility and I realized that they don't have the desired pressure. All of available private facilities in my country have chambers with pressures below 1.5 ATA. All the research studies I have seen have had higher pressure.

I don't know what to do now... My ENT told me that I don't have hearing loss anymore (up to 8 kHz) so he won't prescribe me another round of HBOT in hospital chambers (with desired pressures).

I'm 7 weeks in with tinnitus, so I still have some time until 3 the months window closes. Should I ask my ENT again? Should I fake an audiometry test?

First round of HBOT did help me and I saw some improvement.

 

Update: I finished all planned HBOT sessions in a private facility. During the course of sessions, I realized that the treatment is mild HBOT because of the lower pressures used. After the sessions ended, I contacted my ENT, asking if he can prescribe me another sessions in a big hospital chamber (with higher, "therapeutic" pressures). I'm 2 months since onset, so I still hopefully can benefit from HBOT. I see some improvements in my tinnitus (in loudness and intrusiveness, sometimes I get silent mornings or parts of the day where I don't think about it/hear it). Hyperacusis still remains. Hearing loss has improved - I had 30-35 dB loss in high frequencies, after first round of HBOT I don't have hearing loss up to 8 kHz (I wasn't able to find a facility in my country who test higher frequencies as well).

My biggest fear right now is to not get permanently worse by HBOT, I'm very scared of barotrauma. I didn't have problems with equalizing pressures during previous sessions (I can equalize pressure willingly) and I would be devastated if I will lose all my progress. On the other hand, maybe I have a chance for full recovery?

These sessions will be my last ones and also probably my last treatment. I will continue to use supplements and go to psychotherapy, but that's all.

What are your thoughts?

 

Hi @Eliska -- I did mHBOT after my tinnitus onset, using my own in-home chamber. I did it about 3x/week for about a year. The greatest benefit I got from it was that it calmed down my brain and nervous system. It often mildly spiked my tinnitus for a couple hours afterwards, but there were times when it seem to be a bit softer. In short, not a big difference in my tinnitus, but a pretty significant difference in shoring up my neurological resilience.

Recently I've been doing a lot of research on nebulization, and various compounds that can be used to improve a variety of health conditions. I don't know if you feel your inner ear infection is completely cleared up, but if not, doing some nebulization might be helpful. The following link takes you to a good 10-minute video on how it's done. I started the video at the end where you can see a dramatic before and after difference in the appearance of the author, and how it was because he was able to clear out a mold infection in his head and sinuses.

Hydrogen Peroxide Nebulizer for Sinus Cleansing - UPDATED!

You may also want to research nebulizing glutathione, which is able to heal nerve damage, which may have occurred from your ear infection.

Glutathione: the most powerful antioxidant in your body // Spartan HEALTH 037

 

Could HBOT be useful when an already-existing tinnitus is worsened by noise exposure? Or is the 3-month deadline strictly for totally new tinnitus cases?

 

No, every time when there is damage in the cochlea (organ of Corti), HBOT can work. But be quick. Every hour counts!

 

Hey,

I've had unilateral tinnitus only in the left ear/head for 2 months now. I got it after listening to loud music over earbuds for 4 hours on a bike.

But I've had some troubles with the left ear before. I had a few middle ear infections a few years ago and when changing altitude (on a plane, in a car), my Eustachian tube which equalizes pressure does not work as well as it should, meaning that the pressure does not equalize right away, but takes some time. My left ear gets congested and then when I reach a normal altitude, my left ear pops and lets the pressure out.

So, I'm not sure, whether I triggered something in my left ear with loud music. And not sure whether loud music is the cause of my tinnitus or if it would have happened anyway because of these problems with the Eustachian tube.

I am wondering whether hyperbaric oxygen therapy would help in my case? Any similar stories here with Eustachian tube problems in one ear and acoustic trauma?

Thanks,
Aurora

 

Go as soon as possible.

 

How loud was the music in combination with the cycling noises? And how many times / hours did you listen to loud music/noises? Is the damage really caused by that one time of 4 hours of loud music or is it caused over a period of more years, with the damage not being repairable anymore? You have to know that an onset of 2 months ago is in terms of HBOT timeframe quite a long time ago. It is up to you to decide.

Did you get Prednisone?

All the best!

Jan

 

Thanks @Travis Henry, will do!

 

I have a host of health problems (especially neurological, nerve pain, muscle pain, dizziness), including severe noise-induced tinnitus for the past 5 years.

Could someone who is an expert in HBOT and HBOT literatur provide intelligent insights on the following?

1. Is it better to do a few sessions over extended period of time, or more sessions in a shorter period of time? What is the ideal rest time?

2. Have there been any side effects of HBOT in general, other than the temporary discomfort after each session? Has there been longitudinal side effect studies (as often a side effect may not appear until later on)?

3. Are there arguments as to why I should not do HBOT for my general conditions outline above?

 

Hi @Dizzyhead888 -- I had (have) similar neurological issues that you mention, and so I'll share what I learned from actual experience. I'm somewhat hesitant to answer, as I don't consider myself an "expert" on HBOT, though I had my own mHBOT chamber for over a year, and did about 200-300 sessions in total.

I bought my chamber because I had done a handful in a clinical setting, and intuitively felt I needed to do it long-term. I did a "dive" 3-4x/week during this time (after discovering that doing it daily was too much for my system--and most people's system). As a result of this regular use, I believe I built up a new health and resilience in my brain and neurological system, which helped me relax, and in turn, helped me deal with tinnitus.

I would occasionally get a mild spike in my tinnitus, but it would usually subside after a couple hours or so. Other times my tinnitus would seem to be somewhat softer. In short, no major shift in tinnitus volume. However, I was able to handle tinnitus better because I would normally feel so much better after (and during) doing a session. I underlined normally, because if I did too much, I would feel "out of it" for a few hours afterwards. I eventually discovered every other day (or so) worked best for me. -- I know of no instances of any longitudinal side effects, nor did I experience any myself.

There are a good number of reasons to do mHBOT for the conditions you mention. And also for many other health conditions. I've come to believe most people would be healthier and live longer if they did regular HBOT. It's so good for the brain and neurological system, that it can "awaken" dormant brain cells that had been traumatized from a stroke event. It's produced almost miraculous results for people who've suffered strokes, head injuries, aneurysms, etc., even when introduced years after a traumatic injury to the brain.

 

Can buying an oxygen tube and inhaling it daily mimic some of the mHBOT benefits?

 

Is 1.4 ATA pressure for a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for home use enough?

Dear all,

In my life I have taken a total of more than 300 HBOT sessions, at a specialized HBOT center in the Netherlands. They work with a pressure of 2.4 ATA.

HBOT works brilliantly for me! After my vaccinations, getting COVID-19, blasts, MRI, quinine, etc. I was rescued with HBOT. Every time I have a tinnitus aggravation, I go there. But, due to a large influx of Long COVID-19 patients, the waiting time before treatment is now 10 days. That is not acceptable for me.

So I decided to look for my own HBOT chamber.

Now the big problem is deciding which HBOT chamber to choose.

It is not about the brand, it is about the pressure. For home use a maximum of 2.0 ATA is permitted.

But those chambers cost around €60,000 EUR. At least...

A mild hyperbaric oxygen chamber with 1.3 - 1.4 ATA costs me around €24,000. I selected the Oxynova 7.

But will a 1.3 - 1.4 ATA chamber (mild hyperbaric, soft chamber) work? Almost all studies are based on 2.4 or 2.5 ATA pressure.

Any thoughts on this?

Taking more time, more sessions? How much more O2 will be in the organ of Corti?

Especially people who already use a 1.3 or 1.4 ATA chamber are very welcome to share their thoughts...

Many thanks in advance!

Kind regards,
Jan

 

Hey everyone,

Just got a hold of a private clinic that does HBOT near me. I met an HBOT specialised doctor and he prescribed 3 sessions of 2.0ATM. He claims to have had success in the past.

I am 2.5 months past acoustic trauma. For now, my tinnitus is still bothersome but no longer very intrusive.

Do you think it makes sense to go ahead? I am worried about the risks of potential worsening.

 

How is HBOT still doing the rounds?

 

Hi Michael,

Nice to read you started HBOT! You are still within the 3 month time window and, according to Lamm (1995), partial healing is possible even after 3 months.

But 3 sessions are not much and actually no healing can be expected from that. The protocol is getting 10 - 15 sessions. Every workday, for 2-3 weeks.

I believe that 10-15 is not sufficient. If you feel that your ears are slowly healing, you need 30-40 sessions... I took 60 sessions after COVID-19. It totally reversed things for me.

Risks of potential worsening are highly exaggerated. It happens but is reversible... In my life I have had more than 350 sessions, and indeed just after a session you might hear your tinnitus a bit louder. But that is nothing to worry about.

All the best!

Kind regards,
Jan

 

Thank you!

What pressure do you usually go to? Do you take any precautions to avoid barotrauma or issues due to the noise?

Can you please explain? HBOT seems to have significant research behind it.