I Am New on This Forum

What treatments have you tried so far?

 

I think I cannot give an real answer to this question, because T is very personnal to each other...

The thing is I had quite a lot of things to worry on before my T came, so this is really not helping !

 

I went to 2 ENT but no one proposed me anything...

Otherwise I do Sophrology, started Tai-Chi and also a Anti-depressant treatment...

In Switzerland it is very limited with everything around T...

 

No but I dont know if in Switzerland we have this kind of things...

What it is exactly ? How does it work ?

Thank you in advance for your answer.

 

Have you done anything to find a root cause? Blood panels, CT-Scan, MRI, etc?

 

@Michael Leigh will explain better... Since your H comes from stress I don't think there is much damage...

Were you sick when you first got T ? Like dizziness or balance problems ? Or problems with focusing your eyes (nystagmus). If yes you might have had labyrinthitis.

 

Well he doesn't seems to reply so read his post:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/trt-as-i-see-it.19555/

I think you can PM him also.

Basically it consists of wearing two white noise generator during the day and increase their volume every few weeks. And at night sleep with a sound machine. Also you're suppose to have counselling session but this is only in official TRT clinics...

 

Hi @VRZ78 I haven't received any PM about tinnitus or hyperacusis recently.
Michael

 

Christophe is asking about TRT I thought you could help him

 

Ok @VRZ78 thanks, I will try.
@Christophe_85
I don't think TRT should be started until at least 6 months from the onset of tinnitus, preferably a little longer. Many people habituate to tinnitus within this time. Please read the post below.

What is TRT and when should it be started?

I have talked about TRT in many of my posts. One tinnitus talk member recently told me that I have mentioned it no less than twenty five times. He went on to ask, am I an Audiologist promoting my practice in this forum purely for business purposes? Another member was quite disgruntled and told me to stop mentioning it because where he lives the treatment is expensive and can’t afford it. It just goes to show one never knows what is going on behind the scenes when you think no one is watching.

I understand and empathise with people that are unable to afford this treatment or any other to help one’s health but don’t feel this is a good enough reason for me to stop mention it when I believe it can help, having had TRT twice in the 20 years that I’ve had tinnitus. I am not an Audiologist. I just consider myself like many others at tinnitus talk, who want to help people that are having a difficult time coping with this condition, as I was once helped many years go when I first got tinnitus.

Some people have been sending me private messages asking if TRT cures tinnitus? A member mentioned having two sessions with their Audiologist and was shown some slides, and told that anxiety can make tinnitus louder. Understandably this person wasn’t sure if this was TRT, and then asked if it’s something they could do on their own? As I have mentioned I have had TRT twice and I also have the Tinnitus Retraining Therapy book, written by Professor Pawel Jasterboff and Jonathon Hazell. It is available at Amazon should anyone wish to purchase it.

It is the reference book that Hearing Therapists and Audiologists follow when practicing TRT with their tinnitus patients. There are two parts to the treatment. Counselling and sound therapy. Sound therapy is supplied by wearing two white noise generators and then using a “sound machine “ at night by the bedside for sound enrichment. If hyperacusis is present the sound therapy will also treat it. Throughout the TRT book there is no mention that this treatment cures tinnitus. TRT or Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, is what it implies: Through regular counselling sessions there is a gradual retraining of the way a person thinks about tinnitus and to treat it as non life threatening.

At first the therapist discusses with the patient how the tinnitus makes them feel and how it has impacted on their life. Often people say they have lost interest in the things they once liked doing, which is perfectly understandable. The main goal here is to gradually help them look at life differently and with a more positive outlook. Over time the negative thinking that is often associated with tinnitus and hyperacusis is gradually dispelled and demystified.

The Hearing Therapist does this in a controlled and precise manner so that the patient feels relaxed and not pressured. In many instances the tinnitus is gradually pushed further into the background making it less prominent. Therefore, it must be stressed and understood, this treatment takes time. To complete a course of TRT takes approximately twelve to twenty four months and in some cases longer. The duration of each counselling session is left to the discretion of the Hearing Therapist. Typically, these can last up to one hour or more. The amount of appointments required will be different for each patient, but it is quality rather than the quantity of the counselling that really matters.

There are a few misconceptions about this treatment and the way it is administered that some people misunderstand which I want to address. If a patient is given one white noise generator to wear this is not TRT. When two wngs are issued and no tinnitus counselling is offered on a regular basis, it is not TRT. I am not saying that a patient will not gain any benefit from the above treatments; I only want to state they do not follow the proper Tinnitus retraining therapy protocol.

When should TRT be implemented or started?

The following is based on my own opinion and therefore is not professional medical advice. The onset of tinnitus can be quite an emotional roller coaster for a lot of people, and I believe a person needs time for this to settle. Many people habituate within the first 6 months to one year of the onset of tinnitus without any treatment. If a person just has tinnitus without any additional symptoms, such as dizziness, deafness or balance problelems. I think a period of six months should elapse before starting a long-term treatment such as TRT.

Michael

 

No not really... And I maybe need an MRI not for my ears but for my knees... And I am really scared about doing it !

I dont want my T and H to increase because of MRI...

 

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your effort of posting this long message !

Take care !

Best,

Christophe

 

Hi,

No I wasn't sick when I got my T back in November 2015.

It really came from nowhere...

I know my eyes can get tired quite easily I would say but I cannot say it is related to my T...

 

Well if you haven't done anything to root cause it yet, I'd say that may be the first step. You may not find anything, but you may also find something that is actionable.

Use ear plugs in the MRI if you worry about it. Some MRIs are louder than others - explain your situation to the technician.

 

@Christophe_85, Sorry to hear you're in a bad state. A lot of us are. This is where I recently got my WNGs. I only had them a few days. They do telephone/video consults via Zoom. They are in the US and UK. I'm not sure about Switzerland? @Michael Leigh would know more. The root cause can be difficult to figure out for our noise.
http://www.ttsrelief.com/

 

You are welcome Christophe and I wish you the best of luck. If you feel I can be of any futher help then please PM me.
All the best
Michael

 

Hello,

I m sorry but what is WNG ?

Thank you for your message.

Christophe

 

So you advise me to do a blood check up ? Can they find anything in the blood regarding Tinnitus ?

First of all I could ask the Doctor if he knows a place where MRI is less loud...

 

Well I do think it may be a good idea to do a physical/check-up indeed, because you never know what will turn up. Some of the stuff that turns up may end up being linked to your Tinnitus (for example, a deficiency in Vitamin D can cause hearing loss, that maybe could be the cause of T). But it's not just a blood panel, it's also some imaging as necessary (CT scan, MRI) depending on what the high level examination finds out.

 

@GregCA Someone on here made it sound like their t was caused by TOO MUCH vitamin D. Is that possible?

 

I have no idea. Too much of Vitamin D isn't good, so it seems plausible to me that whatever condition it leads someone to could also have T as a symptom.

 

In the meantime you start TRT listen to some nature sounds all day and night with z good speaker.
Start with very low volume and increase it every week see if it helps.

 

Salut Christophe! Je suis membre du group aussi! Bien le bonjour! Nous sommes maintenant membres des "Joyeux accouphéniques de Genève" et de "Tinnitus Talks"! hahaha! A la semaine prochaine Christophe!