I Have 12 Months to Recover from Tinnitus: What Treatments Can I Try? Budget $450,000.

I am 28 years old and I have 12 months to recover to take a high power job in NYC that will pay me $100k more than my current role. Failing that I’ll probably move to Florida, buy a tiny house, and eat/drug myself into an early grave. Already taking all the supplements and tried ADs for 7 weeks.

What are some plausible YOLO therapies I can try? Pretty much my whole future on the line. If I don’t get better I’d rather burn out than live as the pathetic shell of a person I am now.

Tinnitus is bilateral and noise-induced, 7 weeks old. I will not habituate as tinnitus is too loud.

Budget: $~450k.

 

I am really sorry to hear about your situation. Tinnitus can be very intense and draining.

Your tinnitus is less than 2 months old so I would highly advise you wait it out. Don't throw your money away at anything unless there is legit science to back it up. That being said, there is almost nothing that can be done for your tinnitus besides psychological therapies and Neuromod's Lenire. You have to hope it reduces over the course of the first two year alongside protecting your hearing. We have seen a lot of people on here have their tinnitus reduce greatly over time as they protect and avoid excessive noise.

Habituation can take anywhere from 6 months - 3 years. I guarantee there are people with louder tinnitus than you that have habituated. This is a very long process, so 7 weeks isn't any indication of habituation not working.

The only potential "cure" option is currently Lenire, but it seems to be a mixed bag. There are some people who have had success. There is a thread about it on here you can read through. Please don't fall for scams though and throw away your money on worthless pills or procedures. Always do your research!

Additionally, things you can try is sound enrichment to try and get your brain to tune it out. Also, you can try the different types of therapies for tinnitus if you are very desperate. Lastly, you can also donate money to tinnitus research and organizations. There is no better way to get a cure then to support the people looking for it.

I wish you the best of luck and hope things get better. If you do make it on the other side of this, please don't forget to support tinnitus research and organizations.

People with your kind of money can make a serious difference in the world of tinnitus.

Good luck!

 

Your tinnitus is very new and your reaction to it is completely normal. Many of us here understand the hell you are currently going through. It was one of the worst times in my life when my tinnitus became obnoxiously loud, and it took me to the brink. I was very desperate which is why your post resonates with me.

You must reduce the stress you are putting yourself under as a priority, and believe me, I know how incredibly difficult that is to do. The vast majority of people feel much much better after the passage of time, but this process can take years. I implore you to stop focussing on a cure because there isn’t one, and if a breakthrough was made, you’d hear about it all over the news. You must learn to adapt, and as insane as that sounds, it’s the only way you will return to your former self. If a cure is then found, it’ll be a bonus.

I never believed I would feel the way I do about my tinnitus the way I do now. The difference for me is night and day and I feel I am now the same person I was before I was put through this hell. However, adjustments have been made when it comes to loud noise exposure. I no longer attend concerts, and in excessively loud environments I use custom earplugs. I have still seen local bands, though.

Stay strong, buddy, because I believe there is a very good chance that in 3-5 years (or maybe less) that this will no longer be the intrusion you feel it is today. Focus on making other areas of your life better (as difficult as that is) and give the tinnitus as little energy and importance as is humanly possible.

 

If you haven't already, you can read my success story, it's here:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/from-10-10-“suicide-tinnitus”-to-periods-of-almost-silence-—-possible-but-not-without-some-effort.40728/

I didn't listen to people who said nothing can be done for tinnitus and hyperacusis. I am living proof that both of them can be reduced significantly. I'd probably not be here if I'd listened to the tinnitus status quo.

As for what you should do -- research, research, research. Don't put your time, energy, money and most of all health on the line for something you don't understand well. Weight the cost to benefit ratio of any treatment well.
With the resources you claim to have, you have a lot more options than I did.

You've unfortunately missed the window for HBOT. You could try Stem Cells (people over here have had success with StemCells21 clinic in Thailand, I even heard they have a discount right now because of the COVID-19 situation), PRP (mixed bag, I'd not try it myself personally), laser therapy (there's clinics and home lasers, clinical lasers are probably more effective), peptides plus countless of other things like supplements etc.

Stem Cells are the most expensive option, but even that wouldn't put a huge dent into your budget. And if you cure your tinnitus, you can do much more for the world of tinnitus and other people, unlike when you're being tortured daily and unable to even concentrate.

This forum is a wonderful resource on learning about the things I mentioned, I'd use it if I were you.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.
Sound

 

Thanks, I just read your post. Which laser did you buy?

Edit: never mind, I see it was Konftec.

 

I have the Konftec emLas 520 BCB. Some people say Dr. Wilden's is better, I have no experience with his laser and it's significantly more expensive so I didn't go for it. I'm not rich by any means and back when I had tinnitus I was in an even worse situation financially.

I agonized for almost a month on whether I should buy it or not, since the consensus seemed to be lasers are snake oil, even a verified doctor said they simply don't work. In the end I went with my gut. Had I bought it sooner, my recovery would have been even better probably.

I leaned heavily towards believing the people who said nothing can be done for tinnitus and hyperacusis, except waiting, because almost everybody on the forum were of the mindset that it's true. But my situation was so dire I was willing to take the risk, I viewed it as a full court shot 1 second before the buzzer to win the game and it swished through the net.

Looking back, I realize that it had a much better chance than a full court shot, but at the time it certainly felt like that. I was very close to not buying the laser. I wish there were more people on the forum countering the belief that nothing can be done.

Like I said, I believe that in my case it saved my life. I know the people saying nothing can be done really believe that and they're trying to protect people from what they believe is wasting time and money plus not make people obsess over trying to cure or treat tinnitus, which they believe is futile.

I'm not for obsessing or panicking, just being proactive. There's dangers, which are not that sever imo, to trying some of the treatments but I believe people overlook the danger of not being able to habituate and/or tinnitus getting worse and missing out on not having relief by getting treatment. If you're in the acute phase and you do get unlucky and nothing you tried worked, then at least you did give it a shot, that was my mindset.

You need to assess how bad your situation is and what risks with money and health are you willing to take, the sense of urgency is different for different people. I'm not even necessarily saying buy the laser or the same laser I got, there might be better options for you or you could combine several approaches. But I believe if you make smart decisions there's a very good chance you'll improve your situation significantly.

 

PLEASE do not waste your money on lasers...

I know you are desperate, but please think logically and realize that "laser healing" is a scam. Anyone who claims lasers healed their tinnitus most likely are using confirmation bias. Their tinnitus would have went away on its own with the laser, but since they were using it they assume that was the reason.

 

Honestly, I appreciate your advice. I’m the type of person who needs to try everything to feel assured I did what I could. If I can induce a placebo effect, I don’t mind the cost. Before I order however, I’m going to review to see if anyone had adverse effects from a laser. If it is neutral at worst to any incremental good impact, I’ll consider it worthwhile to try, that’s just my perspective.

 

I feel I need to counter that. The Konftec laser will set you back around 800 dollars. You mentioned you have over 400,000 dollars to spend if it came to that. That's less than 0.25 percent of your budget. If it was a person from a poor background I might agree or somebody beyond the acute phase I'd definitely agree.

As for the laser not doing the healing, in my case, I believe there's close to 0 percent chance of that happening, since my case is unique. If you read my success story, it outlines how I made an incredibly stupid mistake where my right ear started to get a good dose of the laser in the acute phase (3 months in) and my left well beyond the acute phase (around 8 months in).

It's now been 2 years and 3 months of lasering, meaning that amount for the right and 1 year and 10 for the left. Doesn't seem like a huge difference, but because my left ear started to get the laser beyond the acute phase it's still many times worse. It's gotten better, but it'll never catch up to the right one. My right hasn't even improved within I'd say a year.

I have not had any traumas that involved my left ear specifically and before lasering it was the same severity in both ears. So because of my stupid mistake, I proved to at least myself if not anybody else, that it works well in my case, but only in the acute phase obviously. Then again, I'm just a person on the forum.

 

I'd be thrilled if it heals me - I don't doubt you healed while using it - but I won't get my hopes up just in case. I just ordered the Konftec you mentioned. Will see how it goes. I didn't mean to sound like I was coming across as counter to your experience - I appreciate you sharing it.

 

No it's fine, I was countering the post before you and just before or while I was typing your post appeared, I worded it rather poorly. Good luck with the laser. Be prepared to be in it for the long haul, the real results took me 6 months to a year and the progress was very gradual, many ups and downs etc. Read the laser threads if you can. Also, your tinnitus might spike at first, mine did a little but nothing too major. I wish I had been able to combine the laser with some other good treatments but I got unlucky with the side effects and couldn't afford some others, but I'm not complaining, I have my life back thanks to the laser.

 

Thanks! Are there any other treatments you would recommend? I’m already taking supplements like NR/NMD, curcumin etc... if it’s been mentioned here I’m probably taking it.

 

Noise-induced. What noise?

Can you influence your tinnitus somatically?

 

Microsuction and a very loud external noise that came from walking past a construction site at the wrong time. My tinnitus is what has been called gaze evoked, meaning sometimes I can modulate the tone, think eeeeEEEEEeeeeeEEEEE with my eyes. Other than that no bodily control with the neck, jaw, etc....

So net takeaway is I have some damage caused by loud noise, particularly at the frequencies above 8 kHz. I’m looking for ways to give myself the best shot at recovery possible, other than allowing for time and protecting my ears.

I have a severe case of tinnitus in combination with dysacusis, meaning being inside is very difficult for me, and masking noises also carry a tinnitus like tone. I’ve had mild tinnitus before which had essentially no impact on my life, but this is quite different. Hence it’s really important I improve as much as possible.

 

Your story sounds very similar to what many of us have described here. Mine was very like what you describe when it started out. Try everything by all means, but You will still need plan B, which means learning to live with the reality of it. Keep your sh*t together now, because the job you refer to may be the best way forward to move your mind and concentration away from the tinnitus. Things can change, spontaneous remission is rare but not unknown, and what works for one may not work for the other (one of our biggest issues is poor quality medical/diagnostic support), so plan B. Try very hard now to not let it consume you because it sounds like you still have a future beyond tinnitus, even if it tags along for the ride.

 

If you're already taking those supplements and many others like NAC and Resveratrol then you're doing more than almost anybody if you add the laser.

I understand stem cells are expensive and require travel and have their dangers so you might leave those as an ace in the back pocket, if you ever need them.

You could add intermittent fasting, cold showers and grounding in nature to further reduce inflammation. I mention them because they're so safe, even though they're a hassle compared to taking pills.

I used to do all of them but quit cold showers because of side effects (you won't have that problem).

It's very difficult to say how much grounding in nature and fasting have helped over a long span of time because like the laser, the gains are slow and cumulative but because they have other benefits and they're so simple I figure they're worth it.

A good diet and an exercise routine would probably help as well. That's all I can think of right now.

 

Thanks very much - hope we both improve and can resume normal lives.

 

Almost everyone says this in the beginning, and it's almost never true.

I know someone who made an absolute pile by being early in tech, and she was coming to terms with her tinnitus, or trying to, at the same time I did. Her vastly, nearly unlimited resources let her see fancy clinics, globehop, see doctors who charge $35,000 for an initial visit, all kinds of shit like that.

Ultimately we ended up dealing with our situations with a pretty similar combination of medication and meditation, and my impression was that the vast resources she had let her chase a lot of dead ends or totally unproven / potentially dangerous / scam treatments (lasers, rTMS, foreign clinic stem cell nonsense) which were all dead ends.

I don't know what you should do, but I don't think there's much difference between spending $4500 and $450,000 on treatments. There's no magic out there. You can go try a bunch of random totally unproven stuff, or you can do the basics:

* avoid loud noises and headphones for a while
* limit stress, emphasize getting as much good sleep as possible
* possibly use light background noise during the day at a lower volume than your tinnitus. I hate synthetic noise so I got a "woodstock chime fountain" off Amazon for ~$150 or something. Actual water sounds were much more soothing for me than electronically recorded ones.

None of the free/cheap/random suggestions thrown at you in this thread have much science behind them, but most of them are also unlikely to be harmful.

It's your money but I'd bet a chunk of my money on the idea that if you blow $450K trying to treat your tinnitus you'll probably end up with the same tinnitus you woulda had anyway, and a half million less in financial security.

I was able to switch to a much more high stress and high power job with this insane noise, but, I'd been dealing with it for 8 years at that point, and like I said, I do lean on medication. Such is life.

 

All well said. I’m praying for the best and planning for the worst, just trying to cover my bases in between. Thanks!

I know I can’t brute force a solution, but I want to give it my best shot.

 

GBB, beyond the bargaining aspect of trying to "cure" tinnitus I would consider trying to use work as a coping mechanism. I certainly have. The structure and regularity of having to maintain a job goes a long way to counter-acting the depression and despair of tinnitus. It's when you have nothing to do that the mind drifts back to focusing on tinnitus. Even if you disappear into a tiny home you'll probably find yourself consumed with chopping firewood and other busywork just to distract from the tinnitus. You are far better investing that time into something with the best possible financial return.

Money goes a LONG way to reducing your stress. Like in my case I am fortunate enough to be making enough money to be able to mostly pay for my daughter's college education out of pocket. If I had allowed the despair of my tinnitus to convince me that I was incapable of holding a white-collar job I'd be in far worse condition rotting away in a dark corner on disability.

I would not consider myself doing "well" at present, but what I am doing and what anyone has to do is just tackle life one day at a time. Before you know it you will have built up equity through all that accumulated hard work, brick by brick. That is why I am making a six figure salary. If I had just assumed my life was over at 21 when I acquired tinnitus I'd probably have been dead long ago. I am certain that other tinnitus sufferers with cases milder than mine have fared far worse. Trying to beat the odds at least provides a life-long challenge to me, not one I would have chosen, but it's still a sense of purpose by default.

To outsiders, my life is a success story, at least career-wise (not so much personal life). Even though my emotional state is poor, I can at least hang my hat on that--that I am perceived as successful. But if my outward life matched my inward, i.e. living the stereotypical walking-wounded life of a disabled person, I'd feel much worse. Maybe I'm sort of play-acting but it still helps to go through the motions and it's certainly better for my overall comfort and my daughter's welfare.

And really, at your age, you are more than likely going to be able to benefit from stuff like FX-322 and be able to get back to a relatively normal life. Hold that carrot out in front of yourself and muscle through.

So really, I would take that high profile job, make as much money as you can for as LONG as you can stand it. So many people would love to have that sort of opportunity. Tinnitus is indeed a curse but you have to appreciate and make the most of your blessings.

 

I understand that. Personally I’d like to dedicate some time to trying to improve my condition, marginally or significantly, before I go down the road of inward pain outward smile. It may not work out, but I feel I owe it to myself to try. The job I was offered I was never going to be the best at before this happened - attrition is something like 50% every two years - I’m sure now it would be even more challenging. Given the 12 months that I have, I want to try to recover as much as I can by whatever means possible. I’ll make a decision on what I can do nearer to that time having elapsed.

You sound like an extremely strong-willed individual - I’m genuinely unsure whether I share that same tenacity.

 

It occurs to me that I was pretty negligent in not mentioning two things (maybe others here have, sorry, didn't even really skim this thoroughly, very busy day!) --

I was a lab rat for the University of Michigan device trial -- there's a thread in the research forum -- I think it worked. There is a thing "sort of like it" called Lenire that's available in the UK.

Lenire is something you could buy and try for the cost of a trip to the UK plus five grand or so.

Hiring an experienced electrical engineer and software person to build a version of the University of Michigan device seems like something you should be able to do for $200k, if you don't want to wait the ~however long for UMich to get their device out (COVID-19 may be messing with their trials... I haven't been in touch lately).

Trying Lenire makes sense to me; the second thing doesn't really because it's so much money to spend to try to recreate something that an actual lab is engineering on a seven digit budget. On the other hand, I'd be the software person for $200/hr if you can find a hardware guy ($175/hr if paid in crypto!!)

 

It can take a while. I am on 3.5 plus years (far from newbie) and it still sux. I do most regular thing save for playing drums because that one is obvious...

 

When you say you think it worked, would you be willing to summarize your results in terms of impact and durability?

 

I’m sorry, what was the cause of yours?

 

Didn't Susan Shore publicize her timings? This maybe *does* seem like something someone with enough money could pay to recreate.

She reported no worsening (unlike Lenire) in her trials so far, correct?

 

I have suffered a great deal due to the depression caused by tinnitus. A lot of it in ways I don't want to go into but some of it I revealed here and there in this forum. I continue to suffer in the sense that my overall health is crap because I'm currently leaning on food as a drug. So I'm not perfect, not by a long-shot. It's just, like I said, that I know others having to deal with my symptoms would fare worse. I don't mean to revolve this thread around me. I'm only using myself as an example of someone who has managed to trudge on from 21 to 50 and managing to hit some good milestones and tick off some bucket-list items that regular able-bodied people never achieve. If I can do it, you can probably do it, and like I said, probably long before you hit 50 a treatment will come along to rescue you in a way that I really envy.

 

Noise-induced tinnitus.

 

Nothing but respect. I hope we all get some relief soon. I think you’re well within your rights saying anyone else faced with the same crap would not have made it as far.

Also I read all of your comments in the voice of H Jon Benjamin.

 

Take your money, buy some stocks and bitcoin, wait a year, and you'll probably have more money and less tinnitus.