Lipoflavonoid for Tinnitus? Helps or Not?

Now, I'm taking a number of supplements but stopped the lipoflavinoid. As you mentioned above, if the T is due to something other than blood flow - and mine is likely due to some acoustic trauma - it may not do much alone. I am taking a number of other supplements, but frankly get overwhelmed with the back and forth nature of what is best, how much to take, what brands would be best. Like GregCA said, there are likely one hundred cures here alone and some that have worked sometimes for some people. As much as I'd like to wish the supplements were working, I'm leaning towards traveling to get specialized help at this point, if I'm going to spend the money. I may look into the B12 and something to protect against glutamate excitability (isn't magnesium a go-to for this?) like Thomas talks about above. At a certain point though, it is hard to justify continuing to spend the money - I find myself going back to basics like getting good sleep and eliminating anything I can that may make it worse.

 

There is a lot of good to be said about combining targeted approaches of supplements for the individual. Like I may wrongly give up early on one (like the lipoflavonoid) when it should be used in combination with another, and likely a specific amount or brand. But it is hard not to do when largely self-guiding your treatment. It would be great to see a summarizing spreadsheet of all of the recommended supplements and what brands, amount, and combinations have worked for people.

 

Most tinnitus treatments all do the same thing. For example Ginkgo Biloba, Bioflavonoids, aged garlic extract, curcumin/turmeric, NAC, Vitamin Bs etc work by increasing Nitric Oxide Production which boosts blood flow to the inner ear.

You are taking a sentence I wrote out of context. Tinnitus is a symptom not a condition. Tinnitus from noise exposure is not the same as tinnitus from poor blood flow. You can't treat them all the same way and expect consistent results. I've researched a LOT into tinnitus and it's very complicated. It also doesn't help that I've come across "test studies" on sites for hearing aids. No surprise there was no record anywhere of these tests and there was an ad for the hearing aids at the end saying "XXX supplement doesn't work but we can". Nearly every test studies doesn't list how the subjects got tinnitus and what diet they are on. Most supplements also need other vitamins and minerals to absorb and activate.

 

I guess there's a special minority of people who will benefit from increased cochlear blood flow but the vast majority of people don't get any relief from supplements period!

It is terrifying knowing some ENTs and audiologists recommend Lipo Flavonoid.

 

Another interesting thread.

There are maybe 50% of Amazon reviews stating some benefit for Lipo-Flavonoid Plus. Problem is - as someone who sells on Amazon - feedback rate is between 5 and 10%. So for every 10 bottles they sell - 1 person leaves feedback. So we cannot go by the Amazon reviews. It seems on this thread - 1 in 10 say they have some benefit. That is not good evidence either.

The independent trials seem to be unconvincing.

The ingredients:

Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid); Vitamin B-1 (thiamine mononitrate); Vitamin B-2 (riboflavin); Niacin (niacinamide); Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine HCI); Vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin); Pantothenic Acid (as calcium pantothenate); Calcium (as dicalcium phosphate). Exclusive Tisina Complex: Choline Bitartrate, Inositol, High Potency Lemon Bioflavonoid Complex. Other Ingredients: Microcrystalline Cellulose, Stearic Acid, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (soybean, palm or cottonseed), Croscarmellose Sodium, Povidone, Talc, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Magnesium Stearate Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide, Hypromellose, Ethyl Vanillin, Triacetin, Carnuba Wax. May contain: Hydroxyl Methyl Cellulose, Polyethylene Glycol, Riboflavin, Soy Lecithin, FD&C Red #40, FD&C Red #40 Lake, FD&C Yellow #6 (sunset yellow), Xanthan Gum, FD&C Blue #1 Lake, FD&C Blue #1. May contain Soy.

That is for the one for sale on Amazon. Lots of vits - but lots of rubbish too.

I would need to be desperate to spend money on this.

 

I've been taking Lipo-Flavonoid Plus for almost 7 weeks at the recommended 6-pill-per-day dosage. When this bottle runs out next week, I don't plan on purchasing more.

The only reason why I started taking this is because I was on a six-week wait list to see an ENT after getting a referral from my primary care doctor. I was desperate for symptom relief, so I emailed the ENT who was supposed to see me in six weeks and I asked her if there was any advice she had for me. She encouraged me to start taking this.

I was skeptical from the start, having done my own homework on the questionable effectiveness of this product, but since she recommended it, I decided to give it a shot so she wouldn't think I was an uncooperative patient who doesn't follow doctors' advice.

Even if I thought that this product helped, I'd be hesitant to stay on it for life. It contains partially hydrogenated oil and talc. Talc is associated with cancer, and partially hydrogenated oil is bad for the heart.

 

The doses of all those are probably too small as well. It's often the case with pills that have so many ingredients.

I rather buy pills with only 1 or 2 ingredients and make my own stacks.

 

I don’t think ENTs have anything to offer for tinnitus at this time. I recently went to 3 ENTs with no help. You could load the Widex app to your phone or iPad and mask or maybe try R. David Case’s Tinnitus Mix overnight for about 3 weeks and see if that works. He claims it works for many people for tinnitus. My noise is always worse when I awaken. I do have the Widex Moment hearing aids. They cost me about $3000. My right one failed so that was sent in. I also have 2 different Audicus hearing aids with remote controls.

The Koss headsets R. David Case recommended work well. They have a slider volume control on them. I had some difficulty setting up the Tinnitus Mix to repeat in a cycle as it is about 1 hour long.

Dr. Abraham Shulman used Clonazepam plus Gabapentin with some success.

 

Thank you @just1morething. Unfortunately, Mr. Case says he doesn't recommend his audio recording for anyone with hyperacusis, so I am steering clear of this.

I agree, ENTs don't have a lot to offer in the way of treatments, so we are all scrambling to figure out our own treatment plans. At least we're in good company. I don't know where I'd be without the Tinnitus Talk board for ideas and support.

 

I am new here and this may not even post. I'm clumsy that way.

However, my ENT suggested trying Lipo Flavonoid, and pointed out that she had little faith in it herself! Well, I was HUGELY impressed with it. The 'cicada' who has lived in my left ear for almost about five years (?) very quickly reduced in volume to where I certainly hear him but I can also disregard him, too.

The best news is that small 'machine' in my right ear, that turns on and off almost like someone ringing a doorbell has, dare I say this...? GONE!

So, please give it a try! It happened about six months ago and the right has been mercifully quiet for about five of those months.

I really hope someone reads this and has anywhere near my success.

Roger

 

It seems ENTs do suggest Lipo Flavonoid - so did mine. I couldn't find any science / study behind it showing it to be effective, and then you have this thread. So I didn't waste my time with it despite trying quite a few supplements.

It's probably the placebo effect. I believe the previous responses from members who thought it might be working later stated it wasn't helping. There are plenty of posts in this thread to review.

 

I'm trying Lipoflavonoid as suggested by my ENT. My suspicion is that it will be a waste of money, but who knows. I got nothing else going for me. It's a minimum of 6-8 months to see someone about my tinnitus, so this is something to try while I wait I suppose.

 

When my tinnitus became an issue, I consulted with an EMT in NYC who told me that he had it, as well. As it was bad at first, he tried everything that had been said to help, including ginseng, bioflavonoids, etc, and nothing worked. The only thing that works is time and taking care of your hearing. It is worth noting that this man is a very advanced, in-demand surgeon at a major hospital, and his tinnitus does not affect his ability to operate and carry on all aspects of the very demanding profession.

 

Like most, I tried Lipoflavonoid because my ENT recommended it. It hasn't seemed to have much effect on me. I'm still taking it just to finish off the bottle - might as well get my money's worth and it's not like B vitamins aren't good for you in general. Trying any sort of supplement is always a shot in the dark. At least it wasn't too expensive. I can't be too upset about it.