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Long-Lasting Total Remission of Tinnitus: A Systematic Collection of Cases

Frédéric

Member
Author
Podcast Patron
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Advocate
Jan 2, 2016
996
Marseille, France
Tinnitus Since
11/19/2012
Cause of Tinnitus
acoustic trauma
The article below is cited on the "Tinnitus" page of the World Health Organization website:

In the section "Is there a cure for tinnitus?" it says:

"There are also documented cases where tinnitus has disappeared, even after many years of being chronic."

Long-lasting total remission of tinnitus: A systematic collection of cases

Could someone please obtain the full article to determine the actual causes of these remissions?
 
It is a little concerning that they say "may" instead of "can" or "does." I wonder if that is because there is no way to objectively prove that any particular person in a study even had tinnitus, much less that it went away. We know that it does go away for many people, or it becomes so mild that it is just as good as having gone away.
 
@annV, many thanks.

It is incredible to see yet another incomplete study. The authors did not bother to match the cause of the tinnitus with the medication that was taken.
 
In case it is useful, here is a one-paragraph summary from ChatGPT:
ChatGPT said:
This study systematically documented 80 cases of long-lasting total tinnitus remission across a wide age range. Most participants had experienced severe, disruptive tinnitus (average annoyance rating ~7.6/10, with sleep, concentration, and emotional impacts common) for an average of 4 years before remission. Remission occurred gradually in about three-quarters of cases and suddenly in about one-quarter, and 92% of participants remained symptom-free after 18 months. Patients credited a variety of factors, including medications (30%), hearing aids, manual therapy, relaxation techniques, or combinations of treatments, though memory recall limited precision. Importantly, neither age, gender, nor tinnitus duration predicted outcomes, suggesting that complete and lasting remission is possible at any stage, challenging the belief that tinnitus is inevitably permanent"
 
This study would be more useful if it focused on one particular cause of tinnitus and the remission rate, rather than looking only at people with tinnitus as a whole. I wonder if the general public sees everyone with tinnitus as one homogeneous group.
 
@Emao, I assure you, we are all looked at the same way. We have tinnitus.

Like cancer, you cannot feel it when your friend or loved one has it. How many different types of cancer are there? With cancer, the doctor identifies the type and comes up with a treatment plan, such as chemotherapy, radiation, or both. Of course, you may also decide you do not want treatment.

Tinnitus is the same. We have so many different kinds, too many to list. To tie this together, if you are using hearing aids as part of going into remission, you are not without tinnitus—you are masking it. Does their concept of remission mean it does not bother them? If so, then I am in remission, because it does not bother me. But it is still there, and it is as loud as the day it started more than three years ago.

No drugs and no doctors did anything for me. In fact, the opposite. I walked this path alone, and I beat this beast from hell. I stopped waiting for a medical fix.
 
This study would be more useful if it focused on one particular cause of tinnitus and the remission rate, rather than looking only at people with tinnitus as a whole. I wonder if the general public sees everyone with tinnitus as one homogeneous group.
I think you're right. Depending on the cause of your tinnitus, you may have a better or worse chance of recovery.

If you have pulsatile tinnitus, surgery can sometimes eliminate it. If your tinnitus is related to jaw problems, physical therapy for TMJ and wearing a mouthguard can help resolve it.

However, if you have had persistent tinnitus for more than six months after a noise-induced injury, the chances of it disappearing are very low.
 
I think you're right. Depending on the cause of your tinnitus, you may have a better or worse chance of recovery.

If you have pulsatile tinnitus, surgery can sometimes eliminate it. If your tinnitus is related to jaw problems, physical therapy for TMJ and wearing a mouthguard can help resolve it.

However, if you have had persistent tinnitus for more than six months after a noise-induced injury, the chances of it disappearing are very low.
Do you recall the lively discussion with Tom Cync, who managed to emerge from the depths of tinnitus and hyperacusis by somehow "weathering it out" and trying to get used to loud noise?
There's no doubt that he had a different type of tinnitus than mine. Or maybe it was just a different form of noise-induced tinnitus. I have to hide from loud noise as best I can.

If medical scientists could better advise patients on whether they should "weather it out," ignore the noise, and push forward (the Tom Cync type of tinnitus), or whether they should continue with life while protecting themselves from louder noises (my type of tinnitus), I think that would be a big step forward.

One day, brain or inner ear imaging technology might be able to provide those answers.
 
I think you're right. Depending on the cause of your tinnitus, you may have a better or worse chance of recovery.

If you have pulsatile tinnitus, surgery can sometimes eliminate it. If your tinnitus is related to jaw problems, physical therapy for TMJ and wearing a mouthguard can help resolve it.

However, if you have had persistent tinnitus for more than six months after a noise-induced injury, the chances of it disappearing are very low.
I don't believe that's true. There is no magic shut-off switch at six months. It is very common for tinnitus from acoustic injuries to last longer than six months and still resolve or fade dramatically. I've had mine for seven and a half months, and it didn't start to fade until the middle of month six. I'm chronicling my recovery in a separate thread.

I have many recovery stories bookmarked from this board and Reddit where recovery took ten months, a year, or even longer. Studies and clinical observations show that late-phase recovery is real and not uncommon. I know the statistics from a lot of clinical studies can be scary and seem to suggest that no one ever gets better, but most tinnitus studies are seriously flawed. They rarely follow people for longer than six months, they lump all causes of tinnitus together, they often focus only on the most severe cases, and their study groups are usually very small. On top of that, people frequently drop out of the studies once they get better, so their improvements are not even included in the results.

The scariest thing for people is coming here for information and reassurance, only to read posts claiming they are doomed after six months. That is simply not true.

Tinnitus from one-time, short sound exposures often has an excellent chance of resolving completely or becoming so faint it is unnoticeable. In many cases, improvements do not even begin until after month six. The percentage of people who experience long-term, intrusive tinnitus is actually a slim minority. Most people do get significantly better.
 
I don't believe that's true. There is no magic shut-off switch at six months. It is very common for tinnitus from acoustic injuries to last longer than six months and still resolve or fade dramatically. I've had mine for seven and a half months, and it didn't start to fade until the middle of month six. I'm chronicling my recovery in a separate thread.

I have many recovery stories bookmarked from this board and Reddit where recovery took ten months, a year, or even longer. Studies and clinical observations show that late-phase recovery is real and not uncommon. I know the statistics from a lot of clinical studies can be scary and seem to suggest that no one ever gets better, but most tinnitus studies are seriously flawed. They rarely follow people for longer than six months, they lump all causes of tinnitus together, they often focus only on the most severe cases, and their study groups are usually very small. On top of that, people frequently drop out of the studies once they get better, so their improvements are not even included in the results.

The scariest thing for people is coming here for information and reassurance, only to read posts claiming they are doomed after six months. That is simply not true.

Tinnitus from one-time, short sound exposures often has an excellent chance of resolving completely or becoming so faint it is unnoticeable. In many cases, improvements do not even begin until after month six. The percentage of people who experience long-term, intrusive tinnitus is actually a slim minority. Most people do get significantly better.
When I say six months, I'm basing this on what I've read on Tinnitus Talk and on my own experience.

I must be one of the severe cases. I developed tinnitus, with four new sounds, along with hyperacusis at a music festival, even though I was wearing custom hearing protection rated for 25 dB.

My tinnitus has only gotten worse over the past six years. I hear it everywhere, even in the noisy Paris metro and on trains.

I can't sleep anymore. My life feels like a nightmare.

If many people experience remission, I'm truly happy for them, but unfortunately that hasn't been the case for me.
 
Remission means it is gone or there is very little. I had three years of this hell and very little sleep. Like everyone else, I had thoughts of leaving this earth. Lying around depressed with nothing but bad thoughts tends to lead to planning. How can I get away from this pain, with no hope or cure?

@Kam75, mine is as loud as the day it started. When I came out of deep depression, for some reason I stopped focusing on tinnitus, kind of like putting the noose around my neck, about to kick the chair out, and then it hits me.

I want to live again, but this mental pain is unbearable. The only reason I am able to ignore it is that I stay very busy from the time I get out of bed until I go to bed, about 15 hours a day. I wear myself down mentally and physically. Basically, keeping my brain occupied keeps my tinnitus away. My feeling is that dealing with tinnitus may mean changing careers. Currently, I do not have one, and I am okay. I am looking at what I want to do.

I wish the best for you in finding peace and relief. I have faith in you.
 
I had a single acoustic trauma nine months ago and did not notice a tolerable abatement until about six months after the event.

It is much softer now and the head buzzing has mostly faded. The sound I hear in a quiet room is what I guess I have habituated to, and it no longer causes the anxiety it used to. I feel that if this trajectory continues and I keep becoming more used to it, fingers crossed it will reach a level where it is not an issue.
 
When I say six months, I'm basing this on what I've read on Tinnitus Talk and on my own experience.

I must be one of the severe cases. I developed tinnitus, with four new sounds, along with hyperacusis at a music festival, even though I was wearing custom hearing protection rated for 25 dB.

My tinnitus has only gotten worse over the past six years. I hear it everywhere, even in the noisy Paris metro and on trains.

I can't sleep anymore. My life feels like a nightmare.

If many people experience remission, I'm truly happy for them, but unfortunately that hasn't been the case for me.
I've been following your posts, and I'm truly sorry about your situation. It sounds incredibly difficult. Do you think living in a noisy city like Paris has slowed down your recovery?
 

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