Prognosis New Onset Tinnitus Idiopathic Tinnitus

[NeilG]

Dr Nagler,

Firstly, thank you for you valuable contribution to this forum.

As the title suggests, I was diagnosed 2 months ago by an ENT (post MRI) with right side unilateral idiopathic tinnitus and was given a long term prescription of SERC-16.

My ENT is very positive that my condition will improve 'by 90%'. In my searches I have found numerous mention by yourself and others that tinnitus within the first (insert choice here; 3 months, 6 months, 1 year) for the majority of cases often spontaneously remits. The message is a little muddled and must be based upon clinical experience as there seems to be little research on the natural history of the condition.

Would you be able to give clear statement surrounding this with perhaps some detail, as I think it is a key piece of information for 'newbies' to hear and one that has been lost in the static of the forums (Certainly a quick Google can give the impression that tinnitus is almost always permanent). Certainly I myself am pinning a lot of hope on this outcome (though I appreciate it perhaps hinders my path to habituation).

Thanks for your time.

Regards,
Neil

 

[Dr. Nagler]

My ENT is very positive that my condition will improve 'by 90%'. In my searches I have found numerous mention by yourself and others that tinnitus within the first (insert choice here; 3 months, 6 months, 1 year) for the majority of cases often spontaneously remits. The message is a little muddled and must be based upon clinical experience as there seems to be little research on the natural history of the condition.

Would you be able to give clear statement surrounding this with perhaps some detail, as I think it is a key piece of information for 'newbies' to hear and one that has been lost in the static of the forums (Certainly a quick Google can give the impression that tinnitus is almost always permanent).

A "quick Google" can often be dangerously misleading!

Moreover, if you want cold hard data from meticulous scientific studies, you are going to have a frustrating time of it in the tinnitus world. Consider, for instance, that it is 2014 and the scientific community still cannot universally agree on a definition for tinnitus!

Neil, I have worn three hats in the tinnitus cosmos - that of a tinnitus sufferer, that of a tinnitus clinician, and of an instructor of and resource for other tinnitus clinicians. And from where I see it, for the majority of folks who develop tinnitus, it largely or completely fades away - more commonly in the first year. That is the clearest statement I can make on the subject.

Dr. Stephen Nagler