Repeated Modified Nerve Blocks and Auditory and Non-Auditory Nerve Stimulation

Yes, you are indeed pioneering and possibly creating a new standard of treatment worldwide for all of us. If this is successful for you, this story will spread just like the initial study results spread and hopefully grab more attention of tinnitus professionals.

 

Our other patient is doing treatment no. 20 tomorrow. I think we will get more info once finished, which will probably be pretty soon. I hear @BrysonKingMe will be doing no. 7. Fingers crossed!

 

@BrysonKingMe, wishing you all the best, brave man.

 

Who is this other patient you are referencing? Is someone else doing the same treatment?

 

@scotty03874 - it's the same person I have reported on a little earlier in the thread. You might remember that in my correspondence with the clinic, I was told that 2 US patients had flown out to S. Korea for the treatment. One of those patients agreed to speak to me about their ongoing treatment. That person has been out there a couple of months and is coming to the end of their treatment.

We now have @BrysonKingMe from here out there trying the treatment. He is going for his 7th treatment I believe.

We have also heard that a pilot has had treatment, which resulted in a 50% improvement in their tinnitus. The pilot had to go back early however for work reasons, rather than continuing on with it. I am assuming this person was the second US patient.

 

Are there any updates on this? Hoping for the best for everyone involved.

 

Hey @Ben Johnson, my next update will be when I am finished with the treatment in about 2.5 weeks.

 

Much respect for sticking with it. You are helping us all out in a massive way.

 

@BrysonKingMe, thanks for being so measured about how you share. Really hope you're experiencing the improvement you deserve and eating your fair share of dak-galbi while you're at it.

 

What do you guys think about this being good for middle ear myoclonus issues? I have involuntarily rumbling of middle ear muscles from sounds, some internal sound autophony (not SCDS), TMJ nerve pain, single-sided facial nerve twitches around my ear and temple, and ear fullness. It's as if the nerves trigger too easily to sound and somatic input. Somehow I hear my neck grating, intermittent pulse, sometimes even rumbling when I blink and swallow.

Personally, this is more debilitating than my bilateral tinnitus so would love to get rid of at least this.

 

Wishing you all the best and hoping for a good outcome from your treatments

 

Search for my posts in the Pulsatile Tinnitus category and you will find lots of information on my MEM experience.

 

Thumbs up Bryson!!! You the man

 

Sending positive thoughts.

 

Thanks bro...

 

Out of curiosity, do you all think this treatment would be effective for those of us with diabetes (who have our diabetes under control)? There was a mention of diabetes by the doctor I believe, but I can’t seem to find it now.

 

Dr. Heon Man Sirh wrote to @Uklawyer:

This doesn't necessarily mean it wouldn't help but it's less likely to work.

I wanted to add, once again, all hands and feet fingers crossed for @BrysonKingMe, the King.

 

Just a word of caution to the rest of us. I wish @BrysonKingMe every success... but echoes back to student days brought a study to mind about peer-group effect. These marketing people found that one of the strongest ways for some innovation to get established in a target population is the behaviour of the peers. I can't recall the exact product. Something for doctors in their medical practices... let's for example say stethoscopes. Well, at first all the sales people got was polite acknowledgements from the doctors. Only when one or two of them started using them, then they all started using them.

So peer-group influence being what it is, will we all be heading off to South Korea this summer?

Well if this is inevitable, then would somebody please keep statistics on the tinnitus success scores, failure scores and so-so scores.

 

This looks very promising. If it keeps showing the same success I might just go to Korea also

 

Only if it works well!

 

I would hope that those that are the most debilitated could go right away but the most practical thing would be if the South Korean doctors would share their method with doctors around the world.

The procedure doesn't sound too complicated from a medical standpoint so maybe it could be taught rather easily.

To me, high rates of success will give many of us the hope that we need to persevere even if we do have to wait awhile to be treated.

 

Yeah, I’ll likely be going to Korea for this treatment next year if we get a few positive accounts. Now that my hyperacusis is improving, my tinnitus is really starting to bug me. Funny how that works...

 

I am hopeful with this thread and the feedback from the US patients. I've never traveled outside the US and have started the process applying for my first ever passport to have it on hand "in case". Thank you for all of the updates! Even if it doesn't pan out, I'll finally have a passport for a terrific vacation one day

 

I apologize for not reading the entire thread but I can't help but feel a sense of dejavu with the South Korean plasma injection therapy that one prominent member was evangelizing for a while. There seems to be a cottage industry of treatments available in South Korea due to what looks like a very loose regulatory regime over there.

The efficacy of Lidocaine as a very temporary relief is well known but the ad copy that nerves regenerate is implausible.

 

@chinup, can you elaborate? Did your tinnitus get worse after your hyperacusis improved, or are you just focusing on it more now because the hyperacusis is no longer as bad? Sometimes, tinnitus improves once hyperacusis does - tinnitus becomes more stable or quiet. I’ve had that happen before in the past.

 

You should really read the thread, or better read the peer reviewed study linked in the first post. There is no nerve regeneration here. This is not OTO-413. This is based on alternating _stimulation_ and nerve blocks as a way to reset nerve signals and lower tinnitus. Nerve blocks alone based on Lidocaine have indeed been attempted in the past but the effect is temporary. Here they added the stimulation. Key difference here with the South Korean thread you mentioned is that there is a peer reviewed study, published in a medical journal, highlighting the treatment efficacy, cemented by some initial anecdotes of forum members. The major blame the other clinic had received was their unwillingness to expose their method by publishing results. Not the situation here. Then, whether the study suffers from selection bias is an open discussion, but you can't compare this with the PRP treatment John Adams and a few others underwent.

 

How long did it take your hyperacusis to improve?

 

Just focusing on it more. Also seems to be temporarily spiking the past few days but hopefully it will calm down soon. I have a ton of tones but they are usually not too loud. Sometimes they get reactive and it’s like a swarm of electric insects in my head.

It’s been a rollercoaster. I keep improving then having major setbacks. Improvement takes about 7-8 months each time. Fortunately I’ve found some trends that were causing the setbacks and have cut those out of my life. I’ve also been taking a ton of ginger supplements and eating + drinking ginger foods and drinks. For some reason that seriously improves my noxacusis.

I’d say I’m about 70-75% recovered, but I’ve been here before and have had multiple setbacks to the 35-40% range.

 

I spoke to the doctor at the clinic. She said they would be open to sharing their technique with international doctors.

 

@DebInAustralia is right, they said this from the very start, and they are even willing to send their needles. I emailed them very early and Heon Man Sirh said that if I could find any specialist willing to engage, they would have been very happy to explain the treatment to them and send the needles. I tried many specialists in different areas of medicine but no one wants to do it, sadly. I was also told that to be used in the EU, the needles might need the CE mark, so I don't know about that. But really, in a world with a minimum of sense foreign countries would be working to replicate this. Shame on the ATA, BTA etc for not even bothering.