Successfully Treated My TTTS with Raw Garlic

Hello everyone, I created this account just so I can post my success story since I got a lot of help browsing Tinnitus Talk when I first got TTTS.

Anyway, I have had tinnitus since 2010; I am habituated and it does not bother me 90% of the time.

At the end of November one day when I went out I started hearing a loud helicopter and thought it was strange for my area; I kept looking but did not see one. Then the following days I started getting mild/moderate hyperacusis with muffled hearing and then a week after that I got TTTS in my left ear.

I could differentiate my TTTS and tinnitus because if I covered my left ear it drowned out the fluttering sound but with tinnitus covering my ears made it louder. Anyway it was a really terrible month and a half for me; I must have spent nearly $2000 trying different things; medications, vitamins, humidifier, new CPAP mask (I have sleep apnea), massages.

Before I explain how I treated myself I'll just describe my TTTS; it was terrible and my spasms would last FOR DAYS at a time, sometimes it got SO LOUD I could barely hear anything else. Stress/anxiety definitely made it worse; the first few weeks I thought several times whether I should end it all or not but thankfully I did not.

Anyway here is what worked for me and hopefully it helps you too.

1. Do not let it stress you out; think positive, you will get over this.

2. Reduce daily anxiety, control your emotions, try your best to relax.

3. GET GOOD SLEEP; please try your best to sleep well; it is extremely important, just think positively and convince yourself that you will wake up feeling better if you relax and sleep well.

4. DO NOT MASK EVERY NOISE THAT TRIGGERS YOUR SPASMS, yes, reduce the overall noise that you experience but you want to desensitize yourself from the noises that harm you so just blocking them out is the worst thing and impossible in the long run.

5. Relax your jaw; although I never had jaw pain, I noticed if I kept my jaw relaxed and slightly opened with my mouth closed, it helped a lot.

6. GARLIC GARLIC GARLIC; the biggest game changer for me was eating garlic, I ate one big clove of FRESH RAW GARLIC (FRESHNESS MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE) on an empty stomach in the morning 20 minutes before I ate or drank anything and another at night before I ate/drank anything for dinner. It is not comfortable but I felt the garlic was like an antibiotic straight into my ear and when I first did it it instantly stopped the spasms. CHEW GARLIC well before swallowing.

Now my TTTS spasms, if they occur, are very quiet and barely noticeable and I am spasm free most of the time and it has only been a month and a half since I first had symptoms so I am very happy and thankful that I am recovering quickly. I hope this thread helps people suffering and wish everyone a speedy recovery.

 

How is your TTTS?

 

Hey, it came back for about 5 days but I have other health issues such as sleep apnea and teeth grinding which I think caused it. After sleeping with my CPAP and mouth guard, it went away again after 2 nights. Fingers crossed I've got a handle on it. I will update as time progresses.

 

I'd love to hear any updates.

 

OK GREAT NEWS! I AM CURED!

I will write an explanation so hopefully it will help other people.

Now I have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and teeth grinding for a long time (over 10 years); I had a CPAP machine and dental guard but never bothered to use it. Looks like all that teeth grinding and lack of proper sleep had caught up to me and caused my TTTS.

Anyway I am pretty sure the garlic worked for a bit because it helped me sleep but it was not a long term solution.

I just slept with my CPAP machine and got used to it so I do not even need my dental guard anymore because my teeth grinding was due to my sleep apnea events. I focused on reducing anxiety and relaxing; it was not easy at first but now I am back to feeling normal and am very grateful.

I have no more TTTS and even better my TINNITUS is going away too; I can hear silence a lot of the time!

So to everyone suffering from TTTS or tinnitus which was NOT caused my noise exposure please find out if you have sleep apnea or teeth grinding which could be causing it.

So to summarize HERE IS WHAT CURED ME:

1. Reducing anxiety and calming nerves; breathing exercises, light physical exercise.

2. Positive outlook; I tried to remain happy and looked at this condition as an opportunity to make myself healthier.

3. Sleeping with my CPAP machine (getting a proper night's sleep; PROBABLY MOST IMPORTANT).

4. Relaxing my jaw; making sure my jaw was relaxed and aligned properly and keeping my jaw slightly open when my mouth was closed. Also some light jaw massages (look up TMJ exercises and do them lightly).

5. Reducing my sound sensitivity; getting used to everyday sounds and listening to music at a volume I could stand.
I almost developed hyperacusis thinking vibrating sounds were causing my ear to spasm which made my brain hyperfocused on all daily sounds which just made me more stressed. I just convinced myself the sound was not the problem since it did not always trigger it and it was impossible to mask all the time.

I wish everyone suffering here a speedy recovery. I'm thankful for all the information I got on this board!

 

I am happy for you. I was diagnosed with TTTS by an Audiologist yesterday. I am in such despair. Today I tried to get out and about and start living a normal life and 1 hour in a loud noise caused my ear to spasm hard. I had to come home and now I am really suffering.

Do you think the garlic was coincidental? I mean, I'll try anything but chewing raw garlic sounds like a placebo perhaps?

 

Yes in the post above yours I explained the garlic was just coincidental and that focusing on reducing anxiety and getting proper rest with my CPAP machine is what really helped.

Please try to stay positive; although you said a loud noise caused you to spasm; I am pretty sure it is because your brain is in constant panic and stress that is the real problem.

Yes you should avoid noises to try to calm down but eventually try to get yourself used to noise. What helped me was that I convinced myself everyday noises is what is going to cure me of my hyperacusis so I would try to embrace it; nothing too loud though and I still can't handle a vacuum cleaner.

Are you under a lot of stress lately; if so then that is likely the culprit and you need to reduce the amount of day to day anxiety you feel.

 

Thanks so much for the reply. The only stress in my life is tinnitus (2.5 months), but my tinnitus stress and anxiety is ENORMOUS. Life was great before tinnitus. I am going to really work on it. I find my self tensing up even if I anticipate a loud noise so that can't be helpful. At the same time though, my tinnitus seems to be reactive so it's a fine balance.

Thanks again.

 

Here's a link to a thread I started on TTTS...

DMSO & Magnesium Oil for Tonic Tensor Tympani Syndrome (TTTS)