There Will Be a Cure

Hello everyone,

I have been reading this site for the past few weeks, and finally decided to join. I have been very impressed by some of the scientific and medical knowledge shared here.

I have had low-level T at least since high school (I'm in my early 40's now), and it never bothered me. On this site I listed the onset of my T as 7/17, because it has become significantly louder this month, and I would currently describe it as moderate. I'm not sure of the cause because several things happened in the same few weeks: exposure to noise, 2 injections of steroids & anesthetics within one month, and high prescription doses of ibuprofin. I wore earplugs throughout most of the noise incident (always carry them with me), and had no idea medications could cause or exacerbate T, until after it became louder and I subsequently began my research.

I am a school teacher and a mother. My 12 year-old son is high-functioning on the autism spectrum, but when he was younger he was not high-functioning. I learned a lot about the incompetance of many doctors then, and the many issues of our medical system. I learned then that I would have to educate myself about my son's disorder, find every possible treatment, and dedicate myself to improving his future. This quest involved finding the best specialist mainstream and alternative doctors, the best schools, the best therapists, the best diet, and the best nutritional supplementation. Then it consisted of implementing all of the recommendations. And for the most part, his journey has been successful. At age four, I asked one of his therapists if he would ever be able to talk, even a few words. Now he's a successful student at school (& not in a special needs program). There is still progress to be made, but he's pretty much out of the woods, thanks to God and the so many wonderful people in his life.

Why did I write a paragraph about my son? Because I think his journey parallels my own. Just as his disorder was initially written off as incurable, so was mine. The "professionals" who saw such a limited future for him were wrong, and the ENT who told me that nothing could be done was wrong, too.

After a few weeks of research (I'm on summer vacation from work), I have formed some conclusions about this disorder. These are my opinions, based on what I learned about the body both from my research during the early years of my son's disorder and also from the research I've done over the past few years about T.

• T is a neurological disorder, not a disorder of the ear. (This needs to be more widely understood in the medical and pharmaceutical research community.) ENTs are the wrong type of doctors for these patients to be referred to.
• Like autism, T is a disorder that some people are born with a genetic predisposition to, but like autism, the predisposition only manifests into the disorder if a certain environmental trigger occurs (for T: noise, certain medications, etc. / for autism: not yet known).
• High homocysteine is likely one marker for predisposition to both autism and T.
• You can reduce your susceptibility to getting or aggravating T by improving your internal health, particularly by maintaining good levels of glutathione (primarily via NAC & ALA), zinc and B vitamins (particularly B12). (PubMed database studies I've looked at are what seem to indicate this.)
• Listening therapies can often be helpful in modulating sensory dysfunction. Specially modulated tapes helped my son immensely with his sensory integration issues. I'm sure notched white noise & music can work for T, just as the research studies I've seen indicate.

Right now I'm focused on improving my internal health, protecting my ears, finding effective treatments, strengthening my personal relationships, and staying positive.

 

I am a 38 year old woman and I take ZERO supplements. I have been so afraid to take anything since I got T. How much vitamin B12 should I take?

 

First of all, welcome. I hope you find this site a helpful as I have, and I certainly sympathize with your recent worsening of your symptoms.

You present a very interesting theory. I had not come across that as one of the possible causes before. Thank you for pointing it out. I have a scheduled appointment with my general practitioner; after the normal business has concluded I plan on bringing up my recent worsening of my symptoms with the goal of receiving a referral to an audiologist, or an ENT. In your opinion, is there something I should ask/suggest so that my doctor will be better equipped make the best referral?

 

I recommend asking for a referral to a neurologist as well as an ENT.

 

@teacher34 Thank you.

 

Welcome to the forum. Nice post @teacher34 and thank you for your contribution. Take care. God bless.

 

I think Magnesium without any Aspartam or other would be good... Many people need Magnesium in supplements anyway...

I have started a cure since a few weeks, but of course there is not only that to help, it would be too easy ! :lol:

 

Hello teacher34. I agree that T may well begin in the brain.
For a reasonable complete answer to the question of what causes T please refer to the following:-
The Pathophysiological Mechanism of Tinnitus. Jae Ho Chung and Seung Hwan. Lee Hamyang Medical Review 2016:36:81-85. This is in English and gives good references. It isn't very technical. You can also find other good reports under "Mechanisms of Tinnitus" on the net. As you said, the modern view about causes of T is that they start in the brain. But it often follows physical damage to the inner ear and then becomes logically similar to the "phantom limb" pain experienced by amputees. If the stump is anaesthetised and the pain continues then it isn't caused by the nerves in the leg near the end of the stump. In the case of T there are several places where T could possibly begin but the modern view is that it's in the brain, as you said. The problem with that approach is that everything is in the brain: phenomenology. Research continues but what's needed is a drug that gets into the brain and stops T without also stopping any normal processes.

 

Interesting, can you please show me a research paper that shows tinnitus is genetic? I never heard that before and doubt it, However I do know individuals without tinnitus still have neuronal noises there audiotory cortex they just cannot hear them because the brain is not amplifying them.

@teacher34

 

Tinnitus is not in any way similar to phantom limb pain that is an outdated model that does not explain amplification related hyperacusis and reactive tinnitus.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4208401/

Roland Schaette talks about tinnitus research...

In a nutshell the current model of Tinnitus and amplification related Hyperacusis is the brain acting as an internal hearing aid to compensate for hearing loss, After hearing loss auditory and other unidentified regions of the brain amplify certain frequencies. (Mostly the ones that are damaged)

When the brain turns up the volume it creates spontaneous neuronal activity in the audiotory cortex and listens harder to the neuronal activity that already exist. The neurons go crazy and spread to other regions of the brain.

The over active neurons produce the sensation of tinnitus

The amplification of normal frequencies makes them ultra loud and causes Hyperacusis type 1.

There is also a second type of hyperacusis which is related to outerhair cell nerve fiber damage. This is only condition that is actually only having with inner ear.

The difference between type 1 and type 2 hyperacusis is type one amplifies noise, and type two causes the inner ear pain sensations.

However on to the big question about a cure, in a nutshell if the hearing loss is restored via cochlear hair cell regeneration or audiotory nerve fiber repair the brain could rewire itself and reduce the tinnitus. This is a hypothesis still but it makes a lot of sense with the understanding of neuro-plasticity.

 

Sincerely I don't think T is a brain disorder due to some genetic predisposition. You can pick every human in this earth, place him/her in front of an extremely loud speaker, and from what I learned so far (from my tinnitus and from other's tinnitus), everyone of them will grow a form of T.