Three Things I Do to Mask/Lessen My Tinnitus (I Hardly Hear It)

To give you some background information on my tinnitus: So, I have had my tinnitus for about two years. It sparked up around when I was a freshman in college and I am not sure of the exact cause. I have a rare disease where people report having tinnitus and I also went to a concert festival a month before I started hearing it. Also, another random tidbit, I got my hearing tested and they said I don't have any hearing loss. They say this is usual for tinnitus patient, fortunately, I do not have that component. Anyhow, when I first started hearing it the sound was so unbearable. I could hardly sleep or do anything. All day, I'd just hear this super loud ringing no matter what I was doing. I dreaded going to class or going to work because I could hardly focus on anything with no sleep and a blaring, high-pitched ring 24/7.

My ear doctor didn't help much with it besides give me a paper about tinnitus, all information I could find on the internet. He did clean my ears out, stating that there was wax against my drum so that might help it. It did not help though and the ringing was still as bad as ever. It took about a month before my ears got 'used' to the sound, meaning, it was not as invasive but still very present. It was still annoying and loud but it fluctuated and I could deal with it being there and focusing on something else. When it really sparked up was at night, like I believe it does for most people that I've read about. I would compare the sensation to a clock ticking, how once you hear it tick so much your mind sort of just blocks it out. It's still there, just not as present. For months, it would fluctuate in intensity and noticeability from 'this is annoying but I can deal with it' to 'this is my living definition of hell'.

When wax would build against my drum it would get worse so I would go get my ears cleaned out. I also noticed that it got worse if I was stressed or anxious (it was a nightmare during finals time). My first helping Hail Mary came when I bought headband headphones. They're headphones, only the speakers are in a headband. I know using headphones to noise cancel is nothing new to help with this but my ears hurt if I have headphones in my ears too long and it is at the worst when I try to sleep. When it first flared up I overnighted a pair to my house and it helped tremendously and it was comfortable for me to sleep in, since I couldn't with in ear for so long and you can't really sleep with big over ear ones (at least, I can't). I started playing my regular music but found it kept me awake and classical music just wasn't something I could fall asleep to. I started playing nature noises and I would turn it to a volume that would mask my tinnitus decently without blaring in my ear drum.

For about a year and a half, I would have good months and bad but I slept with the headphones every night and it seemed to help. More recently, I was reading that magnesium pills and eating less sodium can help with the ringing. I was skeptical but I figured anything is worth a shot. I haven't cut out sodium completely but I eat less of it and avoid foods that are super high in sodium like soup, fries, etc. It's been about a month or two and I can finally sleep without the headphones on! Sometimes, even if I plug my ears I can't hear the ringing at all. I hear a faint ring sometimes but it is nothing compared to the past. When I am laying down to sleep it is usually at the worst but even then it's not even 90% as noticeable as it was before. I don't hear it during the day as much at all, if any. I know none of these are exactly new ideas to treat tinnitus but I thought I would share my story and combination of what I did that seems to work. If you're reading this, I really hope your tinnitus can dissipate or lessen, I really do!

For those who don't want to read this long post, here's what I do to help me:
1. Eat less sodium
2. Take magnesium supplements daily
3. Sleep with headband headphones and play nature noises or music

 

Thank you for the information.

How many mg of Magnesium do you take daily? During the day, when do you take magnesium? What kind of Magnesium is it: Magnesium malate, magnesium aspartate, or some other kind?

 

Can you explain what headband headphones are? Do you use an app for the nature sounds? If so, which ones? What volume do you play it at and do you play it all night?

 

Bill, it is called magnesium lysinate glycinate chelate (found it on Amazon). I take the recommended dosage that comes on the bottle which is two pills at 100mg each, taking 200mg total. I was going to experiment with different doses, mg, and different types of magnesium but since it's been working I am going to stick with this, as it works very optimally for me. I usually take it before I lay down, since that's when my tinnitus is the worst. That varies every night but around 11 P.M.- midnight. I usually take it 30-45 minutes before I lay down. (I work night shifts, hence why I take it late).

 

It's a headband that you wear on your head and it has the speakers inside it. You can adjust it to your ears and where you find the speakers most comfortable. HERE is a link to a pair I own from Amazon as an example. I especially like them because in ear headphones hurt my ears after being in too long and they aren't comfortable for me. I use the headband ones like a sleeping mask and slip them over my eyes while I sleep, it is very comfortable.

I use this app called 'RelaxMelodies' you can pick all the noises you want to hear and it will play them for you. You can add in and take out the noises you choose. I figured out I really like the sound of rain so I usually play various water noises from there but they have tons of sounds to choose from. I like that app because it will play in the background of your headphones even if you play other audio. For example, it will play the noises at the volume you choose in the background and can still watch a video and whatnot. When my ringing was really loud I would use that in the background to drown out noise and watch videos, listen to music, etc and it helped to have it playing underneath all the audio.

I also use Spotify and play the same raise noise track every night (if I wear the headphones). If you were interested, it's called Gentle Rain Fall by Rain Sounds, Rainfall, Rain for Deep Sleep. Spotify actually has lots of various sounds you can put on repeat overnight if you have the app. That way, you can find the sound that best suits you. I put it on a timer for two hours to turn all the noises off so it won't waste my phone battery and turn it on if I wake up.

I usually put my iPhone at half volume or less to play the noises. It all depends on the amount of ringing in my ears though. If it's super loud on some nights I'll turn it up but the rain track is pretty loud and if it's too loud I find it uncomfortable.

 

Thanks for your reply. I have Relax Melodies, Ambience, Noise Generator, Tonal Tinnitus, Rain Rain and White Noise. I play white noises on me cellphone, I leave it next to me on my bed but throughout the night, sometimes I lose the phone, hides under the bed or under blankets and lose the noise. That band looks like it would work better.

During the day, I use these https://www.amazon.com/LG-Active-HB...qid=1496646497&sr=1-5&keywords=lg+tone+active

Besides being your typical ear plugs, they have external stereo speakers which is nice and can be very helpful. Battery last me a 10-12 hours.

 

Thank you for the summary at the end. I love that!

I'm going to try the Magnesium. -- Salty foods definitely spike my T especially when I'm not exercising regularly.

Thanks and stay strong!

 

Thanks for this post. I was going to buy magnesium tomorrow, didn't know that there were different kinds of magnesium. I did a little research, the glycinate/lysinate chelate is known for best absorption and it works better than regular magnesium. Good to know. I found relatively cheap ones online. I don't know if it's going to help but what do I have to lose.

 

Hello Applejuice. Did this work at all?

How many mg do you take per day?

Thanks,
John

 

Hi John,

Sadly magnesium did not influence my Tinnitus. But it does help against stress because that uses up magnesium rapidly and it helped my bowel movements even though most people report the exact opposite.

I took 200 mg before going to bed. It's cheap and it won't hurt you so it's always worth the try.

 

Ok. I will give it a try.

If anything, maybe it will work as a placebo. Ha ha..

Thanks and good luck.