Tinnitus Forever

I am ayc, duh. My name is Alex

I've had tinnitus for a very long time, since I was in the Air Force in the late 70s early 80s.
I'm over 50 now and my tinnitus is louder than ever. So much so that it has become a distraction.
I have been able to ignore it sometimes, but when it got louder than people speaking to me about 4 ft away in a quiet room, it has affected my attention span.

What I hear in my head, with both ears so it seems to come from the center of my noggin, is one loud tone, about 8 kHz, with a an accompaniment of several others of various frequencies that are not as loud. All of them are in the high frequency range. The closest way to describe it is being in a forest, handcuffed to a tree, and hearing a loud chorus of tireless cicadas, day and night. It's hard to ignore and I can't get away from it.

Noise masking hasn't helped. I find it more annoying than the tinnitus because I have to turn it up quite loud. Impractical while I am in a work environment or trying to hear the TV or my MP3s. I got no relief.

I'm seeking a new method to tamper down or suppress the tones with a lasting effect. SoundCure claims they can do just that with the Serenade device and it seems to be an option, but I am dubious that it would work because I have hearing loss in the same frequency range as my tinnitus.

If y'all had experience with the Serenade, please let me know. I have three questions: Does it work after you turn the device off? What does it sound like? Is there a sample of the sounds it makes on the internet?

I am happy to have found this forum. I now don't feel quite alone with my affliction.

Kind regards.

 

@ayc

Sorry to hear your head noise has gotten so loud. Everyone will tell you, volume is the most important issue with tinnitus. That said, many people with loud tinnitus do learn how to tune it out. I'm not sure how to do this, but some people do swear by treatments like TRT.

SoundCure is also supposed to lower the volume by stimulating your brain with softer sounds. There was at least one publication about its effectiveness. The study cited that most participants obtained relief.

Here's a summary of that study:

http://www.soundcure.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/JARO-results.pdf

Please also review the long thread about SoundCure on Tinnitus Talk (TT). Most people did not like the therapy, but many might've quit too soon. With sound therapies, it always seems to take a long time--like six months or more. Anyway, if you do try it, please post about your experiences.

Here's the link on TT:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/soundcure-serenade-tinnitus-treatment-system.414/

Please know too that SoundCure should've chosen a different name. The device won't cure you tinnitus, but it may help you habituate.

And welcome to TT where you're not alone We're all very supportive!

jazz

 

You should also be taking NAC supplements to protect the hearing you have so the T won't get worse. I'm taking it now and it is working. But then, I'm a new sufferer ...also near your age group. I can't tolerate any sounds right now to suppress my T so I take 1.5 g of NAC everyday. After taking it, the T does go down and my H went away too.

I'm an ex army guy...too many explosions did my high freq hearing in but I never had T until a quack doctor gave me an ototoxic dose of pills. And that did it...Mr T came a visiting and that unwanted bast@rd has not left. Hang tough...

 

Hey @ayc, I'm so sorry to hear your tinnitus is louder than ever. Reading your post, do you think a natural loss of some hearing that comes with age has maybe made the tinnitus more apparent? I've heard in that case a hearing aid can help fill in some of the gaps and really make the tinnitus seem significantly quieter. Just a thought, and that's something you don't need to wait a long time to see if it will work for you or not.

I wish you peace and I'll chime in with @jazz that I know people who have (according to them) very, very loud tinnitus and have learned to tune it out.

Best wishes with SoundCure - let us know how it goes!

 

As I write this I'm listening to the Sound Cure Serenade; I'm not overly optimistic about its effectiveness. But, I have only had it one month. Oddly enough the audiologist didn't recommend it for me as I have what she thought was too much high frequency hearing loss. I wanted something handy to use while waiting for my hearing aid with a masker. It costs a lot and I'll let you know down the line if it helps. Welcome, ayc, this website has helped me a lot.

 

Thank you! Please do let us know. So far, we've not received positive reports on the device, but, then again, only a few people have reported using it.

I do know that not everyone benefits from sound therapy. From what I've read, perhaps half of tinnitus sufferers will find relief from sound treatment. For the other half, nothing happens or--for a small minority--there will be a temporary worsening.

Good luck and take care!

jazz

 

I think if it's over 10,000hz your tinnitus tone, then the treatment won't work. Correct me if I'm wrong. I know it's like that for acoustic modulation.

 

I'd save you some money...Here try this instead...This normally costs 5 thousand pounds, but you can do it yourself...Follow this guide.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acoustic-cr®-neuromodulation-do-it-yourself-guide.1469/

 

I have been using a 4 channel hearing aid/masker for 9 months now and it does help some. Each channel is programmable, and there are omni & directional microphones, that can be programmed for different situations. Each channel has volume control. My channels are programmed as follows: 1-general everyday use, with white noise & omni direction mikes. 2-noisy situations like bars, where you want to hear a persons conversation. No white noise & directional mikes. 3-general situations, with pink noise & omni directional mikes. 4-music & TV mode. No noise & directional & omni directional mikes.

Cost me $3,500, with promotion. Beltone model. It's called "Tinnitus breaker." Be aware, hearing aid/maskers, usually have to be worn continuously for 18-24 months, for one to see any long term relief from T.

Sailboardman

 

Hi to all, I am new to this website. I have suffered with tinnitus since the 1970's , now I am 53 and since October it has even gotten worse and making me dizzy . I was wondering if anyone else has suffered with the dizziness and almost falling over , it is very scary now.

 

Sounds like vertigo to me...A very severe case of it.