Expert: Harriet B Jacobster, Au.D. - 11/25/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello Dr.Jacobster,
I am age 22, have tinnitus and it is very loud..I got it from loud sound exposures (gunfire/bombs).  I came across this t-gone treatement and they claim to it helps..do you believe this? Or do you know of any other treatments known to work?
http://t-gone.com/

ANSWER: Hi Thinesh,
Before you try anything, you must be fully evaluated by an ENT and audiologist.  Have you done this?  As you know, tinnitus is usually due to nerve damage of some type.  However, there are certain things that can make tinnitus worse, such as stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, certain foods, etc.  Although I am not familiar with this particular treatment, most homeopathics are geared towards reducing stress and restoring balance in the system; this may or may not help your tinnitus.  So, in general, although homeopathics may not help, they usually - and I say usually - do not harm.  Tinnitus is very hard to treat and there is not always much success.  You can try this website for the American Tinnitus Association: www.ata.org, there may be some suggestions there.  There is also a fairly new treatment: www.neuromonics.com, but it is quite expensive.
Hope this helps.
Harriet B. Jacobster, AuD
Board Certified in Audiology

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes I did have an evaluation and they concluded my hearing is fine (only one freuqnecy where i had a bit lower sensitivity). But from here it didnt go anywhere. Yeah I heard abt the neuromonics one aswell..thank you for your help.

Answer
Hi Thinesh,
As I said, the neuromonics is expensive, but it has had great success. There are also biofeedback, tinnitus retraining and relaxation methods which I believe are listed on the other site. You should also be sure to limit exposure to noise and limit further damage.
Hope this helps.
Harriet B. Jacobster, AuD
Board Certified in Audiology