Dear Barry,
As you may know, a hearing aid maker (Signia) has developed a new therapy to help anyone suffering from tonal tinnitus. They call it Notch Therapy.
If you have any information or an opinion about such therapy, I would be grateful to hear it.
Thank you.
Paul W.
Dear Paul,
The idea of “notched” therapy for tinnitus is not new but is a valid approach to the problems of loudness, annoyance and anxiety in people with tinnitus. Early researchers in Germany, about 10 years ago, employed notched music therapy. They recorded music and digitally removed all sound in one octave surrounding the patient’s tinnitus frequency.
The theory was by removing the particular tinnitus frequencies, activating adjoining neurons would produce “lateral inhibition.” By this means, surrounding neurons, tuned to close but not overlapping frequencies would reduce the hyper excitability of neurons at frequencies damaged by tinnitus, resulting in lower sound levels. Results were substantially positive over a period of time. For more details, please read our article on Notched Music Therapy.
I went through Signia’s website for their products. Nowhere was there a mention of price. This is because they are distributed by audiologists, who also distribute Signia’s hearing aids. I believe, but not certain, these products would be priced comparative to the price of hearing aids, or $2,000 to $4,000 each.
Notched music therapy employed recorded music programmed into the device, which has a wide variety of frequencies. Music, especially symphonic music, has overtones and frequencies that can approach 12,000 Hz. The idea of a notched frequency hearing aid would be to amplify the frequencies surrounding those of tinnitus but not the tinnitus frequencies.
The question I have is for those who have high frequency hearing loss and tinnitus. There simply is not enough ambient sound to amplify in the higher frequencies. This is why hearing aids don’t mask my tinnitus, which is at 4,000 Hz. Many people have tinnitus at higher frequencies. I question whether a notched hearing aid would be effective for those with high frequency hearing loss.
If you try one of these products, please let me know your experience with them.
Wishing you quiet times,
Barry Keate
Hi Barry,
I’ve had two incidences of eye stroke and my doctors added a baby aspirin (every other day) to my blood thinning regimen. I’m super sensitive to most drugs and especially ototoxic ones. I am deaf in one ear, have some hearing loss in the other, tinnitus in both so I want to be very careful with any risks.
Have you heard of baby aspirin therapy causing tinnitus or an increase in existing tinnitus? Is there a pattern of taking it that would guarantee no tinnitus?
They also added a statin to my treatment. So far, Lipitor and Crestor have caused roaring tinnitus and other intolerable side effects. Is there a statin you know of that does not cause tinnitus?
Thank you, again. I am so grateful for your expertise and service.
Jory F.
Dear Jory,
A baby aspirin should be completely safe to take, even on a daily basis. I have not heard of an 81 mg aspiring causing or worsening tinnitus.
I can’t go against your doctor’s orders but I’ve never been a fan of statins. Statins rob your body of CoQ10 which causes lots of problems.
CoQ10 is the molecule that produces energy for the body. Statins only cause tinnitus in a very small percentage of people who use them, less than 1%. But, if they cause it for you, that’s all you care about. I don’t know of any that would be safer to take. If you do take one, I suggest adding at least 300 mg CoQ10 to offset any ill effects.
The most effective form of CoQ10 is called Ubiquinol. CoQ10 must first be converted to Ubiquinol for the body to use it. It can be found in health food stores or online. Please see our article on CoQ10, statins and tinnitus.
Wishing you quiet times,
Barry Keate
Hi Barry,
I have tinnitus in my right ear that is extremely loud. My ENT doctor has diagnosed it as onset of sudden deafness. He did three rounds of prednisone shots and a round of oral prednisone to no avail. Next step he wants me to have an MRI and try hyperbaric chamber.
I have cut out salt alcohol caffeine and NSAIDs. Do you have any suggestions? I’m begging. I can’t sleep at all at night.
Thank you,
Fran B.
Dear Fran,
Sudden hearing loss can be very traumatic and usually causes tinnitus. About 1/3 of people with this condition completely recover, another 1/3 will partially recover, and for 1/3 of people, the condition is permanent.
Researchers are discovering that most people with sudden hearing loss have elevated levels of homocysteine in their bloodstream. Homocysteine is an amino acid that is produced by the consumption of high levels of meat and dairy. It can be processed and neutralized by the vitamins B6, B12 and methylfolate. These ingredients can be found in Arches Tinnitus Stress Formula and Arches Tinnitus B12 Formula.
Also, large numbers of people with sudden hearing loss have metabolic syndrome. This is when any three of the following conditions apply: hyperglycemia or type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, elevated triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol (the “good” Cholesterol).
Ginkgo biloba extract, found in Arches Tinnitus Formula, has been shown in clinical trials to help people with sudden hearing loss to recover. They recover faster and more completely than those not taking ginkgo.
More detailed information can be found in our article, Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Tinnitus.
Wishing you quiet times,
Barry Keate