Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Tinnitus about to drive me insane....anyone found something that helps?

All I can advise is to try everything you hear about (short of snake oils) that is suppose to help and see if it works FOR YOU. Some will,some won't. That being said,the biggest help TO ME has been to keep my sinuses and ears clear. Pressure from the sinuses and clogged ears really inhance the affects of tinnitus for me. I've even started taking allergy shots. And even though the full affect of them may take a long time to happen I've already started not needing meds near as often plus the noises (which I'm sure will never subside)are staying at a bearable level MUCH LONGER.
Just thought I'd put this out there in hopes of helping those many who suffer as I do.

Good advice

Many medications do cause tinnitus. If the difference is good health or tinnitus, I would choose the tinnitus. I have high blood pressure and it took years to find a regimen that works for me. I found out I had it while in nursing school, and running up to ten miles a day. Turns out I'd had since my teens, just lucky I guess.

i have been shooting for 50 years-what was that?-you have to speak louder!-whsk

Sounds strange but here you go. I used to have a problem with this. Acupuncturist told me
1. Drink more water
2. cut back on the caffeine
4. get at least 7 hours sleep
3 and here's what sounds like the weird part. She gave me some herbs to take that were basically concentrated sweet potato extract.

Can't get the herb anymore, but start eating sweet potatoes when it gets noticeable and it goes away.

My older sister said that within in a couple months of trying this she could barely hear the tinnitus. Prior it was so loud it made it difficult for her to hear people talking.

It's not the beta carotene or the Vitamin A as supplementing with those doesn't work any where near as well. It seems to be a combination of compounds in the potato, not any one thing you can isolate.

And its not yams, but sweet potatoes you want, and the ones that are more orange than yellow in the middle seem to work better.

Always liked sweet potatoes, so that's worth a try.
I have started using a "white noise" setting on my clock radio at night. Helps mask the ringing when trying to go to sleep. Even seems to be lowering the level of ringing during the day, but may just be coincidental.

I worked for 20 years in a cabinet shop with a loud dust collector.When I left,for about a year,I could still hear that damn thing when it was quiet.After awhile,I stopped hearing it.
I now wear earphone of muffs when It is loud.

I am 61 and have had tinnitus for over six years. I have tried everything, even went to the Univ. of VA hospital who had one of the best doctors in that field. They eventually recommended listening to"white noise" (static) every night and thought that after about a year or two the brain would cancel out both the ringing and the white noise. They said there was only a small percentage of success. Nothing has worked for me, not even the junk advertised on TV. Don't buy that stuff, it's a waste of money. There are tiny hairs inside the eardrum that when broken, will never repair themselves.

The honest truth is that there is no cure. We have to suffer.

Thanks...Bill

I am sorry for all that have this.

There is one more thing you all can do, though, Bill. Talk about this. Warn younger shooters.

And, Huntaria Setter, quotes like this:



just cloud the issue with needless bravado. Please rather help the next generation to not repeat the same mistakes.

Deer can be killed with hearing protection. I do it all the time.

Incidentially I have taken a brown bear in 2008 with the exact type of rifle you mentioned in your post - ported Marlin Guide Gun. When ever I shoot, I wear plugs at the minimum - a string keeps them handy. Most often I use Peltor passiv cups.

LET US PUT THE WORD OUT!

CMG,

You are so right! I do try to tell every young person about how valuable our hearing and sight are. When I started my two daughters shooting with Chipmunks when they were about 5 years old I constantly made sure they had their earplugs and/or muffs on. And shooting glasses too.

As you say, it's too late for us but every one of us can help be a part of the prevention of this torture by spreading the word.

Thanks again...Bill.

I was told that there are some medications that can help (not cure) tinnitus, but there are undesirable side effects. The doctor said that as long as I could get by, don�t take the medicine and just put up with it.