All that shooting and drug music has taken its toll...the ringing is constant, and more annoying in the last few months than it ever has been. I am 52 and figured that if anyone should have a trick that works it should be one of us.

I see all the pills advertised....anyone have any luck with them?

I guess I will eventually need to get hearing aids as my sweet wife says I am about deaf now...I wonder if they can program them to cancel out the ringing?

Any thoughts, suggestions, are sincerely appreciated...just shout 'em out to me ok? Thanks!

Just put Jeff O on mute...

My neighbor swears the only thing that made life bearable for his tinnitus (he had lost all his hearing due to kidney disease) was hash brownies.

But, then again, you don't live in B.C. a land where the law doesn't care too much about people using cannabis.

I have never been diagnosed with anything like that but I have some times when my ears really ring. Seems like it's almost always at night. My occupation is pretty noisy and I'm sure the shooting over the years hasn't helped.

I wish you well.

good luck!

I've had it short-term before, but not forever.

IME, it's not really that big of a deal until you start thinking about it. Once that happens, it's far more mental than physical....

Horseradish, and lots of it.

57, I have full time 24/7 tinnitus. Some days the ring seems louder, some not. Always there though. What made it full time was a shot from a .44 revolver in a quiet winter woods about 10 years ago. Back then the ringing only showed up when I exposed myself to excess noise. The sound pressure pulse from that one shot was severe enough to finally damage the inner ear hair cells. some c/p info: The inner ear contains the sensory organs for hearing and balance. The cochlea is the hearing part of the inner ear. The semicircular canals , the utricle and the saccule are the balance part of the inner ear.

The cochlea is a bony structure shaped like a snail and filled with fluid ( endolymph and perilymph ). The Organ of Corti is the sensory receptor inside the cochlea which holds the hair cells , the nerve receptors for hearing.

The mechanical energy from movement of the middle ear bones pushes in a membrane ( the oval window ) in the cochlea. This force moves the cochlea's fluids that, in turn, stimulate tiny hair cells. Individual hair cells respond to specific sound frequencies (pitches) so that, depending on the pitch (frequency) of the sound, only certain hair cells are stimulated.

Signals from these hair cells are translated into nerve impulses. The nerve impulses are transmitted to the brain by the cochlear portion of the acoustic nerve (VIII cranial nerve).

The acoustic nerve carries impulses from the cochlea to a relay station in the mid-brain, the cochlear nucleus, and on to other brain pathways that end in the auditory cortex of the brain. At the cochlear nucleus, nerve fibers from each ear divide into two pathways. One pathway ascends straight to the auditory cortex on one side (hemisphere) of the brain. The other pathway crosses over and ascends to the auditory cortex on the other side (hemisphere) of the brain. As a result, each hemisphere of the brain receives information from both ears.

end c/p. IMO, there is nothing that will remove the damage done to the inner ear, therefore the ringing will remain. I've simply learned to live with it.

Godogs57,

I'm in the same boat. I started legally duck hunting when I was nine years old and began shooting before that. I remember having a hearing test in the fall at school and failing it or having problems. Later I had a test in the springtime and didn't have any issues. Should have been a warning, but no. Between shooting without ear protection, loud music and later working as a mechanic exposed to schrill ginders and such - I caught the ringing. I've had to live with it for the last 30 years.

Whad ja say? ? ?


fish head

Sad, but true. I've lived with mine for 30+ years. There has been some reliable medical research using magnetism treatments that has some promise.

I've lived with it for 50 years. It is not a minor deal. It is thought that tinnitus might be the number three reason for suicide, to put it in perspective.

Regrettably, there is no cure - yet. The quack cures you see advertised are scams, as far as I know. About all you can do is to play a "white" noise like static, waterfalls or surf at night to help you sleep (as I sometimes do) and try to not think about it. Some of the most cutting-edge hearing aids might help with it, so do ask when you're tested.

Things that make it worse: noise, alcohol, caffeine, nuts, chocolate, aspirin and fatigue.

I hunt with an Ear Nose Throat Dr. I have tinnitus myself and was asking him about it one time. He said that he recommends this stuff http://www.tinnitusformula.com/

He said that he has a very good success rate with it. I'm wanting to say that he said it was over 75% to patients that took it.

They're advertising a treatment called "Quietus" on TV. I don't see how it can help, but it's probably worth a try.

I've had it for 30 years or so. Doc told me it's not curable, but that was some time ago. Who knows?

Excuse me, I think I hear the phone ringing.

Rocky's got it covered. I used to have a fan running on low when I went to sleep at night to cover up the ringing. A CPAP does the same thing...

Huh!

ya I got it, thousands and thousands of shotshells at doves since I was a tadpole. I used to love dove and quail hunting, haven't been in years, cringe thinking about it.

Constant ringing, volume is not an issue, high pitch and certain consonants are. Women are hard for me to understand... think there is a joke in there somewhere.

Kent

It was tacky to make the horseradish comment. I apologize. However; horseradish would at least take your mind off it for a few minutes, but who knows if it might make it worse later.

Doc explained to me what causes it with a big drawn out medical reason. He said that there is no cure for it but there are certain things that do lessen the volume and pitch of the ringing.

He went on to mention the very same things that Rocky noted also.

I have it, and I don't hear a ringing in my ears. I hear a high pitched tone. When it's quiet it drives me crazy. Any little noise bothers me. The tv on too loud, the neighbor's dogs, cars going by with their stereos on... I have an Ipod and Bose earphones on now turned on as low as it can go. If I turn it off, I hear a high tone. I pretty much always have a radio or tv on softly at home and my Ipod goes everywhere I go. Loud noise makes it worse, so I wear ear muffs over my earphones landscaping. I even fall asleep with earphones on sometimes. Always on it's lowest setting though.

I've had it for many years....one of my friends that also has it says for him salt sends it into overdrive...I just try and not think about it cause it's always there, so I think about hunting...works everytime!

That's high frequency hearing loss, and tinnitus is a symptom of that. Way my doctor explained it, the ringing is nerve damage and your brain interpreting that.

I didn't know what it was until I read this thread - now I'm convinced I have it. Ignorance can be bliss.

Basically how it is/was explained to me ; signal gets 'scrambled' in some manner (trauma) and from that point forward the brain is constantly trying to interpet but can't.

Mine is in one side only (no longer have hearing there) trauma was a tumour and subsequent surgery.

Rocky is pretty near bang on from what I see. Fatigue is the worst for me ; more tired the louder the tin.which requires more 'focus' on my part to deal with it .....which leads to more fatigue.Sucks but comes uder the "$h*t happens" ....

Thanks folks....The trumpets are blasting away right now (worse than usual) and I got up to see if there was any response. Appreciate your concern and good to know I am not alone with this.

Will try some of Rocky's suggestions, as well as others. Hope reading Lee24's sniper post is not a contributing factor in all this or I'm sunk.

When I opened this post I was realy hopeing to read about whats helped you guys. Mine has gotten so I cant just tune it out lately and at times it realy drives me nuts.

yes, fatigue does turn up the volume so to speak!

Mine's been gradually getting worse for 5 or 10 years. Always there for the last 2 or 3 years, used to come and go.

I've had it for 10+ years, but in the last two months it has gotten much worse for some reason. On two occasions (the last day and a half right now) the buzzing is so bad you can hardly hear yourself think, much less sleep. Going on two days as of this morning...damn.

I've been dealing with it for the better part of 25yrs. Too many yrs of chainsaws,woodchippers,hvy construction noises,shooting/hunting,etc. Rocky and others have pretty much covered it all. I will add two other things that make it worse,hearing loss and head congestion(head colds,ear infections,sinus infections/congestion).For me it's allergies and irritants. When the noise(mine is like a high pitched electrical whine)starts to get louder I know the congestion is starting so start meds(across the counter or scrip what ever seems to work at the time). I recently started allergy shots.
My wife works for the WV School For The Deaf And Blind. I've known the audiologist there for many yrs. As she tells me,if there's a cure(operation)or med that helps she'd know or will know of it but to date,nothing. I asked her one time that if I were to go completely deaf if the noise would stop and she said no. She did let me borrow a hearing aid for a month and it really helped by letting normal noise over ride somewhat the tinnitus noise. I registered yrs ago with the Tinnitus Foundation and would periodically gets updates from them but haven't for YRS now.
Guess that's about all I can add other than when it seems to get so bad that you don't know how much more you can take,just remember your not alone in your suffering.

You guys are talking me into this! I'm not kiddin' - bzzzzzzzzz.

I had some sinus? infection that went medieval and ended up rupturing my eardrums. Mild ringing before that due to shooting, artillery and whatnot. More annoying after that.


thankfully, the tinnitus is drowned out by the voices.

Much better now.

I used to work for a major hearing aid company but am NOT an audiologist or hearing professional. Having made that disclaimer - some folks do get relief by getting hearing aids.

If you've tried that in the past without success, go try again. The past few years have seem remarkable advances in circuits and programming.

Do some research and find an audiologist/hearing aid dealer who will let you trial the product. If it doesn't work, you've only lost some time!

Many OTC medications will make it worse such as Advil or cold / allergy meds. Try to ween off those if taking them.

Figure a childhood of near constant ear-infections, combined with pressured/ruptured ear drums, farm equipment (tractors, chain saws, mowers, combines, weedeaters, farm trucks, etc.), tons of shooting, USMC assisted firing ranges, explosions, more shooting after the Corps....

At 34, it's constant with the degree of severity intermittent. High frequencies are problematic, background noise is a HUGE problem.

I kind of look at it as a trade-off, though. My eye sight is absolutely sterling (20/15+; very close to 20/10, with a HIGH degree of acuity). So, I get schit for hearing as a balance.

I�ve had it for many years too! Same reasons as everyone else, shooting, heavy machinery, compressors, drilling rigs, etc�and as far as I know there isn�t much you can do about it. However you might be able to control how much it bothers you.

At the risk of getting laughed at, let me share this with you. I suffered with Tic Douloureux (Trigeminal Neuralgia) for many years. The pain was incredible and traumatizing. Medications only helped a little but they were mostly just mind numbing. To combat the pain and still be able to function, I worked at controlling my mind to ignore the pain. For lack of a better name, I called it my Zen thing. I would sit in a quiet dark spot and will my mind to ignore the pain. It took some practice but I was able to achieve moderate success doing that. Surgery at the Mayo Clinic finally alleviated the problem. Praise the Lord.

How this applies to Tinnitus is the same, and works for me. When the ringing in my ears gets to bothering me, I will do the Zen thing and will myself to ignore it. It takes some practice but it really helps if you can achieve it.

Good Luck too you!

Tinnitus is the hearing equilevant of phantom limb pain for amputees. There is no sensory impluse in a frequency range and so the brain makes up a sound. Regular heavy doses of niacin have helped friends of mine but it can make your skin feel like it is crawling until you (maybe) aclimate.

Recent research indicates that personalized music therapy where the music is digitally clipped in the frequency that you are damage can significantly reduce the tinnitus (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107:1207-1210 (January 19))

I have it also from too much power tool noise. I haven't shot without ear plugs in years.

A friend who had tinnitus badly enough to go to the Shea Clinic in Memphis, spent $800 to find out that 60 mgs of Gingko Biloba taken twice daily gives some improvement in about 80% of the people who try it. He tried it - it didn't cure his problem but it helped him a ton. I don't have it nearly as badly as my friend but I tried it and it helped me. And I'll be a dime to a donut hole that the "Quietus" type treatments have a plain old GB component to them.

It's a cheap experiment (for us, not for my friend!). Get some GB and try it for a month.

Hearing aids didn't help the Tinnitus for me, although I do hear better with them. Unfortunately, it cost me $5,800 to find out that there are a lot of things I really don't want to hear.

Sinus congestion does make it worse, which has been a constant problem lately. Went to see an ENT and found that I have a tumor about the size of a walnut in my sinus cavity. Surgery scheduled this Fri.

I've got it to, I think it's a gun thing.
It being a brain thing, that explains why the cannabis works. Mine gets "better" after chiropractic adjustments. Sounds silly, but it helps.

My hearing has never been great and I can't remember a time when I didn't have tinnitus. I always just thought it was "normal" and learned to ignore it. It's always there, but I never think about it.

Yup. I can remember with extreme clarity the exact moment when I got mine, but not what it was like before then. I'm only exquisitely aware of it when the topic comes up - like now - or when it gets so bad I get debilitated by it.

The most recent event like that was six weeks ago at a wedding reception. Small room, lots of people all shouting to be heard above all the other people shouting, loud music and a few adult beverages. I got physically unable to remain and had to leave. Dizziness, nausea, violent headache, inability to understand speech, sensitivity to light - the whole shebang.

The cause? 1960; my Dad was enamored by the feeding of a then-new Browning Double Auto 12. In the midst of his playing with the feed, he also commented how sweet the trigger was. I knew he'd lost count but couldn't stop him. The muzzle was fortunately pointed perpendicular to me, but was only three feet away - in our living room. Ruined the front door and my ears. Only the door was replaceable. That house is long gone, the shotgun is long gone, Dad is long gone; the tea kettle in my head isn't.

Do you eat the horseradish or stuff it your ears?

Have had it since childhood. I find that I can turn it off so I cant hear it kinda like male pattern deafness when driving and cant hear your wife with your right ear.

When I am extremely fatigued it comes on with a vengence.

Also, as others have noted background noise can make hearing very difficult.

RockyRaab,

Obviously I'm not a doctor, but the symptoms you're descibing sounds just like something I used to suffer from. Cluster headaches. Similar to migranes but very infrequent. I'd go six months or so give or take without a headache, then WHAM, I'd get a series of headaches over week or so period of time and then they were gone, until months later. The last one I had about 17 years ago was the worst I ever experienced. I was absolutely paralized with extreme pain along with all the symptoms you described. I should have gone to the hospital. After it ended I never had another one.

Just a FWIW.


fish head

Guess I am lucky, all I have got from shooting is a good deal of hearing loss, I'll take it and run..my quiter world is not all that bad btw...

Ears were ringing badly while I was reading this.

I ran an out board boat all weekend that probably aggravated the tinnitus..

I took some vitamins and added B12, Niacin and Ginko Biloba and the ringing was toned down significantly. Seems that as soon as I got over the flushed feeling from the B vitamins it reduced the noise sensation I was getting.

Hope this wasn't just a placebo effect but I'll try this again. So thanks for the suggestions.

I am sorry. I can offer only sympathy. I am very happy, that I have not yet a tinnitus by hearing damage.

I had a pinched nerve for about two weeks from cramps in the shoulders that afforded me a like noise in the ear.

It drove me nuts. I am very thankful, we figured out what it was and were able to treat it.

That let me to think, though and to promote amongst my students and clients hearing protection.

I by no means want to add insult to injury, pray believe. I felt this thread, unfortunately, such a strong advocacy for HP, that I felt compelled to comment.

I can remember being able to hear the wind blow through the leaves, mice and moles and shrews burrowing around while sitting at the base of an oak tree...

I hear you. And no pun intended.

I suppose I miss a whole lot in the woods deer hunting.

http://www.lipoflavonoids.com

After, specially shooting a lot of claybirds without hearing protection in my younger days, I now pay the price. Hearing is not so good as before and had tinnitus (but luckily tinnitus is gone now). My recommendation to avoid it is to use, in my case Peltor active hearing protection products. I use them always when hunting or shooting. They are really one of the most important things I always carry with me and use.
For tinnitus chronicus there is no cure as far as I know.

God..,

Just saw a doctor about this a month ago. Basically, he said,"sorry about your luck." He gave me a sample of something and said he'd be shocked if it worked but to let him know if it did. It didn't.

He also said he could almost tell how big a man's yard was by the amount of hearing loss. Meaning, lawnmowers trash your hearing, more you run'em the more you loose.

I wear hearing protectors cutting the grass, running a chain saw,anything loud. Too little, too late. That said, I'm going to a Jimmy Buffet concert next month . . . that should drowned it out for a while

O

I developed tinnitus late last year and I'm 60. Tinnitus along with "eye floaters" which I have too is common but exists In vastly varying degrees in folks, from just barely noticeable to having been the cause of suicide. Both are age-related.

I would just say to any younger readers here to spend the $$ for quality hearing protection now if you are not already doing it. Old guys too

Ringing in the ears? I hear 10,000 crickets constantly, just try to keep my mind occupied with other stuff. High frequency hearing loss caused me to leave a law enforcement career years before I had planned--too much gunfire and sirens they said. Ball ammo in a 1911 from the time I was 15 or 16 did not help.

Rocky's list of contributing factors is spot on. Been wearing hearing aids for 15 or 20 yrs. They help but I still have trouble understanding women. Is that a problem?<grin>

I have been suffering with ringing in the ears and migraines. About a month ago I quit drinking coffee and the noise in my ears is much easier to tolerate. The headaches have lessened a lot. I drank alot of coffee and I love the stuff but I feel like a new man so I ain't drinking it no more. Hope this helps someone. My hearing loss came from a 22 hornet pistol we shoot with no ear protection. That thing could make your ears bleed.

A few here have alluded to it indirectly, but tinnitus can be treated with considerable success using clinical hypnosis. If you pursue this, go to a highly qualified and experienced person. You may be able to get a referral in your area from the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis website.

I drink a lot of coffee. Never noted it before, but paid attention today. 2 cups, tinnitus worse. I know I actually feel better without the coffee, except for the headache I get for a day. It ain't migraine bad, had those too, but it ain't minor either.

I agree with the hearing protection and always use it now, but things were different when I started shooting. Hearing protection back then consisted of a cotton ball or an empty cartridge case in your ear. Muffs came years later.

And I agree with your sig line. I don't want coke or ice near my whiskey. Whiskey doesn't stop the ringing in my ears but it makes me not care.

No tips on this.Gonna have to live with it.

Add nicotine to the list of items that cause temporary increases in tinnitus. Essentially, anything that causes the blood to thin can increase tinnitus. People who for years were free of any problems report an onset of tinnitus after being on Coumadin, Plavix, etc. for a while.

I'm an audioprosthologist and deal with this problem on a daily basis. The only practical solution, and not an infallible one at that, is hearing aids. There are a few tinnitus "maskers" out there which look like a hearing aid, but technically don't function as one. Considering that 90% of the cases of tinnitus are related to hearing loss, the aids are the better way to go.

Tinnitus can be a horrible, debilitating thing for some people. I sympathize with those that have severe cases.

Please don't fall for any of the miracle cures and gimmicks out there. Trust me, if anyone had a cure for tinnutus the world would beat a path to his/her door without any advertising.

I think Rum helps...

Believe it or not, it goes in yer bellybutton. Hold it in place with a CLEAN tampon.

Dude......

I've had tinnitus for probably 40 years or more, attributable for the most part to shooting without hearing protection. A couple of years ago I was at a timbersport competition taking photos for a newspaper. I forgot to take my ear defenders with me for the hot saw competition. I was standing less than 10 feet from a couple of competitors with souped up chainsaws. When they fired those things up, I could feel it in my ears every time the spark plugs fired. Thankfully it took less than 10 seconds for them to make the required three cuts, but in that time, there was some serious damage done. My tinnitus has been worse since then. The worst part is the fact that the frequency is slightly different in each ear.
The biggest problem with tinnitus is if you think about it, it seems to be worse. All you can do is ignore it as best you can.

I got it also, will almost drive you insane.

It's not a matter of thinking or not thinking about it. When you reach the point that you never hear silence, you will understand. I haven't heard complete silence for 30 years or so, or crickets chirping, or birds singing, or any number of sounds that I once took for granted. Hearing aids helped me hear those sounds for the first time in years.

When you've had it permanently for more than 5 years, let me know how it's not a big deal and how mental you think it is.

+1,P!!

I MISS the sound of silence.

I have tuning forks in both of my ears. As I kid I had constant bouts of tonsilitus and as a result drank tanker loads of anti-biotics. The antibiotics and the infections themselves took their toll on my ears.

Of course concerts, loud music, power equipment and unprotected shooting didn't help matters either.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18225612

It sucks... I've been aware of it since high school. Genetics also come into play regarding tinnitus. One reason I like forums like the campfire so much... I never have to say Huh? or feel like I'm missing out on a conversation.

My employer screens us for hearing loss once a year. Its sad to see how much deafer I get each year. I'll be in hearing aids by 40, and most likely totally deaf by 70.

I've had mine so long that the ringing doesn't really bother me, you just tune it out after a while.

I went in to get my hearing checked a few years ago when I was 29 and the doc said I was right on the verge of needing hearing aids then. I have shot A LOT starting as a child, but almost alway wore hearing protection, so not sure if that is the cause. Haven't been back to have it checked since, but would be tough to do my job without being able to hear, which is the reason I refuse to use or shoot around anybody using a muzzle break.

Thyroid also has something to do with it.
Because my thyroid keeled over, I chew snoose, drink coffee, and hoover aspirin. Ring a ding ding.
Always been deaf, scarlet fever did me a number, but my ears are physically sensitive to loud sounds too -- so have always worn hearing pro, even before it was cool.
I find that the "noise I could never hear otherwise" comes and goes. When I'm thinking hard about something else, or engaged in something complex, life is pretty quiet inside my head.
But then I'll be laying in the sack ready to keel over and think to myself, hey, my $(*%&#($^ ears aren't ringing. Five seconds later they are.
Hard not to obsess about it. Haven't really heard the silence since maybe 2000.

Hearing aids sometimes help. Masking with some noise helps. Otherwise, nothing much helps.

Here is a product that has helped me:
http://www.lipoflavonoid.com/Pages/LipoHome,

I was getting desperate and the Dr. was no help. I ran across a magazine article by a Dr. that recommended various products for various problems that he had found usefull. I was skimming the article because I didn't have any of the problems addressed until I came to Tinnitus and he recommended "Lipo-Flavonoid" by DSE Healthcare Solutions. I was skeptical, but the writer didn't sound like a quack that was being paid off. I figured it was worth a try. The writer said it would take about six weeks to see results. The bottle says to take 3 tablets a day, one after each meal, and "for best results, use for at least six months".

Well, it worked for me. After about six weeks I woke up one day and realized about 80% of the Tinnitus was gone. By the six month point about 90% was gone. Then I dropped down to two tablets a day, One morning, one night, and the relief has stayed the same. I have been taking it for over two years now.

The ingredients are several B vitamins, vitamin C, bioflavinoids and inositol, whatever those are. I found the best place to purchase these is WalMart, for $24.89 a bottle of 100 caplets. The chain drugstores that have it all charge about $30. At WalMarts it is always located pretty close to and a couple of shelves below the Centrum Silver vitamins.

I am very glad I stumbled onto someting that helped me. They even taste good. I never tried any other products, but I know this one helped me. Best of luck to all of you.

I have it 24/7 but mine sounds like crickets or cicaidas.

I love the sounds of insects on a summer night so I use mine on cold winter nights to put me to sleep.

As a fringe benefit I frequently don't hear what my wife is saying.

Inositol is extracted from the testicles of male Indonesian Spotted Frogs. Actually, this species of frog is hermaphrodite. In China Inositol is used to improve sexual function & is combined with ground rhino horn. One side affect is sudden growth of ones wang. Probably with increased sex & wang growth the ringing in the ears becomes unimportant.

EH? My $3000 listening devices help me hear the wife, if I looking at her when she speaks, I haaven't tried the drugs, I've found that busy minds & low stress activities (like hunting or shooting) help. It won't help the ringing, but I've found that after several adult beverages they at least get in tune & sound better (and I don't care as much) been 50 years + now
MC

It depends on the severity of your tinnitus. I have permanently damaged my left ear due to killing a deer with a ported Marlin guide gun. Its so bad that if I have a non-compressed powder load in a case, I can't hear the powder move if I shake it next to my left ear, but I can easily hear it in my right. Frankly, I think this is the price of doing gun business. I do my best to ignore it, but some nights, it gets pretty loud. Other than removing salt and alcohol (where's the fun in that?), there is little that can be done to lessen its affects. If you can, try to ignore it best you can.

My wife is a speech-language pathologist. She uses me as a test case for vets with damaged hearing. Turns out that few hard core RIGHT-HANDED shooters that grew up prior to using hearing protection doesn't have significant left-ear hearing loss above 2000 Hz. The ringing just tells you that you did it right.

I've had it since I was a little kid following my dad around in the deer woods, trying to" G-- D----t BE QUIET! Probably from catching one upside the head when the muzzle of my empty .22 went astray. I called it a "blue" noise and couldn't understand why no one else could hear it.
I've sort of gotten used to it after all these years but sometimes now it's bothersome. At these times I find a little Jack Daniels helps.

I hope to prove my theory for 100% cure. When I die, it will stop.

After 48 years with guns and 39 years with bass guitar, I accept what is, and what can never be.

JW

Thanks again for all the helpful comments. I was taking a full sized aspirin each day just because its healthy for the heart. Aspirin was listed as a contributor to tinnitus, so I quit it about a month ago.....the crickets are there but the drum & bugle corps has left the building, so that is a step in the right direction!

Thanks!

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.