Treatment

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There are many treatments that are effective for objective tinnitus. But there are no clear effective treatments for subjective tinnitus. Conversely, tinnitus may resolve without any treatment. In the subjective tinnitus the treatment of the associated problems like fatigue, anxiety and a bad healthy status is essential to achieve success. Effective treatments include:

Objective tinnitus:

  • Gamma knife radiosurgery (glomus jugulare)[1]
  • Shielding of cochlea by teflon implant[2]
  • Botulinum toxin (palatal tremor)[3]
  • Propranolol and clonazepam (arterial anatomic variation)[4]

Subjective tinnitus:

  • Drugs and nutrients
    • Lidocaine, injection into the inner ear found to surpress the tinnitus for 20 minutes, according to a Swedish study. [5]
    • Benzodiazepines (xanax, ativan, klonopin)
    • Avoidance of caffeine, nicotine, salt[6][7][8]
    • Avoidance of or consumption of alcohol[9][8]
    • Zinc supplementation (where serum zinc deficiency is present)[10][11][12]
    • Acamprosate[13]
    • Etidronate or sodium fluoride (otosclerosis)[14]
    • Lignocaine or anticonvulsants (usually in patients responsive to white noise masking)[15]
    • Carbemazepine[16]
    • Melatonin (especially for those with sleep disturbance)[17]
    • Sertraline[18]
    • Vitamin combinations (lipo-flavonoid)[19]
  • Electrical stimulation
    • Transcranial magnetic stimulation or transcranial direct current stimulation[20][21]
    • Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation[22]
    • Direct stimulation of auditory cortex by implanted electrodes[23]
  • Surgery
    • Repair of perilymph fistula[24]
  • External sound
  • Psychological
    • Cognitive behavior therapy[33]
  • Light-based

Although there are no specific cures for tinnitus, anything that brings the person out of the "fight or flight" stress response helps symptoms recede over a period of time. Calming body-based therapies, counseling and psychotherapy help restore well-being, which in turn allows tinnitus to settle. Chronic tinnitus can be quite stressful psychologically, as it distracts the affected individual from mental tasks and interferes with sleep, particularly when there is no external sound. Additional steps in reducing the impact of tinnitus on adverse health consequences include: a review of medications that may have tinnitus as a side effect; a physical exam to reveal possible underlying health conditions that may aggravate tinnitus; receiving adequate rest each day; and seeking a physician's advice concerning a sleep aid to allow for a better sleep pattern.

  1. ^ Treatment of glomus jugulare tumors in patients with advanced age: planned limited surgical resection followed by staged gamma knife radiosurgery: a preliminary report
  2. ^ Pulsatile tinnitus and the intrameatal vascular loop: why do we not hear our carotids?
  3. ^ Botulinum toxin is effective and safe for palatal tremor: a report of five cases and a review of the literature
  4. ^ Pulsatile tinnitus: treatment with clonazepam and propranolol
  5. ^ Swedish website about tinnitus
  6. ^ Rogers, June: "Only When I Eat: Hope at Last". Ki Publishing Co-operative. UK ISBN 0951 0769 06
  7. ^ Vascular decompression of the cochlear nerve in tinnitus sufferers
  8. ^ a b Meniere's disease: differential diagnosis and treatment
  9. ^ Patients' reports of the effect of alcohol on tinnitus
  10. ^ The role of zinc in the treatment of tinnitus
  11. ^ The role of zinc in management of tinnitus
  12. ^ Zinc in the management of tinnitus. Placebo-controlled trial
  13. ^ Tinnitus treatment with acamprosate: double-blind study
  14. ^ Etidronate for the the neurotologic symptoms of otosclerosis: preliminary study [sic]
  15. ^ Drugs in the treatment of tinnitus
  16. ^ Typewriter tinnitus: a carbamazepine-responsive syndrome related to auditory nerve vascular compression
  17. ^ The effects of melatonin on tinnitus and sleep
  18. ^ The effects of sertraline on severe tinnitus suffering--a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study
  19. ^ Williams HL, Maher FT, Corbin KB, et al: Eriodictyol glycoside in the treatment of Meniere’s disease. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 72:1082, 1963.
  20. ^ Transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of tinnitus: a new coil positioning method and first results
  21. ^ Transient tinnitus suppression induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation
  22. ^ Treatment of tinnitus with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation improves patients' quality of life
  23. ^ Primary and secondary auditory cortex stimulation for intractable tinnitus
  24. ^ Perilymph fistula--45 case analysis
  25. ^ Tinnitus masker - sonic designs by Jon Dattorro...
  26. ^ Long-term clinical trial of tinnitus retraining therapy
  27. ^ Outcomes of clinical trial: tinnitus masking versus tinnitus retraining therapy
  28. ^ Auditive stimulation therapy as an intervention in subacute and chronic tinnitus: a prospective observational study
  29. ^ OHSU Tinnitus Clinic: Comprehensive Treatment Programs including Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT)
  30. ^ Ultra-high-frequency ultrasonic external acoustic stimulation for tinnitus relief: a method for patient selection
  31. ^ Tinnitus improvement with ultra-high-frequency vibration therapy
  32. ^ Subdividing tinnitus into bruits and endogenous, exogenous, and other forms
  33. ^ Treatment of tinnitus in the elderly: a controlled trial of cognitive behavior therapy
  34. ^ http://www.tinnitusformula.com/infocenter/articles/treatments/LLLT.aspx