The most common form of tinnitus is the continuous type usually triggered by nerve damaged hearing loss, loud noise exposure, trauma, stress, etc. The typical doctor's answer for tinnitus treatment is that there really isn't one other than to learn to live with it.
The general strategy I take with my patients to treat non-pulsatile, continuous tinnitus is as follows taking into consideration cost as well as amount of supporting research. You do not have to follow these exact steps, but it is the sequence that I typically follow. Please note, a hearing test is ESSENTIAL before starting a treatment path, even if you do not feel you have any hearing loss. If asymmetric nerve hearing loss is present, an MRI scan through the inner ear is ordered to ensure no physical abnormality is present causing the tinnitus. You can take a free online hearing test here.
To share with others what only you can hear, try the free tinnitus matching tool here!
Level 1:
- Melatonin 3mg at night
- Generic white noise
- Eliminate salt/sodium from the diet
- If significant anxiety is present, start tinnitus retraining therapy and/or cognitive behavior therapy
Level 2:
- If hearing loss is present, purchase a hearing aid with a tinnitus program (ie, Widex Zen)
- If no significant hearing loss is present, start neuromonics
- Start listening to more sophisticated programmable white noise (I usually suggest MyNoise.net)
Level 3: Start some type of neuromodulating program
- Neosensory Duo
- Audio Notching
- Lenire (only available in Europe at this time)
Level 4:
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