Anyone successful in dealing with Tinnitus?

I didn't notice my ears were ringing until I read this thread.

No, actually, I notice my problem is directly related to exposure to loud noises: city sounds, loud music, other things. If I try to avoid these for a few days, I notice the ringing subsides and my apparent hearing acuity and enjoyment of listening to music improves.

Give up caffine AND alchohol? Maybe giving up one would make it easier to give up the other...

Thanks Dr Rich.

I did just that a while back, and my dr explained what he was looking for when he ordered an MRI. Once he saw that the MRI was fine and the ear itself (drum, canal, etc.) were fine, he said it's something I will have to live with. Aspirin and nicotine (neither of which I take/use) are triggers, by the way.

One thing I've never read about is the different levels of Tinnitus. By looking at commercials, one would think that to have Tinnitus is akin to having a high-decibel audio tone ripping through your head 24/7. And maybe, for some, it is. I've had it for decades but it's always been a very low-level type of ring. So low that it isn't audible if ANY audible sound is present, such as conversation, TV. or audio appreciation ;) is happening. Only in moments of total silence, like when I go to sleep, is it noticable to me. But not ever to the point of hampering me, I sleep like a baby. Would I rather not have Tinnitus? Of course, but I guess I've been lucky.

I'd be curious to hear from other audiophiles as to the 'level' of their affliction.

Newbrook--you are welcome--there seems to be some doc hostility on this thread--people get very frustrated with tinnitus because there aren't any miracle cures and more research would help as well as educating the public about noise--the ipod generation is already developing hearing loss at an earlier age . People like Elizabeth who sounds liked she has traumatic tinnitus have to adjust to this sudden problem without any good treatment and the masking devices are no picnic so we can understand her frustration. However, not getting an appropriate work up and finding out that one now has an inoperable tumor would really be a tragedy. Rich

I am a bit hesitant to enter this discussion because I am a research physician, but I have had this problem for about three years. Rich is correct: one possible cause is a tumor either in the nerve from the ear or in the brain. An MRI exam should find these; surgery may be possible. My problem was from a blood clot that "knocked out" the nerve from my right ear, only partially. There is good research ongoing at MIT/Harvard if you want to look into it. People have occasionally had tinnitus reduced by a large number of different drugs, but no one drug works for everyone. Elizabeth is partly right; many of the drugs that have worked have effects on the brain such as sedation which can be unpleasant. Above comments about aspirin, Tylenol, alcohol, etc., making it worse are also true for many of us. And, you can "learn to live with it", but it can be very annoying in quiet settings especially when you want to listen to music. I have been using headphones a lot recently, and I have found that listening at loud volumes seems to make it worse for the next several days.