HELP for Tinnitus

Pbb ... minds only work when they are open. It is good to be skeptical, but you shouldn't deride things unless you have first hand experience. If you think it's nonsense then don't waste your own time and money, but don't try to talk others out of trying something that may help.

I first took fish oil on the urgings of my mother. I completely expected it to have no effect whatsoever, but I figured it was a small price to pay for a quiet life.

I have been overwhelmed by the changes it has made to my mood, my ability to cope with stress (and I'm talking about real stress .. raising a child with severe learning difficulties) and my general feeling of well-being. It may not have the same effects on everybody, but for about $15 a month, and with no known negative side effects (aside from slightly fishy breath about 2 hours after taking it) I figure it's worth a try.

It is also interesting to note that fish oil has been evaluated in double-blind placebo controlled trials to reduce ADD in children and to counter depression in adults. The level of depression and mental illness in societies around the world is also negatively correlated with intake of oily fish. I found all this out since I started taking it.

Vegetarian alternatives (flax seed oil, hemp oil) though similar, just don't work for me (I;ve tried). Only fish oil hits the spot.

Oh, and I make my own cables, for a few bucks each, because I'm too skeptical to shell out hundreds on snake-oil. Only the fishy type for me !

PBB You seem to contradict yourself. A doctor can't help and can't tell you what is causing the problem and you are crtitcal of trying something else outside of traditional medicine. Then you say it is the placebo effect when I say I got relief.
I clearly know if I got relief or not. You sound just like a doctor. I recently consulted 2 specialists at MT. Sinai hospital here in New York a suppossedly pretty reputable place. I asked the first doctor why I had such a remarkable positive reaction to a certain drug that lasted for a week and then stopped. The immediate reply was it was the placebo effect. I went to the next specialist and the exact same reply came about the placeb effect. I stared the guy straight in the eye and said "come on" He looked sheepishly at me and said, "we say placebo effect when we don't know what it is"
I'm not the kind of person to be satisfied with a doctor telling nothing can be done about my tinnitus. There are answers for everything....you just have to keep asking questions.

Khaki8...The placebo effect does certainly exist, but this is not to say that it explains every unexpected result.

Pbb...They don't know how to cure it at the moment, but don't despair. The stomach ulcer cure that I cited on 2/29 should give us hope.

There is always hope. In the meantime, accepting the condition is one thing that reduces one's stress level and makes the mind focus on something other than the noise in the head. That is more than half the battle won just there.

Khaki8, no contradiction, reread my post. Anything that does not cause more grief is ok by me: I simply think that having tinnitus should not be compounded by false hopes or side effects.

PBB I don't have false hopes or side effects. I have less noise in my ear!