Several years ago, as I recall, after I had a bout with constipation, i began suffering "tinitus" (ringing in the ear). It has been several years now and the ringing is always constant. Anyone have any luck with dealing with tenitus, or know of any methods of healing?

thanks, zusha in Israel

I've had tinnitus for the last 15 years. The only thing that has helped it is taking ginkgo biloba. Ginkgo biloba reduced the volume by about half, and made it much easier to live with. I was a 100% raw food vegan for 2 and 1/2 years, and love raw foods and the benefits, but it did not help with the tinnitus. I did two extended water fasts, 3 and 1/2 weeks each, one year apart - this cured my asthma, but it did not help my tinnitus.

I am still looking for the magic cure. I did the 80-10-10 diet, but only for 3 months. Maybe if I had done it longer it would have helped.

I learned about ginkgo biloba on tinnitus websites. It works for a lot of people, but not everyone.

Best of luck!

Zusha & Mindy,

I haven't tried ginko. I might give that a try. The things I have tried that have worked really well for me are:

* tone therapy, works on the same principle as noise cancelling headphones. You play tone that cancels out or crosses out the ringing you are experiencing in your inner ear. There's good news and bad news with the tone therapy. The bad news is that most of the tone treatments are expensive and frequently have to be adjusted by an ear, nose and throat specialist. The good news is that there is a free website where you can try out 5 of the most common tones that help tinnitus sufferers. The URL is [earsoundhelp.com] You may need to try each of the five tones separately to find out which tone provides the most relief. I benefit the most of tone 3 and tone 4. I have downloaded these on to my MP3 so I can get relief when I need it. It's not a cure. But it really really cuts down on the ringing for me. Make sure your speakers are set at a comfortable listening level. The ring doesn't need to be very loud to work, at least for me.

* homeopathy I use ear drops called Ring Relief. I'm not sure if it really provides any relief or not. It takes at least 3 months to tell. I'm more inclined to pitch it and try the ginko you recommend.

* social support I am a member of a group on Yahoo for tinnitus sufferers. [health.groups.yahoo.com] Some good advice there. That's how I learned about earsoundhelp.

* supplements I've been advised to try tryptophan and melatonin and take melatonin and it works ok in conjunction with the tone therapy. I may try bioflavinoids next. Some good reports on Amazon.

Unfortunately, there is no cure. Since tinnitus is a symptom rather than a disease, it's tough to manage. But we aren't helpless either. Best of luck to you. If you find something that works, report back and us know.

Paul

I have mild tinnitus and I use noise canceling techniques, especially when I am sleeping and it is very quiet. I have heard reports that calcium bentonite clay works on tinnitus but I haven't really gotten serious about using it for that.

I suppose I should get more proactive about it before it would progress to a "noisier" state. I have heard that chocolate and fatty foods can aggravate the condition.

I didn't know about ginko being used for it either - seems that ginko covers quite a plethora of ailments!

Someone I knew was complaining of it and I looked it up in Wrong Diagnosis and they list so many causes that it will give you carpal tunel to scroll down them:
[www.wrongdiagnosis.com]
Don't take that link seriously, ha, ha.

Mayo Clinic has a shorter list and probably focuses on the major causes but there is still a wide variety of causes from medicines to earwax. Since you mentioned that you had a bout of constipation, maybe you took something for it that triggered it? Even antibiotics and high doses of asprin are listed as causes.
[www.mayoclinic.com]

Holistic treatments:
[www.holisticonline.com]

Paul,

What a great list! Thanks for sharing. I am particularly intrigued by the tone therapy, and will check out the website.

It was 14 years ago that I was searching the internet for tinnitus cures, funny how ginkgo is no longer mentioned. I would test it to make sure I wasn't just "imagining" that it was helping. I would stop taking it, and sure enough the tinnitus would worsen. Then I would start taking it again, and it always helped. Sometimes I would have to stop taking it because ginkgo is expensive and I couldn't always afford it.

I have pretty much come to peace with my tinnitus, it really drove me crazy at first. Reducing the volume helps, of course. But now that I know about tone therapy, I will try that too.

Thanks again. Love your signature.

Mindy

thanks for all the responses, but it seems that the bottom line of all your replys is that nothing is really working....which is what I suspected anyway....oh, well i'll just continue eating healthy and mainly raw foods and who knows maybe one day.....

zusha, israel

I will ask my herbalist for you, hes really good and often has answers that isnt mainstream.

zuzuzuzu50 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> thanks for all the responses, but it seems that
> the bottom line of all your replys is that nothing
> is really working....which is what I suspected
> anyway....oh, well i'll just continue eating
> healthy and mainly raw foods and who knows maybe
> one day.....
>
> zusha, israel

Zusha,

I guess it depends on what you mean by "working". If you mean "cure", I'd agree there isn't one. But, can tinnitus be treated to reduce the ringing? Absolutely. It may not always be the same answer for everyone since tinnitus is a symptom with many causes, not a disease. Best.

Paul

p.s. give the tone therapy a try, see if it helps. I'm going to give Mindy's ginko a shot.

iron deficiency can cause ringing in the ears