Teen Inventors Fight Tinnitus(scientificamerican.com)
scientificamerican.com
Teen Inventors Fight Tinnitus
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=teen-inventors-fight-tinnitus-09-09-28
20 comments
According to their site, they claim to be treating "temporary tinnitus" of the kind that is brought on by exposure to loud sounds. Being a "temporary" symptom, I'm assuming that they are claiming to relieve it sooner than it would otherwise clear up naturally -- that's frequently an area where medical quacks operate.
Here is a link from Wikipedia to a site at UC-Irvine http://today.uci.edu/iframe.php?p=/news/release_detail_ifram... about substantially the same thing and you can listen to a sample of the therapeutic sound for free.
I also have the chronic (and unexplained) kind of tinnitus and my understanding is that there is no treatment for it. I know it can be quite bothersome for some people.
Here is a link from Wikipedia to a site at UC-Irvine http://today.uci.edu/iframe.php?p=/news/release_detail_ifram... about substantially the same thing and you can listen to a sample of the therapeutic sound for free.
I also have the chronic (and unexplained) kind of tinnitus and my understanding is that there is no treatment for it. I know it can be quite bothersome for some people.
Have you and brodie tried Ostheopathy? Anyways I think there are all kinds of things that can cause tinnitus, but present day medicine seems to have a problem with diagnosing the cause, so you are stuck with experimenting yourself. Ostheopathy and Yoga could alleviate the varieties caused from stress and "jammed bones" (don't know how to express it in english).
present day medicine seems to have a problem with diagnosing the cause
Not true, the cause is well understood. How to fix it is another matter.
"jammed bones" (don't know how to express it in english).
It's pronounced "Voodoo placebo"
Not true, the cause is well understood. How to fix it is another matter.
"jammed bones" (don't know how to express it in english).
It's pronounced "Voodoo placebo"
So what is "the" cause?
As for the "jammed bones", I wasn't actually referring to the ostheopathy stuff, but to nerves that are caught between bones in the spine (again, I can not explain it better in english). This is something "normal doctors" consider as a cause, so I don't think "voodoo" does it justice.
As for ostheopathy, as some doctors say: who cures is right.
As for the "jammed bones", I wasn't actually referring to the ostheopathy stuff, but to nerves that are caught between bones in the spine (again, I can not explain it better in english). This is something "normal doctors" consider as a cause, so I don't think "voodoo" does it justice.
As for ostheopathy, as some doctors say: who cures is right.
I haven't tried either of those things and frankly I don't think it's likely that either would be effective, at least based on the explanations I've seen for them. They seem to be based on fixing problems (e.g. misalignment of bones and nerves or who knows what) that I don't believe have a basis in objective reality. On the other hand if people get relief from them I can't argue with it -- you can only go with what people report. As the old saying goes: believing is seeing.
So you think bones and nerves don't have a basis in reality? What about "lumbago" - I mean, even "normal doctors" admit that nerves can get caught up in bones and cause problems?
I am surprised about the strong rejection of this suggestion. It is not homeopathy - I just checked Wikipedia and it seems to suggest there are at least some positive studies for Ostheopathy. Also giving Ostheopathy a try seems to be far less intrusive and less expensive than some other stuff "normal doctors" throw at you.
Sorry for going on about it, but I am just really surprised. I have another friend who has endured years of experimenting on her knee from normal doctors (usually not helpful). I don't know why she doesn't try Ostheopathy at least once - it would be neither more painful, time expensive nor money expensive than all the other stuff she went through.
I can imagine that maybe people are afraid of learning they wasted their time on the wrong thing or whatever. If that fear is worse than their plight, fine.
One problem is finding a good Ostheopath, though. I am not sure how one would go about it, without personal recommendations. It probably is not a label protected by the state, so finding a trustworthy practitioner would require some research.
(Yoga is even less expensive, at 10€ a pop - again a problem of finding a good class, though).
I am surprised about the strong rejection of this suggestion. It is not homeopathy - I just checked Wikipedia and it seems to suggest there are at least some positive studies for Ostheopathy. Also giving Ostheopathy a try seems to be far less intrusive and less expensive than some other stuff "normal doctors" throw at you.
Sorry for going on about it, but I am just really surprised. I have another friend who has endured years of experimenting on her knee from normal doctors (usually not helpful). I don't know why she doesn't try Ostheopathy at least once - it would be neither more painful, time expensive nor money expensive than all the other stuff she went through.
I can imagine that maybe people are afraid of learning they wasted their time on the wrong thing or whatever. If that fear is worse than their plight, fine.
One problem is finding a good Ostheopath, though. I am not sure how one would go about it, without personal recommendations. It probably is not a label protected by the state, so finding a trustworthy practitioner would require some research.
(Yoga is even less expensive, at 10€ a pop - again a problem of finding a good class, though).
As far as I can see, they take about 3 pounds to try it out.
If there is a 10% change that it will work, will 30 pounds be worth it to you?
If there is a 10% change that it will work, will 30 pounds be worth it to you?
The problem is... that's exactly how quacks operate.
So potentially you could use an iPod to fix the damage caused by an iPod.
Personally I choose not to use earbuds or even earphones because the dB level produced in the ear is far too high. I prefer headphones (on ear or over ear) with noise cancelling, I barely need the volume up to get the feeling of loudness as they better produce bass noises and the most damage done to our ears is typically by high-frequency noise that most people don't desire when listening to music.
Personally I choose not to use earbuds or even earphones because the dB level produced in the ear is far too high. I prefer headphones (on ear or over ear) with noise cancelling, I barely need the volume up to get the feeling of loudness as they better produce bass noises and the most damage done to our ears is typically by high-frequency noise that most people don't desire when listening to music.
"But those hairs can get stuck in a bent position."
In tinnitus, the hair cells beneath their stereocilia hair component die, and they don't readily regenerate, just like brain cells.
I am really skeptical of this treatment for noise induced permanent hearing loss.
In tinnitus, the hair cells beneath their stereocilia hair component die, and they don't readily regenerate, just like brain cells.
I am really skeptical of this treatment for noise induced permanent hearing loss.
Tinnitus is not necessarily caused by dying cells or permanent hearing loss. Tinnitus is merely the name for a false perception of sound in the ears (normally but not always a ringing sound) and can be caused by a number of things. This treatment is not intended to cure hearing loss but simply to relieve tinnitus.
Edit: well that's the impression I had based on the article, but at their actual site (restoredhearing.ie) they make claims like "restore hearing sensitivity back to the level it was before the damage was incurred" which sound rather dubious.
Edit: well that's the impression I had based on the article, but at their actual site (restoredhearing.ie) they make claims like "restore hearing sensitivity back to the level it was before the damage was incurred" which sound rather dubious.
It's basically a scam. Temporary threshold shifts revert to normalized hearing from 3 hours to 3 days. Restoration is going to happen anyway: it's like waving a leaf over your stomach for a stomach ache.
Their business is based on selling an mp3? If the music industry is any guide, it won't be long before their therapeutic sound recording is all over the file-sharing networks.
As I write this, someone is pressing an acetate of a grime/dubstep remix of the Tinnitus Treatment song that they will play during their second club set tonight.
Do not underestimate the commercial power of human stupidity; http://www.i-doser.com/
First Steorn, and now this. I apologize on behalf of my nation :(
No apologies necessary. After all of Ireland's contributions of culture, music, brewing and -- in my opinion at least -- some of the prettiest girls in the world, you are entitled to the occasional lapse.
Where is the control group?
They seem to have tested this cure for temporary Tinnitus. But I can easily see this being a placebo effect. Since this was a temporary condition they were trying to alleviate, would it have gone down to the same degree just from waiting?
They seem to have tested this cure for temporary Tinnitus. But I can easily see this being a placebo effect. Since this was a temporary condition they were trying to alleviate, would it have gone down to the same degree just from waiting?
Especially given the fact that so many of the "conventional" treatments for tinnitus (like conditioning) seem more psychological than medical.
I suffer from chronic tinnitus myself, and I would be a changed man if I could get the ringing to go away. But I'm also pretty skeptical of any treatments that claim to reduce ringing, considering everything I've heard from doctors is, "you're stuck with it."