Posted on 09/27/2004 1:18:43 PM PDT by Red Badger
St. Louis, Aug. 23, 2004 — Millions of people with severe tinnitus currently have little hope for quick relief from the unrelenting ringing or buzzing noises the disorder produces. But scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suspect a drug already approved for seizure disorders and chronic nerve pain also can help silence the noises that plague tinnitus patients.
The team is recruiting volunteers for the first large study of the potential treatment.
“This trial is very exciting because we are studying a drug that may have direct impact on tinnitus,” says principal investigator Jay F. Piccirillo, M.D., a Washington University otolaryngologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “All other medications currently used for this condition just work on the negative effects of tinnitus, like sleep disturbance and anxiety. But if this trial is successful, it could lead to a new type of treatment option.”
According to the American Tinnitus Association, more than 50 million Americans have tinnitus, about 2 million of whom are so severely affected that they cannot function properly. However, there currently is no direct pharmaceutical treatment for tinnitus approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Typically used for seizures and chronic nerve pain, gabapentin is known to have few drug interactions and to be well tolerated by most patients. Research on tinnitus suggests the condition may be similar to chronic nerve pain, so School of Medicine researchers hypothesized that gabapentin’s benefits might also mitigate symptoms of tinnitus.
According to their preliminary data, they were right: Gabapentin significantly reduced the symptoms of severe tinnitus in a small group of patients. The team now is recruiting participants so they can test the drug in a larger population.
Volunteers between 18 and 70 years old whose tinnitus has interfered with their daily activities for at least six months may be eligible. Participants will be randomly assigned to take either the drug gabapentin or an inactive, placebo pill for eight weeks. The medication and physical examination are free of charge.
For more information, call Joshua Finnell at (314) 362-4356. ###
Funding from the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders.
Washington University School of Medicine’s full-time and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked second in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
Affiliated with Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital, Members of BJC HealthCare.sm
I'm glad I don't have tinnitus. One time I had ringing in my ears for 2 weeks then it went away.
I am plagued by tinnitus, but there's no way I will take a drug designed for "seizure disorders and chronic nerve pain".
I'll just put up with the tinnitus.
At this point in my life I'd Take cyanide if they told me it would help!.......
Why are you shouting? ;)
I suppose you have to go to St. Louis to do this?
I take Mirapex (a drug indicated to treat Parkinson's) for my sleep disorder. Works great.
Agreed. I'm legally deaf and suffer from moderate-severe tinnitus in my left ear. But taking prescription drugs often creates new problems for every old problem that they solve. I'll live with the ringing.
As a rock guitarist of over 30 years AND a former AF pilot (get around KC-135's, B-52's, T-37's and such.....you'll pay the price), I have tinnitus like ALL hell; have for years.
I thought it was from all the other FReepers pinging me?
Now, if it was tinnitush....
I'm a tryin!
Gabepentrin Ear Ring Ping
Eh? I can't hear you for all this racket!.....
ZZZZZZZZZZZZWHATZZZZZZZZZZZ????
I don't know, the article doesn't say. I believe most studies of this type contact your own doctor and the drugs are issued through them. The study is for eight weeks, so 56 pills wouldn't take much time.....
I've had it really bad for years. Reading this article is the first time I've noticed the ringing in about two weeks. Thanks a million. Now it's going to be like a song I can't get out of my head.
FYI
< Reading this article is the first time I've noticed the ringing in about two weeks. Thanks a million. Now it's going to be like a song I can't get out of my head. >
LOL...me too. The crickets are having a convention today.
Yeah, mine is somewhere between crickets and bees. I'd love to have just 5 minutes of total silence just to see what it is like.
I have it due to a an arthritic TMJ (for which I refuse to have surgery), it's so loud sometimes I have to fall asleep with the Tv on.
I started taking gabapentin for a torn disk in my back, and voila! ear noise gone.
No side effects from the drug either.
I got a very bad case of it after using Vioxx. My doctor assured me that it couldn't be the Vioxx then I found out that Vioxx may cause caridac problems, ringing in the ears, etc. It's been two years and I've still got it and for the first few months I thought I was going to go nuts. The only advice they gave me was "learn to live with it". Thanks guys.
I've learned to live with it for 30 years!....
Probably has side effects like sexual dysfunction or something like that. No more ringing in my ears but now my weiner doesnt work. : (
You mean this drug is available right now? I'm headed for my dr's office!
DAMN YOU!!! Now it's that freaking song AND the ringing.
Boy howdy! I think about silence OFTEN!
I only do what the crickets in my head tell me to do.....and right now they are not very happy!......
I would love to reduce my Tinnitus, I left a phone message for Johsua.
I had somewhat forgotten I had the ringing in my ears until you reminded me of it. I too am a jammer, playing in live metal bands for years seems to have had some consequences.
Sorry, just tryin to help......
I acquired some pretty intense chronic tinnitis from years of exposure in missile launch control centers, duty on military aircraft and working in mobile control centers with loud air conditioning and generators. While I have learned to pretty much tune it out it is still ever present. A medication might be attractive, depending on the side effects.
No thanks!
I'm 24 and have been playing guitar for about 10 years. I go to a lot of concerts and I'm also into guns. Two very loud hobbies!
I notice a slight ringing sometimes but it usually either goes away or I can't seem to focus on it after a bit (thank God).
I always wear hearing protection when I go shooting but not always when our band plays. We try to keep a moderate volume at rehersals but I'm sure you'll agree, it is impossible to play a show with hearing protection! All I can hear when I'm not wearing it is my bass and the drums anyways!
Bump.
Have had this maddening disorder all my life. I'll take anything that could possibly help me. Wonder if it will help with the chronic pain from diabetic neuropathy.
ha ha ha! yep that's what it sounds like.
I block it out of my conscious 100% of the time...until this thread that is. Now it's relentlessly ringing away!
Little John
I've had tinnitus for the past 40 years! Have had my head x-rayed all over the world, including Japan, and no one was ever able to come up with a solution. When docs suggested I try an Iraqi physician decapitation came to mind and I abstained. I've gotten so used to the damn thing that I would miss it if it ever disappeared!
I think my tinnitus is a combination of frequencies similar to my wife's voice. ("Huh, what?")
Just crank up the stereo and put on "MacArthur's Park", followed by "You Light Up My Life" and "Mandy".
You'll forget all about "Feelings" in no time!
Have you seen an oto-neurologist or neuro-otologist? There are a couple of coping strategies which have helped my severe case--white noise therapy (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy-TRT) and meds to help with the anxiety which is often induced by the T. Go to American Tinnitus Association.
My tinnitus stopped for good. I had it for a couple months.
It seemed to go away when I cut my salt intake and took B vitamins, but then maybe it was going to go away anyway.
Can't ever remember a minute of my life without this constant racket in my head. I'm eager to find out what its like.
I'm 51, a student of the classical guitar and have been a shooter all my life. I've been a serious shooter for the past 13 years. I became aware of my tinnitus 7 months ago following a loud church service. The ring is 24/7 and it was initially quite disabling. However, with the help of an oto-neurologist I'm able to function and hope to habituate to the ring in time.
When shooting I "always" wore plugs and muffs and can recall only a handfull of exposures when I was unprotected. All gun fire does permanent damage to the cilia in the cochlea. But, I shot alot. Multi-day courses, culminating in many hundreds of hours of formal training in handgun, defensive shotgun, tactical carbine and long range precision rifle. The irony--I think a loud church service I attended 7 months ago is the straw which broke the camel's back. A ring started then and has never stopped.
For some of us the ring is [unconciously] perceived as very threatening and initiates a conditioned response (fight or flight). The autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is also stimulated, feedsbacks into the amygdala and increases the perceived volume of the ring. (I think I've correctly stated LeDoux's view in the "Emotional Brain.") Most people who suffer from T (85%) can habituate the sound, relegating it to the host of other background noises. But the 15% who perceive the sound as a threat cannot. That's where TRT (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy) comes into play and in my case may permit me to habituate to the ring over a 1.5/2.0 year period. (80%+ have some degree of success.)
I'm cautiously resuming my shooting avocation, under my Dr's oversight. I use the best plugs I can find (NRR 33)and very carefully insert them. In the past I was not as careful. I also wear the best [passive] muffs I can find (NRR 29). It is now clear to me that plugs or muffs by themselves are not sufficient protection against ported weapons and short barrelled rifles whose sound intensity can exceed 170dB. Noise impulses >140dB are instantly damaging to your hearing. A muff rated an NRR 25 may, if properly worn with a good seal, attenuate the impulse by its OSHA rating down to 145dB or better (see below). If you wear eyeglasses (who doesn't wear eye protection at a range), the NRR will be reduced slightly by the leakage in the breakage of the ear cup seal caused by the frame. Long hair? A cap? All these detract. The upside--the OHSA rating is for continuous noise, not impulse noise, which plugs and muffs do a better job of attenuating (6-18dB better according to Dr. William Kramer--a Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science and a scientist dedicated to Hearing Conservation.)
Ear plugs are notoriously difficult to insert properly. Look for "occlusion"--that perception of a stuffy head--for a proper fit. Ears are different sizes. Some plugs may not be wide enough or long enough. For kids, they may be too big, too long. (E-A-R makes PVC plugs of various sizes). I use the Howard Leight "orange" plugs. I seem to be able to insert them properly. I'm also experimenting with some E-A-R PVC plugs I received. They are very comfortable and seem to breath better than the polyurethane plugs (a good thing here in Arizona during the summers), although their NRR rating is slightly less (NRR 29).
Finally, I limit my shooting/exposure time to give my ears a break. They may not be as resilient as healthy ears for whatever the reason--existing damage, age, .... I started with 20 minutes. I'm up to 80 minutes (with 3 target breaks) during non-prime time. I look for after-effects (increased ringing, fullness in the ears, pain) to see if I've overdone it. I've also been advised by my oto-neurologist to take a shooter's anti-oxidant "cocktail" 3 days before/after the shooting event consisting, among other things, of N-acetyl-cysteine which is also thought to be helpfull in protecting the ears (along with a good multi consisting of magnesium, vitamin-E, vitamin-C).
When I go to concerts or church I wear musician's plugs when the music gets loud. These attenuate 12-20dB while preserving the full audio spectrum (unlike the shooter's plugs.) It's the price I pay to not furthur aggravate the tinnitus.
Hindsight is 20/20. These are things I should have done. But these are what I do now so that I can continue to enjoy Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. I've returned to shooting very cautiously. I avoid the busiest days/times at the range and have been shooting a muzzle loader (which is marginally quieter (on average -3dB than my other centerfire weapons.) Time will tell what I can do safely.
The June 2002 issue of "Tinnitus Today" has an excellent article my Dr. William Kramer on "Gunfire Noise and Hearing Protection." (See back issues .
I've gone on at length, but the time seemed ripe to share this with you and hopefully others will benefit.
thanks for that.
Thanks for your thoughts. As I said I always wear hearing protection when shooting. I have often thought of wearing both plugs AND muffs but haven't tried it yet.
The worst part is that it is relatively impossible to wear hearing protection at the shows I'm playing. At the last concert, I could only hear my own instrument and the drums, I'm also supposed to be hearing guitars and vocals. That is one area that is, at least for now, an unavoidable occupational hazard. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do about it!
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