Posted on 03/25/2011 6:55:04 AM PDT by Red Badger
A constant annoying ringing in the ears – called tinnitus - didn't go away when researchers tried zapping patients' heads with magnetic waves in a recent study.
The researchers still think magnetic therapy could work, if they can find the right part of the brain to apply it to.
"We haven't found the sweet spot yet," said Dr. Jay Piccirillo, the lead author of the study and a professor of ear, nose and throat surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri.
Tinnitus is caused by a "phantom" sound, thought to be the result of mis-wired brain cells. The condition is common. One study estimated that 50 million Americans experience chronic ringing in their ears at some point in their lives. Piccirillo said most people are not bothered by the ringing. A very small fraction of people are crippled by the sound, however. Some become depressed, or even suicidal.
Doctors who treated the patients in the current study generated magnetic waves outside each person's head that traveled through the skull into the brain; the waves would temporarily rewire the brain's circuits. Several studies in Europe have found that sessions of such magnetic therapy can help relieve ear ringing.
In the United States, sending magnetic waves to the brain is approved for use in patients with depression, but it is only experimental for tinnitus. Piccirillo and his colleagues recruited 14 patients who were severely bothered by the ringing in their ears.
All of them received 10 treatments with a magnet over a 2-week period, and another 10 sessions over another 2 weeks using a fake magnet. The order of the 2-week periods was flipped in half of the patients.
After the treatments, the ringing was no better than before.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“She tells me ringing in the ears has to do with liver/kidney dysfunction.”
Maybe some truth there ... I have had gout for close to 20 years and the meds I’m told are bad for your liver/kidney, long term. I only use Indocin when I have a gout attack.
The ringing has only been in the last 6 months or so. I am 56.
Mine started after an inner ear infection. I always thought it was damage to the Cilia or whatever they’re called that really can’t be repaired.
This research is sounding like Mesmerism. Bunk.
Boiler Technician, 1978-84 US Navy
Hotel Congress, Tucson, AZ
Los Lobos
1998
No place to stand so I sat on the riser which held a few big Marshall stacks.
Tinnitus is annoying but no debilitating, looking for treatment
Try taking a high quality fish oil supplement, not a cheap drugstore one from China but something clean and respected like Nordic Naturals. Try to reduce your Omega 6 fats and increase your Omega 3s. My husband did this for health and his chronic tinnitus disappeared!
I just live with it, too.
That’s all we can do for now.
Maybe the science will catch up eventually and we may get some relief before we die...........
I’m glad it works for you.
In January, I was sitting outside with 2 friends next to the Colorado River in Parker, AZ.
A jet swooped down and scared us half to death and the pilot buzzed down on us twice. One friend said she could see details on the plane. I ducked and covered my head with my arms.
Two of us were sick to our stomach and shaking for hours. We really had a bad reaction from this incident.
Since that day, I have had a high pitched ringing in my ears.
I figure some little hot-shot pilot decided to have some fun with some old folks. Wish I could find him and tell him about my lack of sleep and what he did with his little stunt. I am miserable with this.
I tried to volunteer for this study back when it started, but I lived too far away...............
Have you been to see an ear dr? Perhaps you have a pierced ear drum or something?
In order for a veteran to receive service connected compensation for tinnitus, the noise must be constant, in both ears. Must have originated while on active duty. Doctor will inquire as to your military duties. Gun crew. Helicopter crew/repair. Treadhead,etc.
The VA doc asked me if I thought my tinnitus was related more to gunfire or helicopters and I said,”both.” He then asked me if I was ever in combat and I said,”Yes.” He then asked me if it had affected my hearing and I said,”HUH?”
Oddly enough, VA only grants a maximum of 10% regardless of degree/intensity of a patients tinnitus. And that is total-not 10% per ear. Rather strange...
I tried them, too. They turned me down...........
I got my tinnitus from working the flight deck of aircraft carriers...the noise I hear is the high pitched whine of jet engines
Yes, you were the victim of a show-off pilot or one who thought he was giving you a “thrill”.
Luke AFB, USAF training base for F-16s is well within range of your location.
Your symptoms that day are not uncommon to many of us who worked on jet engines.
I was a jet engine mechanic in the AF for close to 20 years.
My first encounter with an afterburning engine left me nauseous and weak for a day or two. I would feel the same each time, but after a while, not so bad. Then again, it’s not like it was everyday.
I was told that the intense vibrations generated by the engine and my proximity to them are what caused it.
Tinnitus? Well, after working on flightlines around the world, loud music, etc. I have it.
Sometimes it’s noticeable, sometimes not. I guess folks are affected in various ways.
Might be worth a go. Acupuncturists come in two varieties, clinicians for chronic problems, and MDs for acute and arcane problems.
I’ve been to a half dozen different ones over the years. The most dramatic was when I had injured my back on vacation, and was in agony from the base of my skull to my tailbone for two days. Barely able to get up on her table, in 15 minutes the pain was gone.
It doesn’t take a whole lot of that to get your attention.
In any event, give it a whirl, and hope for the best. It’s a pretty common problem, so I’d try the clinician first, as they are less expensive.
they did me 10% on both ears..
Y’all should check out magnesium chloride. The magnesium deficit you probably have might prohibit healing in the ears.
So you get 20% for tinnitus? Were there other mitigating conditions?
F16′s Rear
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