You all know the adage, If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true, right? Well, with T rackets, that come in the form of "clinically tested" (funny: they never provide refs for the clinical tests, huh) pills, drops, magnets, powders, you-name-them, the adage is 100% correct.
Desperation makes us hope that, maybe, just maybe, there's something to the "treatments" we find online when you put "tinnitus" in the Google search. Because, wow, they pop up in the tens, the hundreds, with the "good" ones usually on the side, where every click costs the advertiser. I won't tell you whether to click over-&-over to make them pay. Do what thou wilt.
Sadly, it amounts to this: If there was an even remotely-helpful ingestible, say, treatment for tinnitus, it would be widely used. Don't let the e-robbers make you feel like you came upon something rare that nobody knows about.
Billions of dollars are being spent worldwide in basic & applied research to address both tinnitus & hearing-loss. This is good news: If you've got a medical problem, it's great to have one that "warrants" attention because of the sheer epidemic numbers of those suffering from it.
And if Ringstop or T-Gone or the "proven to work by research in the Mid-West [sic] in the 1950s [!]" or s/t like that wanna-be treatments did a single thing to help you, your ENT depts would be all over those "healers," procuring supplies for their patients, attempting to collaborate in those "clinical trials" in order to make the magic stuff even better.
Instead, we are all warned to stay away from that junk, as dashed hopes can be worse for our mental-health than realistic expectations. Some conspiracy "theorists," usually people on the payrolls of those fly-by-night Cos, posit that it's all a plot: "Big Pharma" doesn't want tinnitus sufferers to get wind of these great cure/treatments, because they all use "natural" ingredients [fear-mongering is a "natural ingredient," too] so there's no potential money in it for the big drug Cos.
Nonsense. Snake venom's natural. Many medications that are FDA-approved in the US (starting w/the "lowly" wonder-drug Aspirin) are developed either from natural substances, or based on the operation of natural chemical processes studied in fly-by-day labs.
Also, there already are evidence-based treatments for tinnitus! The simplest is masking; it does a great job for many, & there are plenty of masking-devices to be had. Some of the simplest are right there in your room: Your computer speakers, though not attachable to your ears, can play soft hi-fidelity music that masks your T, if you don't have significant hearing-loss. Then, there's TRT, which is very involved, but it's backed by years of scientific research in medicine, neuroscience, psychology, audiology, & applied-trials. It works for some. Cognitive-behavioral therapy works wonderfully for a subset of people who become extremely depressed, anxious, & distracted by their T. And there are numerous relaxation-techniques that are research-based & help you calm down, automatically (usually) bringing down the perceived amplitude of your T. And if none of this works, some practitioners recommend that you consult with a non pill-pushing, ethical psychopharmacologist. Some antidepressants help some T-sufferers cope, particularly those who suffer from major-depression directly connected to their desperation over the incessant noise.
No, none of the evidence-based treatments "cure" T, but they help you cope; sometimes, they even enable you to be unaware of your T most of the time. Okay? They don't bring about "cures," but so what?! How many of us suffer from chronic conditions that are, in medical parlance, managed very well in various ways?! Diabetes, COPD, etc....no cure, but treatments that help--they're available.
As I type, scary-smart, sleep-deprived scientists, backed by mega-grants, are studying the auditory cortices of T-sufferers vs "controls" (those w/o it) using state-of-the art equipment. They're finding where the T's firing in our brains, folks! Some experimental drugs are already being tested; the jury's out as to whether they "tone down" the hyperactive areas of the T-sufferer's brain, but this is significant progress! A couple of decades ago, the CW in healthcare was that "tinnitus is in the inner-ear." Nope. I stand in awe as neuroscientists map the brain. Help may be at hand soon'ish!
In sum, there's help, & there's hope. Please use your T-reserved money to pay for honest treatments & let the thieves starve or find new rackets.
