What Are The New Tinnitus Treatments?

Tinnitus affects a large percentage of people with hearing loss, but it bothers many other people as well.  More older people have it than younger ones, but anyone can have it, especially after exposure to loud noises or after a head injury.  There have always been methods of dealing with the disorder.  Now, it seems that new tinnitus treatments are almost commonplace. 

Many of the new tinnitus treatments involve surgery or some type of technology.  One type of surgery available is the stapedectomy.  This is a surgery to correct problems in the inner ear.  Half of the tinnitus sufferers who have this procedure will gain some relief within weeks.

Low level lasers have been used to create a positive biological response in the inner ear.  This is called transmeatal irradiation therapy.  This method seems to work best when the tinnitus sufferer has just begun to have symptoms.  After awhile, the inner hair cells die and the laser won’t help them.  This technology does, though, show promise as a new tinnitus treatment.

Vibration therapy treatment is one of the exciting new tinnitus treatments.  In it, mechanical vibrations are applied to repair damaged nerve endings in the inner ear.  This is done via a probe place on the mastoid bone behind the patient’s ear.  A broadband sound is emitted and this increases energy to the area that was harmed.  It is being hailed as an effective new tinnitus treatment.

Durable medical equipment is used in electrical nerve stimulation.  In this new tinnitus treatment, a small charge of electricity is directed into the nerves of the auditory system.  There is some speculation that devices that deliver a similar charge can be surgically implanted in future use of the technology.
 
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation also involves the use of electricity.  An electric current is passed through the scalp and skull and into the brain.  This is repeated at several times a second.  At first, some of the subjects had seizures, but that rarely happens since improvements to the system.  The unfortunate thing is that, so far, the relief from tinnitus tends to only last a couple of weeks after the treatment.  It is not one of the more promising new tinnitus treatments.

Wobenzym therapy is yet another of the new tinnitus treatments.  In this method, enzymes are used to bring relief to a patient’s tinnitus.  Interestingly enough, these enzymes were originally used for the treatment of certain cancers. 

There are all kinds of methods to try to resolve the problem of tinnitus.  Some have been around for ages. Some are more recent.  Most of the new tinnitus treatments are considered experimental and therefore are not covered by insurance.  But, if you have the means to, you just might want to give one of them a try.