Jonathan Hazell replies to your emails: Jan 2005 
 

Since you receive a lot of email there's no need to respond.  I wanted
to write and thank you for your web site and to tell you that it's been
tremendously helpful to me.

Recently making singing a big part of my life, I started developing
tinnitus.  Symptoms got worse as I stressed about losing my hearing and
my singing.  Finally I saw an audiologist who was a former tinnitus
sufferer and a singer.  She performed the medical evaluation and gave me
the re-assurances that I did indeed have a benign but annoying condition
that might get more perceptible, or might spontaneously resolve.

I really wanted to take an active role, if I could, in resolving the
tinnitus, and so I started reading your web site.  Though I'm not a
trained practitioner, my skills as a systems analyst seem to have
enabled me to make good use of your material.

I seem to have managed to habituate myself to the ringing, and am
finding that it's growing less intense over time.  I attribute my
progress to having successfully enriched my sound environment, and
practiced the relaxation and retraining exercises you gave.  Your details
on the Jastreboff model and demonstration session were crucial.  So too
was your detailed exercise page.

I recognize that I'm not a trained practitioner, and that if things
start to reverse course, I will seek out the local trained TRT
practitioners that you've so helpfully listed.

Again, I thank you most sincerely for keeping your web site online and
up to date.  It made a HUGE difference in my life.

Very pleased to receive your news!
We guess that about 10% of site visitors achieve
habituation, while others are helped to some extent.
The important thing about 'skills' is the
ability to change your mind-set, and apply yourself
to a 'slow fix'. Quite a few
disciplines help in this!
Well done

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I am enquiring for my husband whose symptoms of tinnitus only began to appear 7 months ago. He has now been diagnosed with severe tinnitus caused by a tumor in his brain that is pressing on the auditory nerve in his left ear. He is legally deaf in this ear; however, the buzzing and ringing is so severe that he is no longer able to function properly. He has major migraines, cannot sleep, cannot eat, cannot concentrate and feels extremely helpless and powerless. He has lost his balance, experiences dizziness, hypertension and has also had 3 heart attacks this past summer and one stroke. His right ear has also lost hearing capability in the high and low ranges but has not deteriorated in the past 6 months.

The specialists say that there is no chemical drug to help combat this type tinnitus. Could tinnitus retraining therapy be used in his case?

Indeed it can. However your husband has a number of different symptoms which will almost certainly be difficult to separate. TRT will only help tinnitus, although the general concepts of 'avoiding dreadfulization' can be applied to any illness and the reaction to it. I have found this to be the case in tinnitus following severe head injury.

I think you both need to learn more (from the website) about the Jastreboff model and TRT so you know what you are taking on. The many problem that your husband has had will certainly have contributed to the element of threat, now attached to the tinnitus. Learning that tinnitus, even in this context, is benign, ('music of the brain') can be quite hard. But it is the case!

The more he reacts the worse it gets. That is why it is imperative to learn how to control the reaction to tinnitus. That is why drugs don't work (ever). The reaction is a security issue with the brain/body.

Your best contact is in Vancouver. She will know if there is anyone locally

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I am 41 and first noticed my tinnitus 8 years ago after an ear infection which made me temporarily deaf.  The infection was the reason my ENT consultant gave me for the tinnitus - because of the damage to my ear although my hearing is now fine!  After the initial period, I became absolutely fine with it and can honestly say I didn't notice it-even in quiet environments.  It was a complete non-problem.
 
However, 8 weeks back I went to a very loud club (didn't think of ear plugs because I had forgotten I even HAD tinnitus!) and when I woke in the morning, the noise was extremely loud, and still is.  Is my tinnitus actually louder or is it just that I've "tuned into it" again?  I'm hoping I will habituate to it as I did before

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I am wondering if you can help me.

I am desperately trying to find some help for my dad. He has Hyperacusis, I have searched the internet, looked for books and tried to get as much information as I can?

He got it about 2 months ago, at first he went into complete shock and became VERY anxious, literally getting 2 hours sleep a night. He has been to a specialist and a therapist, the specialist just told him to tape a tape of his worst noise (which is plastic bags been scrunched up) and play it back to himself.

I don't think we have the same HELP here in England as they do in America,

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Hello TRT Center,
in short: since the start in May, I have met personally my TRT counselor,
a MD, two times and talked in the phone three times. I already have made
some progress in tinnitus, but I also have varying hyperacusis symptoms that have not been effectively addressed so far.
I asked my counselor for advice regarding the use of WSG devices. DO you know of anyone in Finland to help?

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We have trained quite a few Australians on our London course
but email info@tinnitus.asn.au (the Australian Tinnitus Association)
for more uptodate information.
If you look up tinnitus using any search engine on the internet you
will immediately find at least 50 'drugs' 'cures' black boxes'
all guaranteeing to get rid of tinnitus. There is not, however
a quick fix for tinnitus, and all those involved in serious tinnitus
research agree on this (including those not doing TRT!).
It is very easy to get desperate tinnitus sufferers to part with their
money. None of these so called cures have any proper studies
showing them to be better than placebo (sugar pills). Beginning TRT
using the information on our site, properly, cost you nothing
except your time, and it DOES work!

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Greetings,

Thank you for maintaining a site that gives a fresh
perspective on tinnitus.  I damaged my hearing when I
was a teenager playing in bands, going to loud
concerts, and otherwise not caring about my hearing.
However, the resulting tinnitus did not persist and I
did not notice it until an event that caused my ears
to ring brought it back about three months ago.

Are you saying that I had tinnitus since I was in high
school?  Or that my current tinnitus is just in my
head? 

The information you have on your website seems
to correlate with my experience and you gave a much
better explanation than the ear doctor I saw again
recently, however, I am still rather hopeless about
the situation...I want my hearing ("hearing" - or
rather perception) to be like it was before.  I did
not have constant tinnitus before the most recent
traumatic event, and I should have.  Now it's not
going away.  

#basically you are saying, I am constantly aware of tinnitus
now and I want it to go away. TRT is the treatment
and you need to study the Jastreboff model hard
and follow the exercises and sound enrichment advise
on the website. The sound is irrelevant, what matters is your reaction to it
(two completely separate things).

You may well need a TRT trained therapist to help you. Start with the 'demo' download
with the accompanying illustrations. I am afraid that 'skimming through' looking for
a 'one-liner' doesn't work.

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I developed tinnitus in 1999 after realizing that i had suffered from hypercusis also. The white noise training with a radio on a blank air station helped quite a bit. but what help the most was a prescription for Elavil or (Amtriptilin-generic). this relieved the constant dull ache in my head. Its was like a miracle and is very cheap medicine. Have also used St. Johns wort to relieve depression but now I am on Zoloft for depression and the elavil for the pain in my head. ( Do not mix Zoloft and St Johns Wort, the result is you can not get anything done. Too relaxed) Zoloft costs quite a bit but is worth it. Finally I feel like I am almost cured with these two Medications. The first couples years are the hardest to deal with the noise, pain and depression but it gets so very much better with these two medications.

Get started on these two meds as soon as possible. The Elavil for me had no side effects at all. The only side effect of Zoloft I had is sexual coolness.

The depression can be very severe and wished I could have known about these treatments earlier. But I am doing wonderful now . Just wanted other sufferers to know there is hope to feel normal and happy again . write if you like. and good luck. 

#I am very glad that you found a solution to the problem of your depression.
Most probably the tinnitus and hyperacusis were symptoms of this, as they sometimes are.
Please be very careful when advising others, as your case is very individual (indeed
everyone is) thats why TRT is always 1:1. It's very tempting to advertise your success
as a cure all, but it can be devastating for those who have a very different underlying
pathology. Also some of these drugs are highly addictive for SOME people.
Nevertheless, thanks for writing, and I'm very happy for your evident
improvement in life quality.........the holy grail!

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I have 2 yr old baby, born extremely premature who cannot tolerate the hoover. In last 4 weeks he cries and vomits whenever he hears a child cry/squeal. He also cannot tolerate the smell of some cleaning materials especially bleach, he vomits within seconds on smelling it! Am awaiting appointment to get hearing checked, do you have any suggestions?

#certainly hyperacusis - probably some global hypersensitivity;
not uncommon in babies, especially when thrust into a hostile
environment too soon, and if kept in too quiet an environment
without constant stimulation.

Make sure sound enrichment present 24 hours a day.
and follow the rules on website for adults (download).
Its very likely you are trying to avoid making sounds,
this increases sensitivity. When eventually desensitizing with the hoover
make sure that the noise level / distance from baby is very
slowly increased (from practically nothing), and that someone is providing cuddles and
reassurance all the time, so that the hoover sound is conditioned with
love and safety. Possibly a  phobic training experience he/she had
was exactly the opposite. Often this occurs in a neonatal care unit where
the environment is one of constant sudden unpredictable loud
warning signals, (necessary for life support!).

We have treated many babies and small children with WNGs
the youngest was 2 1/2 years.

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11.8.2004
earlier letters