Tinnitus Treatment
In many cases exposure to loud noises in the work place can lead to hearing loss and trigger the onset of tinnitus, which may affect an individual's work performance, leave or sick days, motivation and health.
Neuromonics is an Australian company that has developed a breakthrough in the treatment of tinnitus for those disturbed by their condition. Based on over 10 years of reasearch and development, and a series of clinical trials, the Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment has proven successful for over 90% of patients.
The Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment is an acoustic tinnitus treatment using individually customized patterns of sounds, incorporated within music and delivered via a medical device. Education and monitoring from a clinician are crucial components of the treatment. The Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment can:
~Provide conistent effective outcomes faster than other available treatments;
~offers early benefits in the form of relief, relaxation and control;
~reduces awareness of and disturbance from tinnitus after 4 - 6 months*
The Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment is now available throughtout the United States. For full results see clinical data from the 03/04 CTN trial in a series of three trials under the supervision of Dr. Paul Davis, involving 200 subjects as of Feb 2004. For results awaiting publication see http://www.neuromonics.com.au/
Testimonials
Chris' Story
When landscape gardener Chris Booth went out to meet up with friends for a drink one night twenty years ago, he didn't realize that it was a journey that would change his life. On the way there, a drunk driver ran into him head on. Chris was thrown into the windscreen, bashing his head on the steering wheel on the way through. While he recovered quickly from the physical injuries, he believes the accident was the start of a lifetime of tinnitus. Chris tells his story:
'Although I didn't realize it at the time, I think now that big bang on the head caused my tinnitus. In fact it took me a couple of years to register this very annoying background ringing noise in my ears the whole time. It wasn't like a noise in my ear, it was in my head, so I just thought it was something I'd have to live with. But it amplified in times of stress, or if I listened to loud music, if I went out and got drunk or if I didn't get enough sleep. It became so bad that I was in that category they talk about of people contemplating suicide.
At that stage I was a young person in my twenties and I wanted to go out to listen to live music, I wanted to stay up and drink. The tinnitus didn't stop me, partly because I didn't know enough about it to realize that that this lifestyle was going to affect it; in fact I probably actively tried to drink more to try and block it out. At least there were points when you could forget it, but then the next morning I paid doubly for that.
I was pretty anxious about it. Some people talk about not being able to get to sleep; my problem was when I woke up in the morning. I'm an early riser, so at 4am I'd wake up with this intense screaming in my ears. For years and years the first thing I would do in the morning was jump out of bed, because I couldn't stand lying in bed in that very quiet situation with this ringing in my ears.
It wasn't till I was in my late twenties that I somehow cottoned on to the fact that this was tinnitus and I could do something about it. First I went to an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist, who gave me the option of severing the hearing nerve, taking anti epileptic pills or a background noise speaker under my pillow at night. He was just firing in the dark.
Then I tried alternative therapists and naturopaths, who offered things like gingko biloba. The major benefit I got from the naturopath though was an understanding of how much stress and coffee affected my condition. I found the best ways for me to control it were relaxation, meditation, and lifestyle changes: not getting drunk, not staying up late, eating well, getting plenty of rest, doing yoga. It went well but it's a full time job doing all those things and when it gets better you don't keep it up. I'm the sort of person who's willing to put effort in but if I'm under stress I'm drinking coffee!
The Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment has given me an easier and more practical long term solution to tinnitus.
I got involved in Neuromonics during a bad period when the tinnitus was really bugging me: I'd either been listening to loud noises or I was stressed with something happening at work, probably a combination of both. It was at the point where I'd be saying half a dozen times a day 'This is driving me crazy.' I had to find something.
This must have been about two years ago. Now I'm at the stage where I only have to listen to my Processor when it's necessary. For example if I know I'm going out late, or if I have to do something noisy like use a chainsaw or leaf blower, I'll listen to it before and after. So I don't have to wait for the tinnitus to get out of control: I can do something to manage it before it happens.
It's made life more tolerable. Before I would actively avoid social situations like loud concerts or where there were lots of kids screaming; now I don't worry about that because I know no matter how loud it is I can just put the Processor on and get some relief. I often listen to the treatment when I am lying in bed at 4am, and a lot of mornings I'll fall back asleep. My life is a hundred percent better.
I still have the tinnitus and it's not something I'll ever get rid of but the treatment has trained my brain to deal with it. While at first you have to listen to the treatment for a minimum of two hours each day, these days I can often just listen to it for ten minutes and that's enough; in fact, there are times when I only have to think about the treatment and the relief kicks in!
Although I did the treatment as part of a trial, I said to the doctor, if I knew how good the results were going to be I would have begged, borrowed or stolen that money to have it done. I couldn't put a figure on the difference it has made to my life.
Simon's Story
'The tinnitus came first. I was in my last year of high school when I first noticed it, just a high pitched noise that came and went. I didn't know what caused it, I didn't go to rock concerts or night clubs and I was never near any kind of noisy machinery as a child. I didn't go to the doctor because it wasn't so bad at that time.
After my attack of vertigo I went to an ear nose and throat surgeon, who diagnosed and treated the Meniere's syndrome quite successfully. But as other tinnitus sufferers will know, the doctor said he couldn't do anything about the tinnitus.
The tinnitus got worse after I finished university. On my first day at work as a Quantity Surveyor I had a Meniere's attack - but of course when it goes, the tinnitus stays and gets even worse. It really began to affect my life. Until I started Neuromonics, I used to go home from work at lunchtime to do an hour's relaxation. After a day of battling the loud noise in my ears at work, I would go home absolutely lethargic.
By this stage I was in despair. I'd graduated from school, gone to university and my whole life was in front of me and then I was struck down with this condition, twenty four hours a day for the rest of my life.
When you're that desperate you're willing to try anything. I tried a hearing aid, which helps with my hearing (I have a hearing loss in my right ear due to the Menieres) but it didn't help with the tinnitus one bit. Then I tried gingko biloba but that didn't affect me at all. I tried a lot of the relaxation and meditation suggestions from support groups but none of them worked for me.
Then I discovered Neuromonics. My brother, a journalist, rang me at work to tell me to watch the evening news about a new tinnitus treatment. I saw the report and booked myself in the next day.
The treatment changed my life. I still have tinnitus, but it's at such a low level that I literally have to concentrate to try to hear it. I know I have something that can manage it: the treatment is very relaxing and when I get to the office in the morning and turn on the computer, I automatically put on my Neuromonics earphones too.
I've finished at the clinic now, but during the treatment I went back regularly for checks. The reports and treatment at the clinic were very informative, and it gives you ownership of your condition. They're all very nice people and make you feel very welcome, they were great.
Whenever I see people I say give it a go. Because I'm young myself, I suspect a lot of young people with tinnitus grit their teeth and bear it. And there are still a lot of doctors, GPs especially who are the first port of call for people with tinnitus, who will tell you there's nothing you can do about it. But, there is something you can do about it and this is it.