There seems little doubt that tinnitus has been around for a very long time. For just as long tinnitus sufferers have been trying various ways to find genuine tinnitus relief. And still are.

I have been exploring the use of noise as a means of tinnitus relief. The earliest written evidence I can find appears in a medical book written by a Frenchman Jean-Marie Itard in 1821. It seems that in this book he recommended the use of sound as a cure for tinnitus and in particular he was convinced the sound of damp wood crackling on a fire was particularly effective. Well that may be so, and if you want to try it do please let me know how you get on.

These days of course, we have sound coming at us from every direction all day long if we want it, so how do we select which noises and which types of noises are likely to help us? And which may be of no use whatsoever? And just as importantly which could cause us harm and may even have been a contributor to our tinnitus in the first place?

Answering the last question first – avoid any loud noises. So what’s loud? I’ve just looked at a decibel comparison chart so I can remind you now:

Normal conversation comes in at around 60-70dB, a motorcycle is 100dB and pain begins at 125dB.Here are the scary ones – just short term exposure to 140dB can cause permanent damage and is the loudest you should ever listen to – and that is WITH ear protection. Oh, a rock concert can reach 150dB – now that is scary!

Now not too many people I know carry decibel meters around with them so my firm advice is that if it sounds loud move away and/or protect your ears.

Sound Therapy certainly can play a major part in your tinnitus relief program so it is very important to understand the difference between noises that will bring temporary relief only and those likely to have a meaningful part in your tinnitus treatment by contributing to your longer term peace and quiet.

If you use a tinnitus masker that is louder than your tinnitus noise it will work by completely overwhelming your tinnitus. The problem with this is that you are simply diverting your brain’s response away from the tinnitus to gain purely temporary relief. As soon as you turn off the outside noise your tinnitus will be getting your brain’s full focus once more, your tinnitus symptoms will almost certainly return and may even appear worse than previously.

If you use a tinnitus masker sound that is just below the level of your tinnitus this may not bring such immediate relief but it will cause your brain to respond differently. It will act as a distraction and whilst your brain continues to hear the tinnitus it doesn’t give it full attention. Your brain, if you like, gets to think of the tinnitus sound as an acceptable background noise. It gets to live with the tinnitus noise so that when the masking noise is turned off it doesn’t find the tinnitus such an irritation – and you don’t hear it so badly. Incidentally, if you hear the term habituation applied to this process it means taming – the masker noise at this lower level tames your tinnitus sound.

I hope this has been useful and helps you to manage your tinnitus treatment more effectively. The type of noise you use as a masker is also important and that will be the main topic of my next article on Tinnitus Relief therapy.

Author Bio: Whether a recent victim or a long suffering patient looking for tinnitus relief, you will find this an interesting and informative article written by a self cured past sufferer. You’ll find even more information on Tinnitus Relief at http://www.TinnitusReliefReviews.com With sincere wishes for your full recovery, Miles Hartley.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: tinnitus relief, tinnitus cure, tinnitus relief therapy, tinnitus sounds, ringinf in ears