Tinnitus is a health condition that impairs the quality of a person’s life with unpleasant buzzing, ringing, hissing, whistling, humming, roaring, or thumping sounds in and around the ears. People suffering from this kind of disorder have trouble sleeping, hearing, and working.

An alarming 50 million Americans are said to be currently suffering from this ailment aside two million who cannot function normally by reason of being incapacitated by tinnitus.

Common practiced treatments at the moment include cochlear implants, hearing aids, relaxation techniques, medications, and tinnitus retaining therapy, just to mention a few. Alternative treatments are said to be effective regarding this disorder, prominent among them are hypnosis, cranio-sacral, and acupuncture.

Although a singular effective treatment for tinnitus remains elusive, some patients attest to the effectiveness of a combination of these treatment options in bringing some measure of relief. However, the effectiveness of music therapy as a cure for tinnitus has been corroborated by new research.

The healing power of music therapy has been proven with quite a number of afflictions and diseases. For instance, its ability to speed up recovery from epilepsy, heart disease, and strokes has been verified. It is also known to improve memory, manage stress, and alleviate pain.

The latest is the claim by German researchers that it is beneficial for patients of tinnitus. This finding has its base in the discovery that reorganization of the sound perceiving part of the brain, the auditory cortex, may give rise to tinnitus.

Based on their findings, it was concluded that this form of therapy is a causal treatment that can specifically reduce tinnitus loudness despite its being enjoyable and low cost. The study only fails to ascertain if this treatment mode is effective for the different forms and severity of the disorder. Nevertheless, it does give great relief to some cases of tinnitus.

However, there some valuable tips for tinnitus patients from the American Tinnitus Association (ATA) that help suppress this disorder. Some of which are:

- Stress usually worsens a case of tinnitus, so take time to examine your lifestyle and reduce or eliminate stress induced activities in your life.

- Be selective about what you eat. Things that aggravate tinnitus like caffeine, tobacco, over-the-counter medications, prescription medications, alcohol, sugar, artificial sweeteners, and salt should be eliminated. If you must take medication, make sure it is with the approval of a health care professional.

- Some treatment takes unusually long time before yielding desired results, so do not give up prematurely on a treatment should it not work right away.

- Take the precautionary step of protecting yourself from auditory damage henceforth by staying away from loud places or using earplugs in the event you are unable to avoid the noise.

Filed under: Tinnitus Treatments

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