Medical treatment for tinnitus – do they work?
Tinnitus is a condition where a person perceives or hears sound or noise in the absence of real acoustic stimulation. When it comes to treating this condition, there are indeed very limited options in medical treatment for tinnitus.
So far there is no tinnitus-targeted drug or surgical treatment available. However, there is still a list of possible medical treatments that offer a certain extent of relief for millions of tinnitus sufferers worldwide.
Drugs
The medical research industry still faces challenges in the quest for a tinnitus-targeted medical treatment for tinnitus. Drugs that have been used to treat tinnitus include antidepressants, drugs to treat Alzheimer’s Disease, and lignocaine (a local anesthetic).
Some of the drugs seem to be able to alleviate tinnitus temporarily. Other drugs show variable treatment results. So far no firm evidence is available to prove the efficacy of these agents in stopping tinnitus for good. In addition, there are side effects associated with using these drugs.
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Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
CBT has shown some promise for people who want to cope with their existing tinnitus. It is often used concomitantly with noise therapy. The objective of the therapy is for the tinnitus patient to learn how to ignore the ringing or buzzing sound. The patient should be fully aware that this form of medical treatment for tinnitus does not really lessen the severity of the real symptoms, or do anything to address the root cause of the tinnitus.
Other medical interventions
There are also a few other medical interventions, such as using tinnitus maskers, exciting the brain with electromagnets placed on the head, surgical implantation of a cortical stimulator and acoustic stimulation.
Many tinnitus sufferers find benefits using a tinnitus masker, a device worn like a hearing aid that provides a low-level sound to cover up (i.e. mask) the tinnitus, in helping them to fall asleep. In fact, for people who are disturbed by tinnitus only when they want to sleep, the sound of radio, a fan, or white noise machine is usually all they need to allay the problem.
Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) is also another form of treatment that many tinnitus patients found helpful.
As you can see, people are looking in many different directions for a medical treatment for tinnitus. However, the medical science has not yet found a definite solution to the problem of tinnitus. The ultimate way to stop ringing ears permanently is by treating the underlying disorder that triggers tinnitus.
In most cases, tinnitus is caused by hearing organ damage. In these cases, treatment is usually not required, but the patient must be assured that his or her tinnitus is not caused by another treatable disease condition.
When tinnitus is caused by a more severe condition, such as aneurysm or a tumor, treatment of tinnitus then requires the main issue to be fixed first. While this does not necessarily solve the tinnitus for good, some people do experience relief from their tinnitus symptoms.
Before there a proven effective medical treatment for tinnitus is found and made available, you can learn to alleviate your tinnitus with natural tinnitus remedies.