Desperate for Tinnitus Relief? These Treatments Help Quiet the Ringing in Your Ears
Plus find out how one woman finally eased her symptoms after years of suffering
Key Takeaways
- Tinnitus affects over 50 million Americans, but relief is possible with the right treatments.
- Sound therapy, CBT and hearing aids can significantly reduce ringing in the ears.
- A personalized mix of treatments often works best to quiet tinnitus symptoms.
If you’ve ever laid awake at night listening to a high-pitched ringing, buzzing or whooshing that no one else can hear, you know how much it can disrupt your life. More than 50 million U.S. adults live with the condition called tinnitus. And while it can feel maddening, doctors say real tinnitus relief is possible when you find the right combination of treatments. One Woman’s World reader even pieced together her own approach after years of being dismissed, and her story offers hope to anyone struggling with that stubborn inner soundtrack. Keep scrolling to discover the treatment options that really work.
What is tinnitus?
“Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of sound, and the primary symptom is hearing something other people aren’t able to hear,” explains Hamid Djalilian, MD, an otolaryngologist, tinnitus specialist, chief medical advisor of NeuroMed Tinnitus Clinic and a professor of otolaryngology at the UC Irvine School of Medicine.
According to the American Tinnitus Association, tinnitus is an audiological and neurological condition that can be acute, temporary or chronic. It can occur in one or both ears, or seemingly inside the head. Beyond classic ringing, you might hear buzzing, whooshing, clicking or hissing. “In people with tinnitus, the sound may be noticed at night when things are quieter,” Dr. Djalilian adds.
Woman's World Answers
Common tinnitus causes
Triggers of tinnitus can include:
- Age-related hearing loss
- Exposure to loud noises
- Side effects of certain medications
- Clogged earwax
- Ear infections
- Severe head injury
For women, midlife brings its own risk factors. “In women, tinnitus occurs more around menopause because hormonal changes can lead to an increase in brain sensitivity, which is a form of atypical migraine—a migraine without the headache,” Dr. Djalilian explains. Stress also triggers ringing in the ears. “Tinnitus tends to get worse in stressful environments,” adds Lachelle Lazarus, an audiologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Tinnitus relief treatments that work
There’s no universal cure, but several science-backed approaches can dramatically reduce how loud and intrusive tinnitus feels. Here’s what experts say can help:
Mindful mornings
Licensed psychotherapist Reneé Zavislak suggests starting the day with a 15-minute grounding routine like journaling, meditation or breathwork, plus visualization: “Practice seeing yourself happily participating in your favorite activities while the tinnitus is active,” she suggests. ““In other words, picture yourself experiencing tinnitus and not reacting to it. By practicing this in your mind, you create a path in the brain that reinforces this behavior.”
Sound therapy
External sounds—white noise, a fan, soft music—help disguise the inner noise people with tinnitus hear to provide some relief. “This helps cover up or mask the ringing sound so the brain pays less attention to it,” Dr. Djalilian says. “It allows the brain to calm down and not focus on the ringing.”
Natural supplements
A Spanish study found melatonin can reduce your chances of being bothered by tinnitus by 40 percent. Curcumin, the antioxidant compound found in turmeric, may also help deliver tinnitus relief by improving the body’s cellular-cleaning system, suggests a study in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. This helps inner ear cells better process sound.
Hearing aids
Because hearing loss and tinnitus often travel together, amplifying outside sounds can drown out internal ones. “We often notice that when an individual with both hearing loss and tinnitus uses a hearing aid as amplification for the hearing loss, the tinnitus can subside,” Lazarus notes.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
When it comes to treating tinnitus for lasting relief, a study in The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine found that eight weeks of CBT significantly reduced the severity, duration, frequency and discomfort of the condition. It even improved tinnitus-related sleep problems.
Craniosacral therapy
This gentle hands-on massage of the head, neck and back eases muscle tightness and calms the nervous system. That’s important because emotional stress is a strong indicator of tinnitus severity, according to research in Frontiers of Aging Neuroscience.
How one woman ‘cured’ her tinnitus and found lasting relief
After decades of being told her tinnitus was just her imagination, Woman’s World reader Patricia Hoadley de Graaff was diagnosed in 2012 with bilateral superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCDS), a rare inner ear disorder. She declined the recommended surgery—which may not have provided noticeable improvements and had a risk of side effects—and instead built her own toolkit for tinnitus relief.
First came a box fan running in the hallway outside her bedroom. “The humming of the fan made the internal noises a little quieter, and after using it for almost five years, I found I didn’t even need it anymore,” she says.
An acupuncturist also recommended Natural Vitality Calm Magnesium Citrate powder. Within about three weeks, “I noticed my tinnitus was quieter and my sleep greatly improved.” She added N-acetylcysteine (NAC) at night, though Dr. Djalilian cautions NAC “hasn’t yet been shown to have a specific effect on tinnitus.” Finally, talk therapy and nearly a year of weekly craniosacral therapy rounded out her routine.
“Although my tinnitus isn’t completely cured, the strategies I’ve tried have worked together to calm me,” Hoadley de Graaff says.” As a result, my tinnitus doesn’t seem as loud or irritating as it once did. The decrease in my tinnitus suffering has made me more focused and more satisfied with life overall. “
The path to tinnitus relief can start today
When it comes to tinnitus relief, there’s no one magic solution for everyone. Instead, a combination of lifestyle and behavioral modifications can make a real difference. Start small— try a fan tonight, talk to your doctor about natural supplements, build in a few quiet minutes each morning. Layer by layer, you can turn the volume down on tinnitus and turn the peace back up.
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