Tinnitus and earplugs.
 

I have REALLY loud tinnitus in my right ear. It's even louder when I lay on my right side (pillow covering my ear) or when I have earplugs in. What can I do about this? Is there any effective treatment for tinnitus? I've had the tinnitus in that ear for so long I've kind of learned to ignore it...but sometimes it's impossible, especially with the earplugs in.

It kind of defeats the purpose of using earplugs, you know?

Yeah. I had tinnitus before the concussion. After a while, it just becomes like white noise. I don't really notice it unless I'm in a very quiet space and happen to think about it.

I think there are some therapies that can help reduce the effect, but a lot of the "treatment" seems to be CBT to help you not get upset that it's happening, as far as I can tell.

I have had tinnitus for years. Ear plugs do not help while they are in but may help to prevent the tinnitus from getting worse.

I wonder if the tinnitus is limited to only one ear because your most serious injury was to only one side.

There was a serious bruise behind my right ear after the assault...my ear drum might have been damaged. I wasn't able to hear much out of that ear for 2 months...it's gotten better, but I still have trouble hearing out of it.

Yeah I have it too. I did *not* have it before the accident I was in and it's really upsetting to me that I have it now because I am a professional audio engineer and technician. I'm *really* hoping it goes away someday. It was definitely louder and more prominent in the first 8 months after the accident than it is now. I think my Dr. told me it probably won't go away, but I just have to have hope that it will!

I had it on side of impact as well for about 5 months. Now at month 9, i may have one episode a month where i get ringing in that ear, and just as quickly as it came on, it goes away again. Hopefully it will get better soon. :)

I just found this website that actually seemed to have some interesting information about tinnitus. The author is selling his book, but he does have some great answers on the site too.

http://www.kevinhogan.com/FAQ.htm

Awesome.
 

I got some good stuff out of there...Thanks!

For what it's worth

Kevin Hogan's suggestion of long term use of gabapentin (Neurontin) and clonazepam (Klonopin) or other benzos is highly controversial. He states in response to the question "What was the most important part of your healing process?" "Xanax, Zoloft (there are better meds than Zoloft today but it was as good as it got in 1994...) and Osteopathy. " The pro and con reviews of his ideas are very interesting. He tends to have zero tolerance for any objection to his ideas.

I don't think he suggested use of Neurontin and Klonopin, but was referencing a study done by Abraham Shulman and based on that study and the information it provided he says he would be supportive of it as a backup medication plan if another one doesn't work. And I don't where it says they would have to be taken long-term.

I'm confused why you got the impression that he has zero tolerance for any objection to his ideas. When he referenced a Dr. with some different ideas than he has he says, "different" is not a synonym for "bad". And I think he also says somewhere that not every solution works for every person.