Tinnitus cure...?

I went ahead and updated the link in the OP. There were some extra characters in the link address.

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I think my tinnitus is permanent. I can tell you for certain that my stupid Wahoo trainer is to blame. Never use the trainer in a small room and use ear plugs. Using the wahoo trainer for an extended amount of time will damage your hearing.

I worry about this. I am sure my tinnitus has come on since returning to cycling a few years ago.

On my road bike I have those cat’s ears things which help a lot (but definitely look a bit odd)

When Time trialling I am concerned that in my Giro Aerohead I often a loud ringing noise from the roar traffic around me on a dual carriageway. I am sure it is not good for me (or anyone else) and given i do many and often long TTs it is a worry.

Was the reference to Chad a reference to something he said in a podcast one time?

Yeah Coach Chad, when discussing ear plugs for sleep in last weeks podcast mentioned “unbearable tinnitus” due to his years as a fan of loud music…

There must be a way of reversing the effects…

I had tinnitus for at least 5 years now, I’ve been to numerous ear specialists and all have told me there is no cure as its the result of nerve damage. The main contributor according to all of them is stress, obv being in environments of continuous loud noise without ear plugs is a contributor, but stress is the main cause.

Mine is at its worst in the mornings when i wake up, it actually drives me insane. The only relief i get is when there is some background noise, so i play music softly in the background in the office which seems to significantly reduce it.

Over the years you get used to living with it.

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I was actually wondering about the impact of wind noise not that long ago whilst riding downhill on a windy day and wondered if anyone has done a study on hearing loss of pros?

I know from past experience and reading research that whilst riding a motorcycle even with the quietest helmet your ears are at risk from low frequency vibrations so it doesn’t need to be exceptionally loud and leave your ears ringing to cause damage.

I had a quick look and just read this, granted its one article but food for thought.

I suffer too, even as I type this is I focus on it their is a very high pitched noise in my ears, don’t notice it most times.

Seeing as you mention that background music/noise during the day helps you, perhaps the Bose sleeping buds might be help?
I believe they produce white noise to help people fall a sleep, but in your case it might help in the morning with reducing the effects of tinnitus when you wake up.

I myself don’t have have tinnitus so I cannot imagine what you and some of the others are experiencing, but this just popped in my head and wanted to share.

@Smurf,

I would always put earplugs in when I was on the motorcycle, I don’t do that on the bike but I might start. I am not cycling that fast that I would have a problem on each ride but when the wind is strong (which is a lot of times around here) it would feel like I was back on a motorcycle again noise level wise.

I generally have earplugs attached to my keys, so when I am in a bar, club or at a festival I pop them in. In the beginning friends of mine were making fun of it but after they tried it, they started doing the same.

Off to see Metallica at Twickenham Stadium tonight. Following this thread for future reference :metal:

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My 2 cents. N=1. Have it in my left ear.

  • get your ears tested…just to be sure it’s not something else. Do this every 2 years to get a trend of how worse or not it is becoming. Some people need hearing aids eventually

  • wear good noise cancelling headphones or ones which drown out the outside noise especially if you take public transport like buses and metro.

  • Recently as I get closer to one of my ride goals I’ve been weaning myself off coffee. This has made a CONSIDERABLE difference to the tinnitus intensity level.

  • I use white noise to get to sleep. Rain and wave sounds mostly

  • check with your dentist to see if you are grinding. It contributes.

  • this might sound cuckoo or Jedi like. :slight_smile: Meditate in a quiet room. ‘listen’ to your tinnitus. Do this daily. I read somewhere it’s like training your brain to ignore it. It helps me and I often find myself forgetting I have it…and bonus…meditation is good for your bike recovery :slight_smile:

  • it’s always worse after a bike ride. Wind noise likely ascerbates it.

And yes I do sometimes want to rip my ear off to make it stop.

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Interesting you mention coffee ! - I drink a shitload of black coffee no sugar - maybe i need to try that

Really! Fascinating - I drink about 8 cups a day! Any evidence for this anywhere else?

The British Tinnitus soc say Tinnitus, food and drink - Tinnitus UK
" Caffeine
People with tinnitus are frequently told to avoid caffeine containing drinks such as coffee and tea. There is no scientific rationale for this advice. A properly conducted scientific study showed that caffeine was not associated with tinnitus causation. Moreover, the researchers found that withdrawing someone from their usual intake of caffeine did produce side effects, particularly headaches and nausea, and this could potentially worsen pre-existing tinnitus. The sensible advice regarding tea or coffee drinking therefore seems to be to stay on a fairly constant intake and not vary this too much from day to day."

Yea I’ve read similar.

But it is what it is for me. Maybe it’s a coincidence with something else, but I can’t see it. Time to keep a journal and see what pops up.

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Have it, it’s annoying. Docs tell me there’s not much to do about it, and that pretty much everyone as it to some degree. Some days are worse than others, but generally it’s just annoying.

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I am glad you are finding some relief.

Its the classic problem when things change: correlation, or causality? Especially when multiple things change. Good luck with your search.

Whoa, I’m totally getting those helmet strap muffs. I was trying to listen to a podcast on the road a few weeks ago and I just couldn’t hear it over the wind, despite both earbuds in. I was thinking I just needed better sealing ear buds, but now I’m thinking I’ve been damaging my hearing when I go out, period. And it seems so obvious when presented this way.

Everyone is overlooking the positives of tinnitus. I have had it for about 40 years now and my chain has never squeaked.

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Looks like mine is not so bad. A combination of loud dance festivals and headphones that are also to loud has damaged my ears too. I only notice it when it’s really quiet and I focus on it.

ZI believe the key to reaching the point that tinnitus stops being an issue in your life is the process of habituation - it isn’t that it goes away as such, it’s just that you notice it less and less and when you are aware of it it bothers you less and less. I could not say that in an absolute sense the tinnitus I can hear if I “listen to it” is any different to when it started about 7 years ago. However, it is no longer an issue in my life. Days and weeks can go by without me even thinking about it or particularly noticing it and when I do I just kind of mentally shrug my shoulders and don’t let it become a particular focus of my attention knowing that before long I’ll be back to not noticing it. As I type now I am consciously thinking about tinnitus for the first time in quite a long while, and of course I can hear it now as a result - but it isn’t bothering me and I know that I will have forgotten about it again not long after I finish this post.

My attitude when I first started experiencing tinnitus was very, very different. I don’t want to dwell on that but I’m sure some of you will understand well enough.

I have several close friends with tinnitus - in fact once you talk about it you might be surprised at how many people do experience it, particularly as they age. Different people habituate to it at different rates - often down to their attitude to it when it became noticeable. Some may habituate to it without it ever being something they worry about and only realise they can hear something if they stop and think about it. For others, like me, it may take a few years. Also the path to habituation is not necessarily a linear one - not much different to the path to peak fitness over several years in this respect.

There are things you can do to help the habituation process. For instance if it becomes an irritant at nights or any quiet times, play some background “white noise” which term I use to include the sound of rain or running water etc. Your aim here should not be to try and drown out your tinnitus, rather you are just trying to raise the sound floor so your tinnitus is not so prominent - it’s just another sound you can hear, not the only sound you can hear.

Stress of any kind (work, virus) may often exacerbate the perception of tinnitus. If your tinnitus seems more noticeable over a period of days examine what you have going on in life that might be adding to background stress levels - and that could include very mundane things like preparing for a holiday which just adds to your to do list. Different people are stressed by different things. Be aware that your tinnitus is not getting worse, but as your stress levels increase you just become more sensitive overall to “irritants” of any kind. Simply knowing this can help you to turn your focus away from the tinnitus and to stop worrying about it.

In general the less you worry about it the more quickly you will habituate to it. Always keep in mind that like me you will reach a point where tinnitus just isn’t an issue in your life. I’m pretty sure that if I had accepted that simple fact right at the start I would have reached this point sooner.

The British Tinnitus Organisation mentioned above is a very helpful and reliable resource. It’s very easy to come across misinformation, even from doctors. Be aware there are no miracle cures (at present at least) but also be aware that when a doctor casually tells you there is “no cure” that does not at all mean that your experience of tinnitus today is what it will always be - far from it most likely - and that at the end of the day is what matters.

Edit: I should add that in a minority of cases there could be an underlying medical cause of the tinnitus that requires attention. I am NOT a doctor. It is always advisable to see a doctor just to rule this out. In my case I probably didn’t need to look any further than the loud guitar I played but I still had a scan to check I didn’t have a tumour in my ear.

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Crickey, when I signed up to TrainerRoad, I did not expect it to be so helpful in the wider sense and discussion that this forum provides. (@iMatt66)

Thanks all.

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University of Michigan was doing a tinnitus trial that used a combination of audio and neural stimulation to control and reverse the effects. Specially timed signals ease tinnitus symptoms in test aimed at condition’s root cause | University of Michigan News

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