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I have bought the BP 1600, there were at least 5-6 other models in the shop I looked (MediaMarkt)

[This message has been edited by trident (edited 04-17-2008).]

Hi Lucky2Bhere,
sorry for delayed reply. I've been lurking here for a few months, but thought I'd now register so I can reply here.

I am an audiologist, working in Melbourne, Australia.

You've made a good start having seen your doctor and ENT specialist (Ear Nose Throat). They can rule out medical conditions that can cause tinnitus.

It is relatively common to have tinnitus following exposure to loud noise. It is often accompanied by a temporary hearing loss (TTS - Temporary Threshold Shift)
There are several theories behind tinnitus, but the one that seems to hold more water than most goes like this: Due to the hearing loss (whether temporary or permanent) - the brain registers that it is missing auditory input that would normally be there. In an attempt to compensate for this, it increases its 'internal gain' mechanism. When turned up enough, the brain starts to register the internal neurological noise of the brain....a bit like an amplifier that is turned up with no input signal creates a 'static' noise. Often the brain substitutes a noise that is quite closely related to the region of hearing loss. (but sometimes not!)
For a lot of people, the tinnitus often subsides as the hearing returns. For others, the tinnitus persists. It would appear for those who develop chronic tinnitus, that there is another part of the brain getting involved - which 'flags' the tinnitus as a potentially harmful/threatening sound. It registers an emotion and/or physiological response (eg., a fight or flight response) and so draws your attention to it, in a way further amplifying the noise from the background. The stress response to the tinnitus causes a feedback loop - more stress makes the tinnitus feel louder, which in return increases the stress.
For some people, they can break this feedback loop either through counselling, or even through education/reading/understanding why it is happening to them. Some are able to habituate to the tinnitus through force of will. For others, the more they try to put the tinnitus out of their mind, the worse it gets, because they are still thinking about the tinnitus!
While it is true there is no magic potion or cure to speak of, there is a very effective treatment which can break the cycle of tinnitus distress. It can reduce the awareness and disturbance of tinnitus.It is called the Neuromonics tinnitus treatment, and they claim a 90% or thereabouts success rate. I have been running this treatment in my clinic for about 18 months, and have found this figure to be accurate.
Now, I am not giving you clinical advice here on this board, but wanting to inform you that contrary to common opinion, there IS treatment for tinnitus that is scientifically validated. Neuromonics has been published in major audiology journals, the latest one, Ear and Hearing, in 2007. The treatment, while successful has some limitations - they have found it doesn't work well on people whose hearing fluctuates. Also, musicians have a lower success rate - this is because the therapeutic signal used is embedded in music, and musicians tend to 'listen in' to the signal, rather than let the signal blend in to the background as intended (like background noise, if you like). Having said that, one of my clients was a 23 y o student and musician, who found the treatment very helpful. The one major downside of the treatment is that it is not cheap. ( a few thousand bucks.) So we tend to only use this treatment when people are really quite distressed by their tinnitus. If only mildly distressed, it doesn't seem worth spending the money on treatment. Often people investigate other avenues (counselling etc) of management first.
I won't explain the ins and outs of tinnitus treatment here, as it varies a bit according to the person's needs, and there are lots of variables. Counselling and support is a very important part of it, and of course, so is the acoustic therapy.
My suggestion would be to see an audiologist that specializes in tinnitus management. Most doctors and even ENTs aren't yet up to date with current advances in tinnitus management. We are running education campaigns to slowly get the word out to the medical community.

Hope that is of some help, if you are still awake after reading all this...
Regards,

Eugene
Disclaimer: I'm not employed by Neuromonics - the vast bulk of my work is doing hearing tests and fitting hearing aids.

Great information Eugene.

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Thanks for the great report Eugene.
The above extract from your input has meaning for me.
I have always believed that musicians are 'artists' rather than 'scientists' and find it easy to blend into music and retain the structure of the 'noise' they are hearing.
This is probably why my wife is basically a 'scientist'. She cannot remember any tunes but enjoys the 'background' pleasure it gives.She finds it very easy to switch off from any unpleasant sounds (like when I am practising my music! and particularly when I am singing))
I have been personally trying to teach myself to switch off from my tinnitus of late but finding it extremely hard.

After reading your report, I am heartened to know that it IS possible and will continue to try it.
cheers
Eddie Johnson




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Eddie from Rotherham
Skype:eddiefromrotherham
www.yamahakeyboards.info