Whooshing, ringing, buzzing, pulsing, humming, beating, roaring. If you hear noises like these when there is no actual sound source, you might be one of the approximately 10 percent of Americans with tinnitus.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629c2fa499c-9967-4883-a40f-739a98d9ca0a
What Tinnitus Is What Is Tinnitus? “Although we don’t fully understand tinnitus, we think it’s a brain issue rather than simply an ear problem,” says Elina Kari, MD , a neurotologist and an assistant professor of surgery at UC San Diego Health. (A neurotologist specializes in treating neurological disorders of the ear.) “The hearing pathway starts with the ear and goes up to your brain stem. And the dorsal cochlear nucleus, located on the brain stem, has been implicated in tinnitus.” Not everyone has the same kind of tinnitus. “People with subjective tinnitus hear a constant high-pitched noise, like a whir or crickets,” Dr. Kari says. Subjective tinnitus has no known cause. More than 99 percent of people with tinnitus have this type. “Those with pulsatile tinnitus hear a clicking sound associated with the contraction of muscles or a pulsing like your heartbeat,” Kari says. Pulsatile tinnitus has specific known causes, such as anemia, high blood pressure, or an ear infection. Most people experience tinnitus in both ears, but only one ear is affected in others. The noise can be constant or intermittent. And although tinnitus might feel unbearable, here’s the thing: “While it is extremely common, only a minority of people [find it debilitating],” Kari says. Kari likens the experience of tinnitus to the sensation of clothing against your skin. “You are constantly feeling your clothes, but it doesn’t drive you crazy,” Kari says. “Often, the best solution for tinnitus is to ignore it and learn to live with it.” For those who find that easier said than done, we have three at-home tinnitus remedies that can bring relief — and six that probably won’t.
Remedies That Work Tinnitus Relief: What Works There’s no cure, per se, for tinnitus, but the following strategies can help. 1. Add Background Noise
The fastest and simplest way to help tinnitus go away is by avoiding prolonged periods of silence. Turn on music, the TV, a fan, or a white noise machine to distract you from the ringing in your ears.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976293722be2a-d48c-4443-9a61-a06b0ce58ba0 “You can even get earplugs that emit a low level of white noise,” Kari says
2. Try Meditation or Therapy
Mood disorders are commonly associated with tinnitus. One study published in 2023 found that depression, anxiety, and stress were significantly higher in patients with tinnitus than in those without it.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762985faf6fd-ba63-411d-a7a3-b523eb0d1bee “If you are bothered by tinnitus, it can lead to anxiety and depression,” Kari says. “Then it becomes a positive feedback loop: The more tinnitus you have, the more your mood is disordered; the more your mood is disordered, the worse your tinnitus becomes. You have to break that cycle.” Research has found that certain therapeutic approaches, such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for tinnitus (MBCT-t), can be helpful in managing tinnitus.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976290d645151-b60f-4379-96ef-83b080dfdfe6 Kari is also a fan of 10-minute daily guided meditations, using an app like Calm or Headspace. “Some people think they need to empty their minds to meditate, which can be stressful if you have tinnitus,” Kari says. “But guided meditation helps manage tinnitus — as well as improving your mood and sleep, and promoting a general state of well-being.”
3. Get Enough Sleep
It’s no surprise that tinnitus can affect your ability to rest. After all, it’s hard to snooze if you can’t shut off the whirring in your ears. But it’s worth the effort to get some solid shut-eye. “Sleep loss leads to higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can exacerbate tinnitus,” Kari says. Meditating at bedtime and placing a white noise machine on your bedside table can help you reach dreamland sooner and sleep more soundly.
What Doesn’t Work What Doesn’t Help Tinnitus Research has been mixed on other purported tinnitus solutions. The following have no solid evidence to back them up. 1. Avoiding Certain Foods Although no specific foods or beverages have been scientifically proven to worsen tinnitus, feel free to experiment and see if dietary changes have any effect. Each case of tinnitus is individualized, so the contributing factors may differ from person to person.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629dc4fd1b9-de2d-4fc5-ad03-9d7a6400d5a8 “If you have an anxiety component to your tinnitus, you may want to eliminate caffeine, which is a stimulant and might exacerbate anxiety,” Kari says. “Other people say alcohol makes their tinnitus worse.” 2. Ear Drops When you put drops into your ear canal, the liquid slides in as far as the eardrum, located in front of the middle ear. “But if you have tinnitus, the problem is usually much deeper than the middle ear and often the brain is involved as well,” Kari says. “So ear drops won’t do anything.” 3. Jaw or Neck Exercises People with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction have pain in the joint that attaches the jawbone to the skull. While it’s typically considered an oral issue, severe TMJ can affect your ears, too. “We don’t have a good explanation for why this happens, but some people with TMJ experience pressure, discomfort, and ringing in their ears,” Kari says. “Still, even if your tinnitus is caused by TMJ, jaw or neck exercises aren’t likely to help. 4. Lipo Flavonoid Lipo Flavonoid is a product containing vitamins and extracts that are purported to include antioxidants, which when naturally derived from fruits and veggies are known to be neuroprotective. While there have been claims that some of these compounds can be neurogenerative for the ear, research has largely debunked this.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629b06c1f84-6e44-4fe7-91a3-6d0b6f63521c “When people ask about Lipo Flavonoid, I usually shrug,” she says. “Are you getting anything better out of this supplement than out of drinking a naturally derived smoothie or eating a bunch of leafy greens?” (In other words, you’re better off reaching for an apple or choosing a salad for lunch than purchasing an iffy and expensive supplement.) 5. Vitamins Vitamins D, B1, B2 (aka riboflavin), and B12 are often hailed as tinnitus cures. More research is needed, but a small study found that 51 percent of people with tinnitus had a vitamin D deficiency , compared with 22 percent in a control group.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629f8bfb120-9f6c-40c2-8cd4-db8c7f411ea9 There may be no correlation, however. “I have never seen vitamin deficiency as a contributing factor for tinnitus,” Kari says. “You can check with your primary care doctor to see if you have any deficiencies, but I would not self-treat with vitamins, because they can lead to toxicity and have negative side effects.” 6. Vicks VapoRub According to Kari, there is a myth that Vick’s VapoRub alleviates tinnitus, but she says that there is no evidence that it works, and, in fact, it can be dangerous. “I have not heard this to be effective, and I would be careful because applying it in your ears can lead to toxic effects,” Kari says.
When to Call a Doctor When to See a Doctor for Tinnitus If you have pulsatile tinnitus or if your tinnitus is in only one ear, get evaluated by your doctor. It could be indicative of an underlying condition, including impacted earwax.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629a5b15b47-370e-45a8-a05f-49c0240483f6 Pulsatile tinnitus might also reflect hearing loss. “The brain is used to getting a certain amount of noise input,” Kari says. “When that input decreases due to hearing loss, the brain makes up its own sensations.” In that case, hearing aids (or cochlear implants if you are severely hearing impaired) will often help. If you have subjective tinnitus, you can ask your provider about new treatment protocols, such as a brain retraining therapy called neuromonics. It involves wearing a sound machine programmed to match the rhythm of your tinnitus.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629393c6b9f-9ddd-4c9c-89ba-df23af188a2e “This multimodality treatment teaches your brain not to care about the ringing by habituating it to the sound,” Kari says. “Although it works, it is pretty intensive. It’s also not covered by insurance and very few hearing centers offer it.” Either way, if you’re concerned, it’s worth calling up your doctor if only for peace of mind. “The most effective treatment for tinnitus is reassurance,” Kari says. Finally, if you’ve gotten your tinnitus under control and then it comes back, this is normal. “Rehab from tinnitus isn’t linear — you’ll have good and bad days,” Kari says. “If you go through a period where you are stressed and not sleeping well, you might notice it flares. Once you are feeling better, the tinnitus should improve.” If tinnitus comes on suddenly, accompanied by dizziness or vertigo, it’s best to seek immediate medical treatment.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629fb1e62fe-4278-4c2d-99ae-3d7d1bfc809a
The Takeaway Tinnitus is a neurological problem that causes you to hear whirring, ringing, or other sounds that are not coming from external sources. In some cases, it is associated with hearing loss. Strategies to reduce tinnitus symptoms include a noise machine, music, meditation, and making sure to get a good night’s sleep. Though many things have been touted as helpful for tinnitus, such as supplements and certain foods, the evidence on these is mixed or nonexistent. If you are finding tinnitus bothersome or having additional symptoms (such as hearing loss), talk to your doctor.
The 3 Best Tinnitus Remedies — and 6 to Avoid
