How I Cured My Tinnitus

Summary

In the transcript, Vic Veer, an ENT surgeon, shares his personal experience with tinnitus and his successful journey to manage it. He explains the common misconceptions about tinnitus, emphasizing that it's not a lifelong condition for everyone. Veer discusses various coping mechanisms, including distraction techniques, medical therapies, and relaxation methods. He highlights the importance of understanding tinnitus and seeking professional help, while also offering hope and encouragement for those suffering from this condition.

Takeaways

• 👨‍⚕️ The speaker, Vic Veer, is an ear, nose, and throat surgeon who has personally experienced tinnitus and managed to alleviate it.
• 🗣️ Tinnitus is not a life sentence; many people, including the speaker, have successfully managed or resolved their tinnitus symptoms.
• 🧠 Tinnitus is not caused by an issue with the ear, but rather is a result of the brain's auditory cortex processing sound differently.
• 🌀 The condition often arises from a 'feedback loop' in the brain, where attention to and reaction to the noise makes it more noticeable and persistent.
• 🧭 The brain's plasticity allows it to adapt and filter out noises, but when it focuses on a particular sound, such as tinnitus, it can amplify the perception of that sound.
• 🎧 A technique to manage tinnitus involves using distractions like white noise or engaging activities that shift the brain's focus away from the tinnitus.
• 📺 The speaker found relief by watching TV shows with subtitles, as it required focus and was a calming distraction from the tinnitus.
• 🎮 Playing fast-paced computer games also served as an effective distraction, reducing the intensity of tinnitus symptoms for the speaker.
• 🧘 Relaxation techniques like meditation may help manage tinnitus by calming the mind and reducing the stress associated with the condition.
• 💊 Medical therapies such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and lidocaine patches have shown promise in some cases for treating tinnitus.
• 📚 It's important to consult with healthcare professionals and seek appropriate treatment, as tinnitus can be a symptom of other underlying health issues.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is tinnitus, specifically the speaker's personal experience and methods he used to manage and eventually overcome his tinnitus.

How did the speaker initially react to his tinnitus?

The speaker initially thought he had left a TV on due to the noise he was hearing. It took him a while to realize that he had developed tinnitus.

What is the speaker's profession?

The speaker is an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeon working at the Royal National ENT Hospital in central London.

What percentage of people have severe tinnitus that intrudes on their life, according to the speaker?

Only 0.5 percent of people have tinnitus that's so bad that it intrudes on their life and makes their life difficult to cope with.

What does the speaker suggest about the location of tinnitus?

The speaker suggests that tinnitus is not originating from the ear, but is found within the auditory cortex in the brain.

What is the speaker's approach to dealing with tinnitus?

The speaker's approach involves distraction techniques, such as listening to the shipping news, watching TV with subtitles, and playing fast-paced computer games to shift focus away from the tinnitus.

What is the speaker's recommendation for people with tinnitus who also have anxiety or depression?

The speaker recommends that people with tinnitus who also have anxiety or depression should seek medical help to treat these conditions first, as they can make it difficult to cope with tinnitus.

What is the significance of the brain's filtering mechanism in relation to tinnitus?

The brain's filtering mechanism is significant because it normally suppresses不重要的信息, allowing us to focus on更重要的信息. In the case of tinnitus, the brain may incorrectly assume that the noise is important due to an emotional reaction, leading to increased focus on and sensitivity to the noise.

What is the speaker's view on the use of white noise or masking for tinnitus?

The speaker believes that while some people find white noise or masking helpful, it did not work well for him as it felt like replacing one annoying noise with another. He suggests using distraction techniques that engage the brain with something other than the tinnitus noise.

What is the speaker's advice for people who believe they have caused permanent damage due to tinnitus?

The speaker advises not to assume permanent damage and to seek help from a doctor or a tinnitus clinic. He emphasizes that tinnitus can be managed and that there are many success stories of people overcoming it.

How long did it take the speaker to completely get rid of his tinnitus?

It took the speaker around three to four months of consistent distraction techniques and focusing on other activities to completely get rid of his tinnitus.

Outlines

00:00

👨‍⚕️ Introduction and Personal Experience with Tinnitus

The speaker, Vic Veer, introduces himself as an ear, nose, and throat surgeon at the Royal National ENT Hospital in London. He is known for discussing snoring and sleep apnea but today, he shares his personal experience with tinnitus, a condition he suffered from in 2008 and managed to alleviate. He emphasizes that while he has no professional interest in tinnitus, his story might provide some useful insights. He also mentions other professionals who specialize in tinnitus and encourages seeking medical advice for any tinnitus symptoms.

05:00

🧠 Understanding Tinnitus and Brain's Role

Vic explains that tinnitus is not a condition everyone constantly experiences, but it's something everyone has to some degree. He describes an experiment where people in a soundproof room eventually hear ringing or other noises, illustrating that our brains are constantly suppressing unimportant sensory information. He emphasizes that tinnitus is not a product of the ear but rather a result of the brain's auditory cortex processing. He also addresses the misconception that tinnitus is 'all in your head', explaining it as a feedback loop rather than a symptom of mental health issues like depression or anxiety.

10:00

🔄 The Cycle of Tinnitus Perception

Vic delves into how tinnitus can become more noticeable due to a cycle of attention and emotional response. He uses the example of an ear infection causing temporary hearing loss, which may lead the brain to release suppressed noises. When a person becomes emotionally reactive to these noises, the brain, misinterpreting the importance, increases their volume. This cycle can lead to a worsening of tinnitus. Vic shares his personal experience, linking his tinnitus to a stressful life event, and describes the mental loop that can exacerbate the condition.

15:01

🎧 Distraction Techniques for Tinnitus Relief

Vic discusses various techniques to distract the brain from tinnitus, such as listening to white noise or engaging in activities that require focus. He shares his personal strategy of listening to the shipping news, which he found boring and thus effective in distracting him from his tinnitus. He emphasizes the importance of finding something personally engaging and fun to aid in this distraction, which can help reduce the perceived volume of tinnitus over time.

20:02

🎮 Utilizing Fast-Paced Games for Tinnitus Management

Vic talks about using fast-paced computer games as a more aggressive form of distraction when tinnitus becomes particularly bothersome. He explains that games like Sonic the Hedgehog or Temple Run require quick reactions and instinctive play, effectively taking his mind off the tinnitus. He suggests that any activity that fully engages the brain and is enjoyable can serve as a distraction, aiding in the management of tinnitus symptoms.

25:02

🏥 Seeking Medical and Therapeutic Help

Vic suggests seeking medical advice if tinnitus is affecting one's quality of life. He mentions various therapies such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (RTMS) and the use of lidocaine patches to alleviate tinnitus. He also discusses the potential benefits of relaxation techniques, meditation, and self-awareness practices. Vic encourages viewers to explore different avenues of treatment and find what works best for them, even if it's just a 20% improvement.

30:04

💬 Final Thoughts and Resources

Vic concludes by reiterating the importance of finding personal strategies to manage tinnitus and encourages viewers to share the video if it could help others. He offers a free tinnitus white noise masker for those who sign up for his newsletter, providing a way for viewers to potentially find further relief. He hopes that his video has been helpful and wishes viewers well in their journey to better manage their tinnitus.

Keywords

💡Tinnitus

Tinnitus refers to the perception of noise or ringing in the ears when no external sound is present. In the video, the speaker shares his personal experience with tinnitus and discusses various ways he attempted to manage and eventually overcome the condition. It is the central theme around which the entire discussion revolves.

💡Hearing Aid

A hearing aid is a small electronic device that amplifies sound to help individuals with hearing loss. In the context of the video, the speaker suggests that using a hearing aid can help stimulate the brain in frequencies where hearing might be diminished, potentially aiding in the management of tinnitus by providing the brain with other sounds to focus on.

💡Masking

Masking, as discussed in the video, refers to the technique of using external sounds to cover up or distract from the tinnitus noise. The speaker experimented with different types of masking, such as white noise and listening to radio, to see what worked best for him in managing his tinnitus.

💡Distraction Techniques

Distraction techniques involve engaging in activities that shift one's focus away from the tinnitus noise. The speaker found watching subtitled TV shows and playing fast-paced computer games to be effective distractions that helped reduce the prominence of his tinnitus over time.

💡Stress and Anxiety

The speaker discusses the interplay between tinnitus and mental health, noting that stress and anxiety can exacerbate the condition. He emphasizes the importance of addressing these mental health aspects as part of the overall strategy for managing tinnitus.

💡Brain Plasticity

Brain plasticity refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt in response to experiences. The speaker suggests that tinnitus might become more noticeable as the brain forms pathways that focus on the tinnitus noise. By using distraction techniques, one can potentially retrain the brain to suppress these noises again.

💡Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)

rTMS is a medical therapy that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain. The speaker mentions rTMS as a potential treatment for tinnitus, noting that it has shown promise in some cases, though its effectiveness varies among individuals.

💡Lidocaine Patch

Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that, when used in a patch form, has been found to alleviate tinnitus symptoms for some individuals. The speaker references a trial where the lidocaine patch was applied behind the ear to help manage tinnitus, although its effectiveness was not uniform across all users.

💡Relaxation Techniques

Relaxation techniques, such as meditation and self-awareness, are mentioned as potential aids in managing tinnitus. The speaker suggests that these practices can help calm the mind and reduce the stress and anxiety that can worsen tinnitus symptoms.

💡Placebo Effect

The placebo effect refers to the phenomenon where individuals experience improvements in their condition simply because they believe a treatment is effective. The speaker acknowledges that some tinnitus treatments may work via the placebo effect, but emphasizes that any relief, even if it's due to a placebo, is still valuable for those suffering from tinnitus.

Highlights

Vic Veer, an ear, nose, and throat surgeon, shares his personal experience with tinnitus and how he managed to alleviate it.

Tinnitus is not a life sentence as many believe; Vic managed to overcome his tinnitus after several months of dedicated effort.

Vic emphasizes that tinnitus is not caused by an issue with the ear, but rather is a result of activity within the auditory cortex of the brain.

The brain's ability to suppress unimportant information is key to understanding why tinnitus can become so noticeable.

Vic suggests that tinnitus can be a result of a 'feedback loop' in the brain that can be exacerbated by stress and anxiety.

He shares his journey of using distraction techniques, such as watching subtitled TV shows and playing video games, to manage his tinnitus.

Vic also discusses the potential benefits of medical therapies like 180 phase reduction and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (RTMS).

He highlights the importance of addressing any underlying hearing loss and the potential use of hearing aids to reduce tinnitus.

Vic encourages those with tinnitus to seek professional help and explore various methods to find what works best for them.

He stresses the significance of maintaining hope and not being overwhelmed by negative experiences or opinions found online.

Vic provides practical advice on how to retrain the brain to filter out tinnitus sounds, effectively reducing their impact over time.

He shares his personal timeline of tinnitus reduction, emphasizing that it took several months of consistent effort.

Vic discusses the role of relaxation techniques and meditation in managing tinnitus, suggesting that they can provide significant relief for some individuals.

He mentions the use of lidocaine patches as a potential treatment for tinnitus, based on anecdotal evidence and some clinical trials.

Vic concludes by encouraging viewers to share his insights with others who may be struggling with tinnitus and offers a free tinnitus white noise masker for those interested.

Transcripts

hi my name is vic veer i'm an ears nurse

and throat surgeon working at the royal

national ent hospital in central london

now many of you know me as someone who

talks about snoring and sleep apnea but

today i'm going to talk to you about

tinnitus because some of you may know

that in 2008 i got tinnitus and then

after a few months of work i managed to

get rid of it so this is my story my

experience of how i solved my tinnitus

and hopefully i can impart some of that

information to you now i haven't heard

my tinnitus for

10 15 years now but that doesn't mean

that you watching this video will be

completely cured i mean this is just my

experience my personal story and if it

works be fantastic and if it doesn't

work for you look i'm really sorry at

the same time what i plan to do in this

video is explain to you what i normally

tell my patients when i see them in

clinic about tinnitus so in effect if

you watch this video you don't really

need to come and see me about tinnitus

anymore because it's all going to be

hopefully in this video you see tinnitus

isn't really my special subject i have

no professional interest in it at all i

normally talk about snoring sleep apnea

and sort of ear surgery

but if you are interested in seeing

someone about tinnitus there's some

really good people out there there's

people like nish patel

dipesh mystery people at the highly

street tinnitus clinic

also i got to say that the tinnitus

clinic at romford queens hospital the

royal national ent hospital audiology

clinics the tinnitus clinics they are

absolutely amazing so if you see some of

those people they can really give you

good advice good help with the

alternatives i think it's important to

say also that i'm not going to tell you

some new miracle cure or some new

technique it's not that sort of video

this is just me explaining tinnitus in

the way i normally explain it what i

would do is if you have tinnitus go and

see your doctor get checked out for all

the things that may cause tinnitus and

at that point if you have just the sort

of normal tendencies a lot of people get

then go and see a tinnitus clinic and

they'll be able to help you out okay now

that i've said that what i'd like to do

is go through a few myths about tinnitus

and go through them one by one

so this first thing that a lot of people

seem to say if you get tinnitus you've

got it for life i mean that's just not

true a lot of people hear tinnitus all

the time even transiently so a lot of

people here oh can you hear that and it

sounds like a tv left on or something

like that that is tinnitus sometimes

people hear a ringing noise or a sort of

a drumming noise first thing in the

morning or when they get back from a

concert they hear their ears sort of

making this ringing noise all of these

are forms of tinnitus sometimes they

last short time or a long time

you know happens a lot to a lot of

people and

most people when they get tenses even

after a week or so two weeks it seems to

go away after a bit and if you look at

the data only 0.5 percent of people have

tinnitus that's so bad that it intrudes

on their life and it makes their life

difficult to cope with there are an

awful lot of people who get tinnitus and

then it dies down to a point where they

can still hear it but it doesn't bother

them anymore so even if you do have

really bad tinnitus and it's really

affecting you i'd see a tennis clinic

and it should settle down with time

there are things we can do to help you

and i hopefully like something like this

might help you as well so you may be

looking on the internet seeing really

sort of scary and posts about people

with tinnitus and it's really ruining

their lives and once you've got chances

you can never get rid of it that's not

true there are lots of people who get

rid of their chances i got rid of my

tinnitus 13 years ago i've not heard any

tinnitus now for 13 years so it can be

done and a lot of people out there say

the same thing so so have some

hope that this could happen for you

now a lot of people think that tinnitus

comes from you it's it's actually not

true actually there is a really really

rare syndrome where you can actually

hear if you put your ear to someone

else's ear you can sometimes hear their

tinnitus like sometimes the clicking

noise or something like that um but you

know i've never even tried that i've

never seen a patient with that problem

it's really really rare to get that sort

of thing most tinnitus

is found within the auditory cortex

within your brain it's not from your ear

at all

one way to prove that is to look at the

studies where

people have had their nerve cut or

they've removed the cochlear you know

remove their ear completely and their

tinnitus doesn't get better it actually

gets worse so that includes all the

people who've had um exposure to loud

noise musicians uh people have had an

explosion nearby they've taken

chemotherapy that's damaged their ear

all those people

believe that it's their ear that's been

damaged and that's true that it has been

damaged but the tinnitus doesn't come

from the ear it comes from

some part of the brain the limbic system

auditory cortex all those sorts of areas

so a lot of people hear that last

statement and say to me oh well you're

saying it's all in my head then and i

don't like saying oh it's all in your

head because it implies that it's uh

that you've gone mad or you've got

depression and anxiety and that's why

you've got utensils i don't think it's a

a symptom of depression or anxiety i

think tinnitus or i personally believe

chances is more of a sort of bad

feedback loop that you get yourself into

and when you're in that sort of loop and

you're spiraling away with the noise

getting louder and louder depression

anxiety can speed up that process or

make it worse because when you have

depression anxiety it's very hard to

extract yourself from that bad feedback

loop which i'll explain later on

anyway so enough of that what i'd like

to do now is explain what tinnitus is

now i think this chapter this part of

the video is really really important

because if you don't understand this bit

that the bit where i try and explain how

to get rid of the tinnitus won't make

any sense so please watch this bit first

and understand it before you move on to

the next chapter

the first thing to say about why people

have chances is that we all have

tinnitus everyone can hear tinses all

the time and the way to prove this is

that if you get a bunch of people and

put them into soundproof rooms you can

tell them to stay in that room until

they hear a noise like a ringing or

whatever any noise and come out when

they can hear that noise within 15

minutes 90 plus people percent of people

will come out of those rooms and say oh

yeah i can hear a ringing noise and what

was that or electrical wine or something

like that

everyone can hear these noises all the

time just that we're not aware of them

so another way to explain this is that

our brains are constantly suppressing

information from us so for example when

you put on your shoes or your socks in

the morning you can feel that your shoes

are on your feet and you can walk around

but after

five minutes or so one minute even you

stop your brain stops telling you oh by

the way you're wearing shoes it's not

important information your brain will

let you focus on things like oh wow i

think i'm a bit late for work or the

kids are

late for breakfast or you know those

sorts of things so your brain suppresses

the information that isn't that

important like you know the the pressure

of this jacket around my my collar or as

people with earrings or glasses after a

you know a bit of time your brain gets

used to it and stops telling you about

that information the same thing happens

to sound a lot of people realize that if

you're on an airplane after a bit you

zone out that sort of background noise

which is quite loud or if you're working

at your office and there's a

road by you or lots of other people

talking you can zone all that noise out

that's your brain allowing you to focus

on what you want to focus on and

suppressing all the other sound

information so another way to describe

is that if you pause the video right now

and then

listen down to what you can hear you'll

hear people talking maybe in another

room or road noise or something like

that there'll be some sort of sound in

the background normally even birds

tweeting and if you played the video

again and listened to me talking to you

you might still be able to hear those

birds tweeting or people talking but you

realize that your brain previously was

suppressing that those sounds away from

you you can still hear them because i'm

talking to you now and you can still

hear them now but the point is that your

brain was suppressing that information

so that you could focus on this video i

think this all starts when we're babies

perhaps so our brains think to ourselves

oh look this child is only sort of

listening to the parents and that cooing

noise that those parents are doing it's

not listening to say something like the

heartbeat

we can all hear these noises all the

time so what the brain does is start

saying okay i'll because he's reacting

to those voices i'll increase those

noises but i'll suppress this boom boom

noise because it never pays attention to

that and so if you look at people and

their hearing tests you'll see that

hearing tests are sort of like a

straight line but it's not true it's not

a straight line our hearing is more of a

spike like this and the hearing is best

at the top it's not that our hearing is

uniform you can hear all sounds the same

it's a spike so what our brains do is

allow us to focus in on the small number

of frequencies just here which is around

about two kilohertz and those

frequencies are where we can hear speech

allowing us to communicate with each

other all the other noises are slowly

suppressed out the way because so our

brains are focused in on those noises to

allow us to understand speech and all

the sort of normal noises we hear in

everyday human life so only when you go

to a completely soundproof room where

there's no noise at all does your brain

go well there are a bunch of other

noises here like this hissing noise or

this heartbeat noise and if you watch

youtube videos about people going to the

quietest room in the world all those

sorts of things you'll see a lot of them

will say oh i can after about 10-15

minutes i can hear my heartbeat and some

people can actually feel their heartbeat

boom boom thumping away in their chest

and it's quite common you know a lot of

people just suppress that feeling of

your heart pumping away in your heart in

your chest

it you know we got so used to this

happening that we don't really feel it

but you can actually if you're in a

really quiet room you can start feeling

the the

the arteries pulsing around your body

it's a really amazing you feel like oh

my god i have an actual organism not

just a head attached to some legs

it's amazing what you know body is like

but our brains have filtered that

information out from most people who

don't we're not aware of our heart

beating anymore the point is we only

hear these noises when it's really

really quiet when you've walked into a

soundproof or a really quiet room or

sometimes when people have an ear

infection or and it's dropped their

hearing for a short time

your brain gets bored it has no idea

that you have an ear infection it's not

as clever as we think it is our brain is

just a bit of flesh sitting inside a

skull

just sort of getting all these nerves

and stimulations and sort of

inputs from the outside world and its

job in this sort of bony casing is to

try and interpret all these signals and

all it will know is that oh i'm not

getting as many signals from this here

and he doesn't know that either you've

got a lot older and there's a bit of

wear and tear you can't hear quite as

well or you're a musician and you've

lost a few frequencies at about 6k all

those sorts of things the brain has no

idea

it assumes that our hearing is great all

it's all it's noticing is there's less

coming into it the brain doesn't really

realize what's going on it just says

well i'm not getting any sort of

information from this ear anymore but i

am suppressing all these other noises so

perhaps if i uh

release one of these noises but maybe

he's trying to listen to it so that is

the start of you hearing something and

you're going oh wonder what that is so

what can happen when you start hearing

these noises for whatever reason that

your brain can fall into this jasper off

or jasper off cycle where you can go

round and round that sort of loop that i

was telling you about earlier it's a

very common or a good example of this is

that

someone young for old doesn't matter

gets an ear infection they lose the

hearing one ear for say two weeks or

something like that because the ear is

all clogged up or maybe wax or something

like that eventually the wax gets taken

out but during that time when the

hearing had been reduced the brain gets

a little bit bored like i said before

and starts releasing some extra noises

so when you've got an infection and then

you start hearing this high-pitched wine

or something like that a lot of people

will think oh god i've got this terrible

infection it really hurts and i can't

hear anything and now i've got this

extra noise on top maybe there's some

permanent damage happening here maybe

i'm stuck with tinnitus i don't know

what's going on here i really need to

see a doctor and that worry that

emotional context to an ear infection

can start off this cycle i was telling

about the jasper of cycle see what

happens is that the brain listens to

what you're saying and the emotional

context to the responses that you're

having to things and goes oh wow i've

been filting this noise out since he was

a child

why all of a sudden is he focusing on

this it must be really important i'm so

silly i shouldn't have filtered this out

since he was a baby maybe i'll get him

to focus in on this and so the brain

incorrectly assumes that you want to

hear it because you've got an emotional

reaction to it an emotional reaction is

really important to humans so because

you want an emotional reaction to a

noise the brain incorrectly assumes that

you want to hear it and therefore you

start being able to focus in on it you

start listening to it more and you start

becoming more sensitive to that noise

you want to hear it more and more this

is obviously the exact opposite of what

people want to do they

they're in bed trying to sleep and

there's a funny noise and they're

wondering what is this and some people

go further than that they hear this

noise and go oh wow this is tinnitus

isn't it oh my god i remember my father

had to insist and he hated tinnitus it

was awful for him i've heard that you

get tinnitus for the whole of your life

and you can never get rid of it it's

terrible what am i going to do is this

going to be like this for the rest of my

life is it going to get louder am i

going to lose my hearing is it a brain

tumor all these sorts of thoughts go

through people's minds that it can make

that emotional connection to this noise

and your brain

sees that connection and then therefore

makes the noise louder and louder and

louder when i got tinnitus back in i

think 2008 2009 i i just moved to

another part of the country i started a

new job moved away from all my friends

didn't see my wife as much as because we

were all doing different shifts and it

was really difficult and i think that

stress and that big change at life event

set off my tips and i thought i could

see it now at the time i didn't feel

stressed or or upset or whatever at the

time i just had this horrible noise

actually the first thing i noticed was

um

i thought it was a sort of a i left a tv

on or something and i walked around the

house for ages looking for this tv or

this electrical appliance i had left on

that was making this noise it was ages

later i thought oh god i think i've got

tinnitus i knew what tinnitus was i was

a cnt surgeon um but i obviously i

hadn't looked into it as enough so what

i did was i went round and round this

jasper of cycle where i heard the

tinnitus the brain saw that i was

getting annoyed by the synthesis the

brain thought that the tinnitus was um

important so it made the tinses louder

and it cycled back to oh my god it's

even louder now what's happening and it

went round and round like getting louder

and louder and you know

people like vincent van gogh get so

desperately they cut their ear off and

and it's that negative cycle that sort

of horrible sort of loop that people go

through that i think causes tinnitus and

what happens is the more times you go

around this cycle the more you're able

to lay down those pathways in your brain

it's called brain plasticity it's the

ability to learn new things

people

maybe maybe just for me but i felt that

i was when i looked back at it i was

laying down pathways or neuronal

pathways that allowed me to hear this

noise louder and larger i was focusing

in on this noise and so that

previously very quiet noise was becoming

louder and light because i was willing

it to do so that's why i think a lot of

people get hyper acoustics hyper

acoustic means you become really

sensitive to noises your hearing has got

higher and higher like people who um go

blind their hearing can get a bit better

and the same sort of thing can happen i

think in um in tinnitus your hearing

sensitivity wraps up in that one few

spectrum so there's few frequencies that

you have you start hearing it really

really um easily and so people go oh my

god the hairdryer's on or there's so

much the road noise is so loud whereas

normal people

aren't bothered by those sort of noises

but if your hearing has been wrapped up

because your brain has got into this

weird feedback loop it has to go oh god

this this

let's focus in on this extra noise

that's what i think seems to happen in

some people

and that thing about vincent van gogh

cutting off his ear you know he was very

depressed and

that sort of brings me back to

depression and anxiety if you have

depression anxiety if you've got

depression it's a lot of people think of

it as an inability to cope with things

and when you've got this disease or

anxiety is that you get really really

worried about things so if you hear this

noise it's natural for those people with

these conditions

to

find it very hard to pull themselves out

of that loop where you constantly worry

and the brain sees that worry and then

makes it um worse i hope you understand

what i'm trying to say so i'm

it doesn't matter if the tinnitus came

first or depression came first

having depression anxiety can make it

very difficult to pull yourself out of

that loop so what i found for me was

that the key to fixing my tinnitus was

reversing this jasper off loop or

pulling yourself out of it and sort of

reversing so you can go back to where

you were before reapplying and

suppressing that those noises

starting up those filters again so you

can't hear the tinnitus anymore so let's

get on to that bit of the video

so a lot of people will say to me look

there is no cure to tinctures what

you're talking about but i guess you're

right there is no cure for your

heartbeat nobody wants to be cured of

their heartbeat what i'm saying is that

not being able to hear your tinnitus or

not being aware of your tinnitus to me

is as good as a cure because as i said

in the previous section

all these noises we've had for the whole

of our lives and i should say actually

if you've skipped ahead to this point

please go back to the chapter before

because what i want you to do is

understand this there because this

section will make a lot more sense if

you understand the the chapter before

this oh sorry i'll get on with this now

anyway like i was saying before the the

definition of cure in tunisia is

slightly vague but what i'm trying to

say is if you remember that soundproof

room experiment i was telling you about

before the idea is to reverse that

jasper off cycle to reapply those

filters to suppress those noises that

our brains

think that you want to hear but what

you're trying to do is suppress the

noises so

you don't hear them anymore because

correcting the assumptions that your

brain was making now a lot of people

what they do is they listen to white

noise or you know the noise between

radio channels on the old analog chat

radios that shh actually i'll put a

proper noise up here somewhere

yeah so that noise that shh noise if you

hear that that's what we call masking

what you're doing is using that noise so

loud that you can't hear your own

tinnitus and if that's working for you

fantastic you should carry on with that

whenever you hear your team just listen

to that and there's no need to watch

this video anymore because with time

your tennis will slowly get better

for me that didn't really work because i

was sort of replacing one annoying noise

in my head with another annoying noise

from my radio and it just annoyed me

particularly when i was trying to sleep

because i quite like silence when i'm

trying to sleep and what i didn't what i

noticed also is that as my tinsels got

louder i ended up putting the radio

louder and they're sort of competing

against two different noises i just it

just didn't work for me

if it works for you like i said just go

for it but if it's not working for you

well i'll tell you what i did

what i soon realized when i did a bit

more reading that the masking is not

there to overcome the noise so that you

can't hear tinsel it doesn't really make

any sense to me what it's meant to do is

distract you from the noise inside your

head what you're trying to do is let

your brain listen to real noises rather

than the noise that's been generated in

your head or the heartbeat or whatever

the idea is that what you're trying to

do is distract your brain from these

abnormal noises in your head

and therefore you're sort of reapplying

that filter so what i started doing is

listening to things like when i got in

from work i'd normally hear it because

the house was quiet without my wife

around and i'd turn on the tv or the

radio one as soon as i walked through

the door because i knew i'd start

listening to tinnitus if i didn't do

that it became a habit and when i was

trying to sleep at night instead of

listening to the shh noise i used to

turn on the radio maybe radio 4 or

whatever the equivalent is in around the

world or like the shipping news at night

i don't know if you've ever heard the

shipping news but um in england the

shipping news is rather it sounds really

boring it's like

the shipping news if you don't know what

it is is little points out at sea and

they tell you the weather at different

points and it's said in such a monotone

sort of robotic way that i spent my time

when i listened to it it was quite late

about 11 12 o'clock at night um i

remember listening to go where did they

where does bbc find these people that

can speak like this and i remember

talking to myself about like

ranting to myself oh my god where where

are these people how do they learn to

talk like this and how could they just

not do this without bursting out into

laughter

and because i was having that little

internal dialogue and thinking about the

shipping news and not thinking about my

tinnitus

that i was distracting myself away from

that noise it's a bit like um a lot of

people when they have mild tinnitus they

don't notice that they've got to insist

when they're out with their friends when

they're having fun enjoying themselves

or if they're at work in a difficult

task and it's only when they get home

more than when they try and go to sleep

and it's quiet then they start hearing

their tinnitus again i think the real

reason why i like this sort of

distraction technique is that the shh

noise sort of still reminded me that i

had tinnitus whereas distracting myself

and sort of making me forget that i have

tinnitus seemed to work better for me

but it doesn't really matter how you do

it as long as you forget or you can't

hear your tinnitus and focus on

something else the more you do that

incrementally you'll notice that your

tinnitus gets quieter and quieter and

quieter i mean they're tiny increments

at the start and at the start it's

really quite bad but the more you don't

listen to your tinnitus the quieter

it'll get and it sounds a bit weird to

say but that's how it seems to work

because what you're doing is you're

reapplying that filter you're telling

your brain that you're not interested in

this noise you when you hear this noise

you distract yourself away from it and

when you do that you're telling your

brain i have no emotional

impulse to this noise i've distracted

myself away from it i'm not interested

in it please start reducing that

neuronal pathway that you're laying down

filter it out i'm not interested and

that's the sort of control that you're

trying to exert over your uh your own

brain's sort of incorrect assumptions

about thinking oh god this is important

you're trying to say no it's not

important i don't want to hear it

anymore

move on and although you only get tiny

little improvements every day and

sometimes hardly any improvement but

when you do notice a tiny little

improvement you go my god i actually

have control over this i have some sort

of weird little mastery of this and that

gives you a whole lot of more

reassurance makes you feel like actually

i can influence this i can change it

and when you have that feeling of

control it gives you hope and you can

keep going and you keep working on it

and noticing even these tiny little

improvements every day gave me some hope

gave you some comfort and it really

helped me carry on

unfortunately the shipping news didn't

really work for very long because

after a few nights or maybe a week or so

of me ranting at the radio

internally in my head i thought to

myself actually i've sort of ranted

enough i can't think of anything else to

rant about and i started remembering

that i was doing this for the tinnitus

rather than me getting annoyed by the

shipping news

so and also being annoyed is not a great

idea when you have chances you try and

find something that's fun for you so

what i did was um and because also it

was making noise as well and that noise

was annoying me when i was trying to

sleep so what i did was i tried

something else i knew it was more about

distraction at this point so what i did

was i turned on the small tv in our

bedroom the old crts back then um and i

left on uh re-runs of old

tv series and you know this may show you

what sort of person i am but i used to

watch star wars

reruns of star wars uh the black adder

series red dwarf all those sorts of

things and i didn't turn on the volume i

left it on mute but i turned on the um

the subtitles and because i have uh you

know a stumpy small y chromosome that

doesn't allow me to multitask i i even

though i know all the words i had to

read the subtitles because i can't male

brain um and so i sat there staring at

the subtitles and i knew the storyline i

knew all the words and although it was

nice for me to watch and i'd carry on

watching it

it wasn't so entertaining that i

couldn't fall asleep and it was quiet it

was for me it was better than the the

noise of the shipping news or the shh

noise so that worked better for me and

because i've only got a tiny male brain

those subtitles were enough to for me to

focus in on that and allow me to

distract myself away from the noise in

my head and that as i said worked for me

and it meant that

the tinnitus with time got quieter and

quieter and quieter there were times

however where actually that the tv

subtitle muted trick doesn't work for me

either and the tint was so loud

screaming your ear it generally happened

when i was sort of tired hungry stressed

all you know all three um which happens

quite a lot when you're a doctor um

so yeah if you're hungry just eat that's

an obvious thing when you've got one of

these things it

puts a barrier in you allowing you to

sort of focus away from the tinnitus so

eat and try and rest or try and calm

yourself down all those things are

really helpful so what i did was when i

was in these situations when it was

really loud and screw in my ear i'd have

to distract myself even more

aggressively than just watching

subtitles on an old star wars empire

strikes back which is great by the way

watch it if you haven't seen it but what

i did was i distracted myself more

aggressively than that so what i did was

i got little computer games on my phone

or on a laptop

and i played those games now i wouldn't

say something like candy crush or you

know chess or something like that

because

it's not it's not a fast-paced game you

can have time to think between each move

and what you need is something that

doesn't require thought as such you need

to do something which is really

fascinating just working on instinct

like you know sonic the hedgehog all

that but weird

um

there's a program i'm showing my age now

where you run run run you going left and

right jumping over things and something

chase temple run something like that

i'll try and put a you know it's very

boring sorry but

games like that where you're using all

your attention to to pass and you have

to use instinct and swiping whatever

something that where it engrosses you so

you know buy yourself a playstation 5 or

something like that a fast-paced game

where you have to use reactions or a

more modern thing would be

like getting oculus 2 and playing vader

immortal or something but i wouldn't get

world of warcraft or something because

it makes you think you need something

fast-paced

enough about computer games i'll move on

so what happened was with these very

fast computer games that um it took the

edge off my tinnitus so after about 20

minutes of playing game and me not

remembering that i've got tinnitus and

i've noticed it's got a bit quieter i

thought to myself right now it's quite

enough for me to watch my tv and fall

asleep listening to um or watching tv

and looking the subtitles and then fall

asleep so i'm not saying that you have

to play computer games you have to play

vader immortal three or you know you or

you have to watch red dwarf what i'm

saying is that you need to find

something that will distract your brain

some people will want to go

looking through the internet looking at

handbags and shoes or or talking to

their friends or something like that

that will distract their brain away from

their tinnitus do something that will

interest you you've got to choose

something that's fun something that's

calming if you can or something that

completely distracts you because those

are things that are going to help you

the best i think when it comes to trying

to ease the tinnitus noise and the more

you ease it the more you don't hear it

the more you don't remember that you

have tinnitus the slower the quieter the

tinnitus will get and talking about that

fun and that happy calm place if you do

have anxiety and you do have depression

it's important that you go and see your

doctor and try and get that treated now

a lot of people said no no the tinses

came first and that's why i'm depressed

which is that may be true that's fine

but the point is you even if you have

depression or even if you have low mood

because of your tinnitus it'll be very

hard for you to pull yourself out of

that loop without fixing the depression

anxiety first so do your very best to

get rid of that side it'll really help

you pull yourself out of this negative

loop that some people get into so it

doesn't matter it's not a chicken and

egg scenario if you have

worries or anxieties or depression or

low mood go and see your gp get that

sort of tell them that you've got tinses

and he will refer you also to

attendances clinic

but it's really important that you sort

out both issues it doesn't matter which

came first just just get them both

sorted because it'll really help you

recover from this problem

now i was quite lucky i didn't have any

hearing loss and i know easy for me to

check i went to the audiologist and got

them to do a hearing test but my hearing

was sort of normal i say this so it's

not really it's like this but you know

what i mean it was a normal flat line

good hearing all the way through there

are some people who have reduced hearing

and as i said before musicians and their

hearing are dropped in one area and when

that happens it makes it much harder for

those people to fix their tinnitus

because they're not getting the

stimulation their brain is craving for

what you need to do is try and improve

your hearing if you can so an awful lot

of people say to me look i've got no

problems with my hearing i can hear you

just fine my hearing's not that bad but

when i look at the hearing chest it has

dropped in a few frequencies it may not

be enough for them to influence their

daily life maybe not enough to

for them to even notice that they've got

hearing loss but if they do have hearing

loss it's typically the hearing loss the

hearing loss is where they can hear

their tinnitus i say to people well

actually it may be worth getting a

hearing aid just to improve the hearing

in those frequencies even if you don't

have hearing or you don't feel like you

need one all you're doing is wearing the

hearing aids to help you get rid of the

tinnitus because what you're doing is

you're allowing your brain to be

stimulated in those frequencies that

you've lost

and therefore your brain's going oh

there's other things to listen to now

more interesting things like birds

tweeting or leaves rustling or whatever

you're listening to those noises now

whereas previously you couldn't because

you had hearing loss there augmenting

that area that you've lost

will allow your brain to be stimulated

so therefore the tumors will slowly get

slowly go away

because you're stimulating your brain

you're giving it something to listen to

and that really helps some people and

some people go well okay i've got rid of

my chances with a hearing aid

do i have to keep wearing the hearing

aid not really i guess not if it's not

helping you hearing why bother if it

well sometimes you give people hearing

aids just to help them get over the

tinnitus so that's an important

distinction a lot of people go why am i

got this hearing aid what's the point i

got tinnitus i don't have a hearing

problem that's the reason why a lot of

people give you a hearing aid and and if

you understand the context behind it it

should make a little bit more sense

anyway the um the subtitles the shipping

news the um computer games i used that

sort of distraction technique to slowly

reduce my tinnitus and it took me about

it was really loud at one point so it

took me about six weeks to get to the

point where i

should i can hear it but it doesn't

really bother me anymore i can probably

live like this forever now with this

sort of noise in my head but because i'm

a personality type entj and i just want

to fix everything i thought to myself

right

just to prove it to myself i'm going to

keep going

and see if i can get rid of it

completely and to be honest it took me

ages because i kept forgetting but um it

took me about three or four months after

that to to get rid of it completely and

it started off with me going oh i

haven't noticed it for a bit and and

then it came back because i thought

about it and sometimes days would go

past and i go oh i haven't noticed it

and then it would come back and silly me

i used to think at the start i wonder if

it's gone away and i'd listen out for it

and obviously knowing what you know now

watching this video that's the wrong

thing to do to try and resist the

temptation just to check if you still

have genesis just keep going the the

days where

you don't have tinnitus or the time when

you don't have tenses will get longer

and longer and longer to the point where

you've got less you've got uh more time

away from some more time with and

eventually you sort of months later you

go oh actually an activities and it

doesn't come back at that point and it

takes a really long time and i'm not

sure if it was three or four months

because it sort of you forget so the way

i did it was i continued distracting

myself for months and months it was

quite hard to think of things to

distract myself with but the more i did

it the times when i didn't get tinnitus

became longer and longer and longer to

the point where i i forgot that i ever

had tinses and it's only when i think

back now that oh yeah i had genesis so

that's the idea what i hope i think i

did i i created that filter that i think

we all have that filters out these

noises and i've reapplied that filter

suppress those noises so i can't hear it

anymore

even

you know when i'm trying to sleep at

night i can't hear my tennis and that

happens to lots of people it's not just

me it happens to loads of people um

just look at the results from tunisia's

clinics so a lot of people go away oh

right yeah you're right and then if you

call these people back you know a year

later no i don't have chances and they

they forget to mention it it's not

something you want to remember it's not

something you want to go back to so the

voices on the internet will be saying oh

no jesus is terrible there are lots of

people who say oh yeah timothy was fine

i got rid of it

there are an awful lot of people out

there so

have hope have some reassurance that can

happen for you so don't get too stressed

about it if you can now all i've been

doing is waffling on about these

sort of mind tricks that i've been doing

on myself there are some medical

therapies out there which can help

people with symptoms and i'll go through

those one by one

so at times i did use something called

180 phase reduction or 180 phase shift

now what that is is that you're applying

an equal and opposite sound to your

tinnitus to cancel out the two noises

that's quite hard to do and at the time

it was sort of relatively easy what i

did was i got an app on my phone

i think it was called sound frequency

generator or something similar to that

and what you need to do is com

as closely as precise as you possibly

can recreate your tinnitus noise uh that

you can hear in your ear on your phone

so that you play the sound and it sounds

exactly the same as the autism and

the the more precise you get the better

so just make it just perfect now it's

quite hard because a lot of these noises

are slightly broadband in character but

once you get the dominant frequency or

if you can do a slight broadband feature

on your app that can make it slightly

sort of

quite noisy in that one or two

frequencies

but once you've got it and it sounds

exactly the same what you need to do is

say 180 phase reduction so you

you're creating an equal and opposite

sound to that noise at the time what i

need to do is find another app transfer

that noise to this app and then do that

180 phase reduction and then play that

back to myself and that worked quite

well because when it was sort of really

loud in my ear and to be honest i'm sort

of almost playing around with it but

when when that noise was really loud in

my ear when i played this the noise came

down a little bit i thought wow this is

actually is sort of suppressing it

to be honest

i've noticed that after you know some

time my tennis would change and it would

change ever so slightly so you have to

go oh god i have to make a new noise for

myself and recalibrate you re-titrate it

and and sort of apply the new noise it

was a bit of a pain moving from app to

app and then listening to it and

sometimes it only lasts 10 minutes but

what i liked about it was that it gave

me some comfort it gave me

a feeling of control or mastery over my

chances and that to me was really

important it gave me hope that i can

influence it if i feel like i have

control over it

i felt like i could sort it out i could

deal with it as i said sometimes it it

only lasted a short time sometimes it

only just took the edge off because i

didn't get the tone exactly right

so it sort of helped i don't think it's

particularly useful uh in the end i

couldn't be bothered with the apt app

thing and and i ended up playing lots of

computer games but um

if you want to try this now

please go ahead unfortunately the app

that does a 180 phase rule i can't find

that anymore i can only find

a noise generator so i can't leave a

link to it but

i mean i'm sure there's a noise

generator out there i did at one point

try and make an app my own app that

would connect these two things together

but i couldn't find anyone to help me do

it and

as

you've seen me trying to put together a

snoring app it's taken me years to do

that

this tinnitus app unfortunately you

can't make any more because

the rules have changed all about this

now

to make an app that was specifically

designed to help you reduce utilities is

now a medical device it's not an app

anymore so you have to go through a

million loop hoops and things too to get

to that point where you're allowed to

publish an app which is meant to help

people with tinnitus so it's you know

it's not worth it and trying to find

someone who will do make an app for you

for free so you can give it away for

free with no sort of income back from it

you know no one no no one will do that

what i want you to do is try and work

this out for yourself so you do you know

i got rid of it myself so um hopefully

you can as well but if any of you decide

to make this app and create it let me

know in the comments and i'll link it to

the description and that way

i can sort of promote your app in some

way i did have a patient with a genius

idea where he could use the sound

generation uh device to make the noise

exactly the same as ear and then what he

had is that he saw he put on active

noise cancellation um headphones now he

wouldn't connect the phone to the

earphones what he did was he just played

it on the outside and left this on um

just playing and actively cancelling the

noise around him so it works almost the

same way that noise was actively

cancelled going into your ear now um

unfortunately he couldn't uh

check if it worked because a he found

the calibration quite differently trying

to get the same noise as his ear and b

his tinnitus was slowly going away

anyway so it wasn't worth the effort for

him so but it might be an idea if you uh

have active noise cancellation

headphones and really good ones

and you can make the same tinnitus noise

you could try that out and let me know

if it works for you

there are some other therapies and i'll

go through them now there's rtms or

repetitive trans cranial magnetic

stimulator something like that basically

you get these enormous magnets and you

focus this magnetic power on your brain

it's used for helping people with

depression and some other problems

but what it does is sort of influences

your neuronal chemistry or something

like that and i guess if it's affecting

your brain and changing the way your

brain works it might work and there are

trials out there that say that in some

people it really does work some people

get six months of recovery

some people you know six minutes or

something um and it seems to only work

in a certain population not other people

so i

i don't know if it work if it's going to

work and there are published papers out

there that say it does work and if you

want to go and sort of look at that

there is i think a place on harley

street or i'm sure there are places

anywhere with uh rtms um and go and try

it out if that's what you really want to

do

there is a local anesthetic drug called

lidocaine or lignicain as we used to

call it lidocaine uh if you inject it

through the vein has this amazing

quality of getting rid of people's

tinnitus it just sort of suddenly

disappears so

uh it's it's amazing oh my god my chest

is gone but the problem is when you

inject lidocaine it also has the rather

nasty side effect of causing your heart

to stop and give you a heart attack is

not something that we would like to use

but again someone had quite a good idea

is to get

lignochain not as an injection straight

into your vein but as a patch or you can

put it anywhere i guess but a lot of

people put it behind their ear and that

lignicain patch in a trial that i saw

seemed to over about three months or so

seemed to reduce tinnitus in some people

again some people it worked for some

people it didn't um and

i think people are hoping that

lignicaine those 12-hour patches were

slowly reducing their tinnitus

it's quite hard to tell because maybe

their chances would have got better over

three months

i'm not sure and normally lignite works

straight away

i'm a bit fearful of using liquid cane i

don't i don't like it just in case it

affects the heart but you

and i have not seen any further trials

about lidocaine

but um if you're interested speak to

your doctor about it or speak to one of

these guys i was telling you about

like the tinnitus clinic or other places

and they might be able to point you in

the right direction

there's an awful lot of evidence to say

that relaxing techniques

meditation self-awareness all those

sorts of things do help people with

tinnitus if it works for you you should

definitely do it it seems to work for an

awful lot of people so learning how to

calm your mind down not get so

riled up by this tinnitus can help an

awful lot of people i think it's

worthwhile doing if that's

uh if that you think is your problem uh

so meditation and things like that can

help i don't know anything about it but

again see these tinnitus people they may

be able to help you

there are a variety of other pills and

sort of lotions and sort of

things that you can do to yourself to

try and help you with your tinnitus i've

seen people who are flicking the back of

their head or doing different massages

or using different devices on the ear

now i haven't seen any conclusive sort

of evidence to say that any of these

things work

um but

if it works for you

and you know a placebo effect is 20

effectiveness so it improves your most

people will say 20 i'll take 20

reduction in my tinnitus well then it'll

be worth going ahead and doing it

there's nothing saying that oh

doing this or

using a laser pointed to your eardrum

you know all those things

if they feel like they're working for

you

then do it i mean who cares if it's a

placebo effect or not i don't know

anything about tinnitus and or does

anyone else as far as i can understand

if it works for you and it's helping you

even by just 20 then just do it in my

mind don't um don't worry if the

evidence is out there or whatever just

try it and if it works great fantastic i

hope you found this video useful

if you know someone who you think it

might help please show them this video

or tell them what i've told you

and if you want a freebie sort of

tinnitus white noise masker i can send

you one for free just sign up to my my

newsletter

and respond to my letter when i send it

out to you my email sorry and i'll give

you i'll send one out to you if you pull

your name out of the hat and i'll leave

a link to it in the description if you

want thank you very much for watching i