Thanks for the information on the maskers. I've always been curious. I'd also like to hear from anyone who's completed tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) as this is said to still be the most effective treatment. Thanks.

I have been seriously considering the maskers. My audiologist said it would cost $2200 for the pair and it would also have amplification ability on them. My husband argued with me that if my digital hear aides cost me $4200.00 - double- surely I would find the tinnitus instrument inferior in quality on the hearing aide side. I have been through many meds and I am scared to go through more meds - coming back off of them is a nightmare - weight gain - weight loss - visible shakes (gabapentin almost killed me when I got off) so I am wondering can I tolerate a white noise and will my brain really do what the TRT people are saying.

By the say, it is very interesting that the maskers would cause you to hear better - that is soooo unexpected - I have been expecting to lose some of my hearing with them - that was my biggest fear - that I would hear less - and I would have to strain to hear people speaking to me - do you have amplification on yours also or just the masking? Do you have hearing loss or just the tinnitus? I read somewhere that some people have no hearing loss and just the tinnitus. Also there is a study on the internet that says that 65% of people with both the hearing loss and the tinnitus gain therapeutic benefit from having a tinnitus instrument - in other words, both the masking and amplification together. These are the people who buy the majority of the masking devices - they lost hearing and have tinnitus - that was a study on the internet - I will try to find the link and paste it here for viewing. I've read over it like ten times in trying to decide to go for those $2200 tinnitus instruments - the doc says I get 30 days to decide and if I can't stand it - he'll let me have all but $300 ($150 on each instrument) back on my credit card. Even the thought of tossing $300.00 is hard - I want to toss money towards a sure thing (i've spent so much on drugs) best wishes to everyone!!!

I have tinnitus without hearing loss and use a $150 earpiece called "the distractor" which plays white noise. I wanted to try it before spending thousands of dollars on custom aides. I am very pleased with it and I can also sleep with it.

For my high pitch sound I have been using my ipod with the sounds of 'Restful Rain" and it has served me well. I have recently added a medium sound (after dentist visit) to my high pitch sound and I find that the rain sound does not work as well on the medium sound (lower than the high pitch sound). Is anyone else using a different masking sound then rain on their medium t. I would like to know what is working best for anyone with the same sound. Thanks in advance and this is a great support group, everyone is very helpful and the info I've found here has helped me tremendously. Stay positive. Thanks.

Hi,

I purchased the book, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, (TRT), by Pawel J. Jastreboff and Jonathan W.P. Hazell, ( the designers of the TRT) from Amazon in the UK. I was too impatient to wait for the NHS to offer me the course, and also felt that I really needed help quickly.

The book outlines TRT for the audiology proffessional but is quite readable for someone with minimal science knowledge. It explains the principles behind habituation and how to achieve it, as well as lots more, such as the success of various treatments and the source of tinnitus and hyperacusis.

I highly reccommend this book for anyone who feels they can read about the process and try it by themselves.
I also bought, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, Clinical Guidelines. I haven't read it yet. It seems to describe TRT as well as give clinical guidelines for the audiology proffessional, eg suggestions for appointments, copies of question sheets for patients to complete, etc

Marcia

I would suggest people buy the Moses/Lang Masking CD($25)and try it first. It has 7 masking sounds to choose from and I find track#3 to mask my high pitched tinnitus completely and it does this at a very low volume that lets you watch television or carry on a conversation. Have always been amazed on how well it works.

wow....the original post date was May of 07........I didn't even have tinnitus then....anyone else ever have those thoughts when you see certain dates?

I'm guilty of not paying attention to the original date. Thanks BeccaEliz for pointing that out. For me it's a Homer Simpson "DOH" moment. Trouble is I've been having those quite a bit here lately.

Hi Becca,

On March 8th I realised mine was permanent and not just a short term side effect of my illness. The illness started Feb 23rd, then the noise a couple of days latter. I'm now healthy, but as you say, people mentioning dates, and especially looking at pictures, I think; 'that was before...'

Marcia

Didn't JohnK just bump up his instruments to hearing aids/maskers - namely, a tinnitus instruments - bilateral? What's his status on doing this treatment?