Frequently Asked Questions

Tinnitus is a phantom sound heard in the ears or head. 

We are happy to give you the most straightforward answer we can to the question, “Can tinnitus be cured?”. 

 Answer: No.  

 But there is also no cure for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many, if not most, chronic medical conditions afflicting older adults.  

 The real question to ask is, “Can tinnitus be effectively treated?” 

 Answer: Yes! Using proven treatment programs, tinnitus can effectively be reduced in nearly 90% of people!  

Yes. The most effective and proven treatment for tinnitus is to stimulate the brain with sound to reduce activity in the neural networks that create the phantom perception of sound.  

Currently, there is no conclusive research to confirm whether acupuncture can effectively alleviate tinnitus symptoms. However, since there are no indications that it could exacerbate tinnitus, you might be inclined to give it a try. 

 Acupuncture is a safe practice that may also help to ease other issues and correct imbalances that may be associated with tinnitus, including: 

• Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMJ) 

• Hypertension 

• Chronic Neck Pain 

Tinnitus retraining therapy is a form of indirect treatment for tinnitus and may be considered to supplement direct treatment. The benefits of TRT can vary from patient to patient, and minimal peer-reviewed data supports the effectiveness of TRT.  

YES!  

Think of tinnitus as your internal warning alarm telling you something is wrong. If you didn’t have tinnitus and now do – something has gone awry! The most common cause of tinnitus is a progressive degeneration of the neural system connecting the ears to the brain. Deficits in this neural network can impact memory/mental health, increase your risk of dementia, and raise your chances of a traumatic fall.  

In addition, untreated tinnitus can impact your emotional, physical, social, economic, and cognitive health.  

For most people with tinnitus, it is the result of the same neural degeneration that causes us difficulty hearing. Thus, we often tell say that hearing loss is tinnitus, and tinnitus is hearing loss. 

Here’s our equivocal answer: if you don’t treat your tinnitus, it will get worse. If you properly treat your tinnitus, the odds are in your favor (90%) that you will notice a marked reduction in your tinnitus, and you will likely have less tinnitus.  

While the right treatment can help you to live an active life without the constant interference of tinnitus, extreme cases can be disabling.  

Yes! A blockage of earwax can cause tinnitus. However, if the tinnitus persists once the wax is removed, that may indicate you have underlying tinnitus that was only made louder by the presence of earwax.

This is a tough one – that has both a yes and no answer!  

Given the most common cause of tinnitus is due to aging, tinnitus in most people is not avoidable if you live long enough. The underlying cause of tinnitus can start in the 4th to 5th decade of life and become noticeable shortly after that.  

In many people, there are additional external factors that make their tinnitus worse, including excessive noise exposure, stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, and anxiety.  

Many patients who are desperate to reduce their tinnitus will ask if cutting or severing the hearing nerve will eliminate their tinnitus.  This permanent, deafness-producing procedure is not a dependable means of reducing tinnitus.  In fact, the surgical destruction of a person’s hearing nerve can often leave tinnitus as the only sound heard (like ‘Phantom Limb’).

Put bluntly – there are currently NO FDA-approved drugs specifically for treating tinnitus. However, there are pharmacological options to address the stress, anxiety, and depression that are caused by (and can sometimes exacerbate) tinnitus.