I have been a tinnitus sufferer for about 20 years. I am contemplating maxillofacial surgery and corresponding orthodontic work to correct a narrow upper palette. I’ve read that any kind of dental drilling can risk aggravating tinnitus. The recommended precaution is to have your surgeon drill intermittantly. I understand this recommendation, but feel that it ultimately puts the fate of my tinnitus in the hands of a surgeon who may or may not follow the ‘intermittent’ drilling protocol when it comes to the day of the surgery (he could forget and I could do nothing since I’d be asleep). Consequently, I’m wondering if there is a way to test my ears’ tolerance to the drill’s sound before surgery. My idea is to have the surgeon run the drill by my ear for a time to see how the sound aggravates my tinnitus. I could ask him to simulate the duration of drilling as it would occur during the actual surgery. I question though whether part of the risk lies in the actual internal conduction of sound via the bone. Is the sound of the drill more amplified when it is actually penetrating your bone? Also, I wonder how / whether the drilling of bone creates some kind of a trauma effect that could aggravate tinnitus. Any thoughts would be extremely helpful. thanks, Mike
Getting It Straight – Is There a Cure for Tinnitus?
And the million dollar question is, “Is there a cure for tinnitus?” To be straight about it, no, there is none as of yet. This often referred to as ringing in the ears is a symptom of an underlying medical condition, much like fever. Hence, it is not a disease or infection in itself, one reason why there is no cure for it.
Getting frustrated or depressed with this fact is a natural reaction from the sufferers of ear ringing. However, this kind of reaction should be fought against as it will only contribute to the increase of the level of the unwanted sound. This means that if you are an ear ringing sufferer, it would be best to be positive and dwell on the things that you can do about the situation that you are in. What do I mean by this?
What I mean is that there are things that can be done to stop the unwanted sound from negatively affecting your life and leaving you debilitated. One of the immediate things that you can do is make yourself familiar with tinitus. The Internet, for instance, is a rich source of information, so you can make use of it to research and read articles about the condition. Through this, you will, in a way, know what your options are, especially with the treatments. Be sure, though, to keep a sound judgment in the kinds of information that you take in.
Remedies for ringing in the ears can be in the form of stress management programs and techniques such as counseling, hypnotherapy, meditation, and relaxation therapy. Stress is both a cause and an effect of the unwanted sound, and at the same time aggravates it, so it is very important to have stress properly managed.
White noise maskers are also being used to make the ringing noise less noticeable. They are especially helpful when you need to concentrate, or when you have problems falling asleep. You can listen to the white noise produced by your television set or stereo, or you can have the commercially available ones, which may come in CD or MP3 format.
Furthermore, alternative treatments like homeopathic tinnitus remedies, herbal preparations, acupressure, and acupuncture can also be made use of.
“Is there a cure for tinnitus?” It is such one important question. The answer to it can be taken negatively or positively, depending on the sufferer’s attitude. But of course, a positive attitude is the one that you should have, especially if you do not want that ringing noise to take control of your life.
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March 2, 2009
