The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Ear Rinse
Posted by Shar (Dallas, Texas USA) on 09/18/2024
★★★★★
Ear Rinse for Sudden Onset Ringing in the ear
I have been using this site for as long as it has been up and I didn't see anything like this in the stuff under tinnitus and thought I would share.
Sometimes it's hard to determine the source of tinnitus in an ear. If you hear it in one ear, there could be an infection or debris. I went to a doctor and was told I had an ear infection. After using prescribed antifungal and eardrops, the issue returned, accompanied by a migraine. An NP suggested rinsing the ear, so I bought Neti Rinse, designed to clear earwax and debris.
**Steps:**
1. Pour hydrogen peroxide into the affected ear and let it sit for 5 minutes.
2. Use a bulb syringe filled with warm water to rinse the ear.
I found a tiny piece of debris that may have been causing my pain. I'm glad I solved it!
Flavonoids
Posted by lisa (palm desert) on 05/30/2023
★★★★★
I take flavonoids for years, 3 times a day. If you try it, do it for 1 month, you have to be patient 6 times a day it will help.
I have tinnitus very bad but flavonoid helps me. please try it
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Denise (True "Northern" California) on 04/16/2020
★☆☆☆☆
Haven't seen any new posts on EC about Tinnitus, but it's too bad because I am still searching for an answer/fix after 4 going on 5 years of this insidious condition. A silent place, like being home alone, is my worst enemy. I have tried so many things I've seen on EC, but never found anything that touched mine. When I am out and about, especially driving, I don't notice my "T" (I'll call it). At home, I have my app on my phone running (Chrome Doze or Whist tinnitus if mine gets high-pitched). All night I have to have it til I fall asleep, but the Chrome Doze doesn't use hardly any battery so I just let it run. I live in a strange place that has this little app running pretty much, 24/7, especially since I retired, and don't go much, plus, the covid stay-at-home. Well, the best reply imo, that I read here was from 2012 about the Essiac tea. I may try it but haven't a clue which to buy on Amazon. I have a drawer full of supplements that didn't work for me. I do NOT believe mine has much to do with my ears. Other than they hear this sound coming from my brain ;( I get sad when I read these forums about tinnitus and rarely do read them. It's better for me to accept it, that I'll never enjoy the sound of silence again. I hear even people that lose their hearing still have the ringing. I don't even bring it up anymore to my doctors because they have no answers for me. I live a healthy, active lifestyle (exercise, lots of whole foods, lots of water). I find huge relief from allergies doing saltwater irrigation, and ACV every day, twice a day in worst times of the year. I have found wonderful relief from other ailments here so I think there is a lot to Ted's fixes, as well as the many, wonderful, people that share their stories. I wish they'd come back because I am lonely for the company of people that suffer with some of the same things I do. There is not regular gathering of people with health issues. This has the best database, only wish it was more like a regular forum. But at least the info is here to read.
Thanks many thanks, to everyone who is still around, as well as those that have moved on. Denise
Astaxanthin
Posted by William L. (Nashville, TN, USA) on 08/17/2019
★★★★★
For Tinnitus, try Astaxanthin 2 mg 1 softgel per day. This helped me until I learned that I'm allergic to it. Nevertheless, Astaxanthin can not only relax your inner ear, but it's beneficial to your eyes as well.
Astaxanthin
Posted by William L. (Nashville, TN, USA) on 08/19/2019
Astaxanthin also comes in 2 mg, 4 mg, 10 mg, and upward. I recommend starting at a lower dosage , once a day, because, like I mentioned above, I learned after just a few days that I'm allergic to Astaxanthin. However, I now take Antarctic Krill Oil , and it contains astaxanthin. Each softgel of this Krill Oil contains 200 MicroGrams of Astaxanthin, so I can still consume astaxanthin, but in a lower dosage than with pure Astaxanthin. I now use it 2 or 3 days a week, 2 or three softgels each day , and my intake of Astaxanthin is now .4-.6 mg each day I use it. My allergy doesn't affect me as it seriously did with 4mg-10mg, and I still notice benefits in my inner ear and eyesight.
Electric Vibration
Posted by MT (Scottsdale, AZ) on 12/16/2024
★★★★★
Instead of an electric toothbrush, I used a facial scrubber with a silicone shell. It is used to massage and exfoliate the facial tissue. It's very soothing and has a variety of vibrations from pulsating to thumping . Press the wand around the ear or at the base of the skull and neck for about few minutes. It helped reduce the ringing! I will continue to use this technique daily in hopes it goes away completely.
Electric Vibration
Posted by Ruralady (Illinois) on 12/25/2024 61 posts
★★★★★
I can now add it's been five days since I started the vibration for tinnitus and it's been a gamechanger. It's pretty much gone, the TV isn't loud anymore and I don't have to ask to have everything repeated....love the quiet! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Garlic
Posted by Volsung (Belfast, Uk) on 07/06/2015
★★★★★
I had been suffering rapid ear thumping in my right ear for a couple of months. They would sometimes be triggered off by a yawn or a burp but sometimes they would start seemingly without any trigger at all. The spasms could last about 6 or 7 seconds and occur 3 or 4 times per minute for up to 9 hours. I had also been suffering pulsatile tinnitus in my left ear probably due to a persistent ear infection.
I found that putting a largish piece of cut garlic in my right ear stops the thumping. I haven't had any for a while now. It is important that you cut the garlic to let the active vapours enter the ear. I would keep it in overnight. Also make sure the piece is large enough not to go down far into the ear canal.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Todd J. (Williamston, Nc) on 07/20/2017
I was searching for a treatment for tinnitus yesterday and was told by an elderly phamacist that aspartame, the junk they substitute for sugar to make things like drinks diet, is believed to be one cause of ringing in the ears. Mine started back in 2004 after a ruptured aneurism. I figure that I was lucky to be alive and was told that there is no cure, so I have been living with it for the last 13 years, and now I hear about ACV and think, I have this in my cabinet ALL the time. Cant wait to try it out and see how it works.
Magnesium and Citric Acid
Posted by Juliet (Austin, Texas) on 04/22/2016
You may want to join the Magnesium Advocacy group on Facebook. The group owner is Morley Robbins and he has uncovered lots of interesting research on magnesium citrate and why it is NOT a good form of magnesium to take.
Essentially magnesium citrate is a magnesium molecule that has been attached to ascorbic acid-- a synthetic form of Vitamin C. This synthetic C has been found to disrupt the function of an enzyme called Ceruloplasmin, which has as an important job the regulation of iron and copper in the body.
In addition, Ascorbic Acid is known to disrupt the healthy gut or intestinal bacteria. It is recommended instead to use a whole food Vitamin C such as found in the Garden of Life Vitamin Code Raw C product or also in Innate Response Whole Food Vitamin C. There are other sources of whole food Vitamin C as well.
As for magnesium-- magnesium oxide is OK-- but, the two most recommended forms are magnesium malate and magnesium glycinate as they are more easily absorbed.
Magnesium is needed for over 3,700 different enzymatic functions in the body and a deficiency can cause a host of symptoms. It is easily lost through stress and is depleted in our soil so, supplementation is usually required.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Lilie (So Cal) on 01/17/2016
Everyone is different, even the actual sounds are all different - mine sounds like someone next door has music on, so it's good to try the different cures because you never know what will work. For me the Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in water works well. I take a shot glass and fill it 3/4 w water then top that with ACV, if I know I have been bad and consumed a lot of processed sugar I will take 2 shots. It's almost an immediate relief - within minutes. the funny part is, I tried the ACV drops in my ear and found zero effect - just illustrates how different we all are.
Don't get frustrated if one thing doesn't help, just try a something else. There are so many great tips and suggestions on here and for the most part they are not at all scary. Good luck!!
Lecithin
Posted by Ko (Louisiana) on 03/02/2014
★★★★★
Re Tinnitus, it could be caused from circulation going to inner ear. It can be caused from stress, raising blood pressure, as well as other causes.
I had a stressful job that I believe contributed to "ringing in the ear", I wound up leaving the job but also taking a lecithin capsule either after lunch or after supper-the 1200mg dosage. This worked for me, I'm talking a couple of days! I find that Vit E (400) added can also help, my ear canals feel cleared out instead of perhaps stopped up.
My blood pressure is on the low side right under average, my cholesterol runs at 200 (last time had that checked). If lecithin helps break down cholesterol, this should help circulation.
I showed a coworker some lecithin capsules-I believe they were 800mg/per liquid-cap at the big blue retailer, for right at $8 a bottle. He is very young-18 or so, was mentioning ringing in the ears. We live in a humid area where many people have sinus problems, ear clogs, kids need tubes in their ears, etc.
I showed him the bottle of lecithin, told him to try two at night after supper or one after lunch, one after supper the first few days. Two days later I'd seen him, he was surprised yet told me "hey that stuff works! " I told him you can back off to one tab a day, explained to him if he eats fatty foods, cheeses, meats, etc, that his diet might have something to do with this, get more fruit, greens etc. on his menu. So he was surprised but happy.
I've read that earwax is a byproduct/contains cholesterol, so if it is 'dry, like small dry tiny blocks' instead of 'waxy or oily', it can stop up the ear canal instead of naturally pushing through to the outside of your ear. Makes sense to me.
The Lipoflavanoid tabs that have a red package run $22+, in my opinion the effective ingredient is lecithin.
On another note, I just did my first oil pull earlier, did with sesame oil, added a little oregano to my bottle, shook it up will let it settle. It is allot more palatable than I thought it would be, did this for right at 18 minutes. I did brush before with a little dissolved salt/baking soda in warm water, rinsing after. I repeated the same rinse after the OP, but then brushed with the dissolved salt & baking soda/warm water after, rinsing again. So far, so good!
Interesting website, thank you! ko57
Tilting Your Head Back
Posted by Vj (Bc, Canada) on 01/19/2014
★★★★★
RE: Tilting your head back. Well that's interesting. I didn't drink any water while tilting my head back, but the tilting my head back worked immediately! It did not work if I tilted my head forward and into my chest, in fact it made it worse. Must be a neck issue with me.
The Snapping Method
Posted by Jinxed (California, Usa) on 12/29/2013
★★★★★
I have just read an article about a help for tinnitus.
Place the palms over the ears, fingers pointing to the back of the head. Point middle fingers at each other. The article said to place index fingers over the middle fingers, and then "snap" them down onto the base of the skull. Repeat snapping 40 - 50 times.
LOL, I can't get the "snap" to happen, so I just pointed my middle fingers together, and then drummed my index fingers on the base of the skull rapidly 40 - 50 times. I opened my mouth and tried to relax the jaw and face.
My tinnitus HAD been due to TMJ and was quite manageable and at a low level, but of late it is a LOUD hissing due to medication.
I was happily surprised to find the tapping/drumming really helped! I repeated the drumming a few times over the last few minutes and the noise is reduced nearly to the bearable levels I had before.
I also think acupuncture is just plain awesome, and the scalenes are never massaged as much as they need in many people with head issues.
Good luck with your "special noise"!
Eliminate Salt
Posted by Indira (Netherlands) on 09/20/2013 6 posts
★★★★★
I had tinnitus for first time in my life, and went online to look for help. Found a comment under a youtube vid. where someone said her mother healed it by desaltifying. She stopped eating any salt, drank a lot of water and jogged. To me this sounded exactly to what I had, since I was on sodium bicarb for some time and was expecting to get some salt issues.
So I stopped for one week. Every day the intensity was less but I wasn't sure if I was just imagining that or if it was for real.
Well, after 1week of no salt and lot of fluid. (incl. Beer) it was gone. And few days later I started eating salt again, but had no tinnitus any more. So I don't know if this is just a coincidence, or my tinnitus cleared by itself, so more people would need to test this.
I understood (but am not so sure if this is correct) that you hear your brain and not your ear. In this case too much salt would make some logics b/c salty wather lead electricity much better than sweet water. Any way I had to find some logic here for myself, again I really don't know nothing about ear's as well as eletricity. But I know so far 2 people where helped with this. The mother from youtube account and me. I hope to see more people will be helped by stop eating salt for at least a week.
Swedish Bitters
Posted by Rob (Kentucky) on 07/12/2021
In the book “The Book of Herbal Wisdom”. In it is a section on Meniere's and Tinnitus. There is a part where Swedish Bitters tincture was given by drops into the ear plugged with a cottonball three times a day. In most cases, the ringing buzzing sound was reduced or completely gone.
An interesting adjunctive use of Swedish bitters is for earache and ear infections where someone is recommending putting tubes in the ears to drain them. Swab the ear canals with Vitamin E from 100 I.u. capsules to reduce any irritation (if needed). Then insert a cotton ball soaked with Swedish bitters into each ear canal. I like to put 10-20 drops into the ear canal first so it makes contact with the eardrum. (Don't worry, it does not hurt). The antibiotic with a detergent effect of the swedish bitters acts to drain the middle ear into the mouth through the short tubes provided for that purpose, known as the eustachian tubes. Change the cotton balls morning and night or more if needed. Usually overnight or throughout the day is enough time for the Swedish bitters to clean the drain and get the plugs out of the tubes which empty into the mouth.
Many recorded cases of hearing problems have cleared up with the use of this procedure when used for several days.
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Posted by Diver (Bern, Switzerland) on 12/03/2014
Hi. My doctor explained two types of Tinnitus:
1-The one caused by inter ear damage and
2-The one caused by brain's wrongly interpretation (possible inner brain problems).
So for which one ALA or ACV type solutions are helping. Only ear related one? thank you.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Priya (Oroville, Wa) on 07/10/2011
★★★★★
I came to this site just last night. I have been experiencing ringing in my ear for 2 days. Started with a sore throat then went to my right ear. Prior to this I was having a low in and out humming happening for months. Went to get my hearing checked and all was good. I'm 58 and in good health I keep active. Last night I took my first dose of ACV in water 2 Tblsp with 8 oz of water, Organic _____s brand. It help some the noise isn't as loud. I took my second dose this morning and going for my 3rd. I also did a ear coning to help pull the ear wax out. I did this this morning. It's easy with help and feels fine. My right ear had 2X's as much wax in as my left. Hears to hearing better, even if I still am a bit off centered. I'll continue to do this along with taking Tumeric with black pepper it helps to assimulate the tumeric. I didn't measure the tumeric I put some in water and on my food last night. I'll let you know the results thanks for having this site.
Zeolite
Posted by June (KC, KS) on 12/25/2008
★★★★★
Over the past year I have suffered with tinnitis. It was very discouraging to be told by my naturepath that no one knows how to cure this! I believe my tinnitis was caused largely by hormonal disturbances. It is a symptom of early menopause. Tinnitis is also a symptom of heavy metal toxicity.
The problem was extremely annoying and made it difficult for me to concentrate or fall asleep. The sound was very high pitched.
Well, I always keep trying no matter what and I have another friend who recommended zeolite drops. Zeolite is a volcanic mineral that has a honeycomb structure. It has a charge that attracts heavy metals to it. It surrounds the particle and the body passes it out.
I used one bottle of the drops for about a month and it helped tremendously. My tinnitis disappeared to the point I forgot I had it. After I ran out of the drops, though, it came back again slightly. Not nearly as bad, though. I do plan to get more of this product. It's the only thing I've found that really helps.
Breast Milk
Posted by Connie (Lowellville, Ohio)
★★★★★
My grandfather had tinnitus for many years, he was told to put drops of fresh mothers milk (breast milk) into the ringing ears for several days... it worked within a week and never recurred.
Selenium
Posted by Betty (Upstate, NY) on 03/19/2025
★★★★☆
At 67, I felt my tinnitus of 3-4 years was from a lack of some vitamin(s) because it was always a steady ringing. I also felt that a lack of a vitamin(s) will impact more than one problem that one has. In light of this theory, I had just gone through a year that included a total of two cataract surgeries for both eyes. It appeared my tinnitus was not something from eustachian tubes or nerves in my neck from sleeping a certain way that adjusted could affect my tinnitus for the better. I continued my online research and discovered some symptoms I had: weak fingernails, vision that was flat and not bright and age spots all of a sudden in various places could be from a combo of a lack of certain B vitamins plus selenium. I was already taking the B vits but not the selenium. I got some selenium and took it. It seemed to lessen the severity of the ringing of tinnitus and overall made my eyes see things more brighter or clearly that went beyond my new cataract implants. I then researched it some more and found a connection to tinnitus. I also found that the correction ie. selenium to the tinnitus is gradual and not immediate. Just like the problem comes gradually and not all at once. I am hopeful that the addition of selenium will correct several issues I have acquired: tinnitus, my vision, weak nails and the age spots overtime. I will update as things go forward.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Triton1924 (Nelson, British Columbia ) on 02/12/2021 2 posts
★☆☆☆☆
I have been using apple cider as ear drops for 4 weeks along with Alpha Lipoic acid and unfortunately absolutely no difference in the ringing.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Denise E (Crescent City, CA) on 02/26/2023
Thanks for this, Kelly, I know years ago I over-did the aspirin and got ringing in my ears but it went away. Came back with a vengeance in about 2012. It started as a swishing whenever I got up in the night. About a year or less after that, the ringing became 24/7 basically, no breaks at all from it.
I don't do ACV except when I have a tummy-ache, bloated etc. It's horrible on tooth enamel too as I experienced recently because I was doing too much without rinsing/brushing immediately after drinking it diluted in water.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by moneydoc (Georgia) on 05/09/2020
★★★★☆
Hi Denise. I understand healthcare problems as here near Atlanta there're lots of providers but few "doctors." Although one dr I saw in January did say the brain tells the ear that it is hearing something when there really is no noise. Hhmn. Could our brains be sending us a message we don't want to hear? Mine is not ringing, but ticking or clicking. Doctor no 2 said he thought I has stapedius muscle spasms. In the medical literature this is called "myoclonus" and is "treated" with botox or surgery. Neither sounds good to me. The MRI that they do is to tell them whether there is a tumor on the acoustic nerve. A contrast medium is injected into your vein and it is gadolinium. Gadolinium is an iron-oxide compound, some of which stays in your brain/body and is not chelated out. There are lawsuits over the side effects so there must be some big effects because lawyers don't take small damage tort lawsuits, only the high dollar cases. Plus the cost is high even with insurance so I have not had an mri. If you can ignore yours with the white noise app, does that tell you anything? Are there unresolved issues? Years earlier (2016-17) when I was taking care of my dying parents, this clicking appeared then. I was very stressed, working at their house 10 hours and doing my job online. When I got rested, it went away, took maybe 2-3 weeks. For the past 20 years, I have worked roughly 10-12 hour days and have developed another autoimmune problem. No sinus issues. Do you have other AI problems? A few days ago I put a few drops of hydrogen peroxide in the ear. Seemed to help. Maybe I will start drinking ACV. Maybe I will just start drinking 😉
Healing Tinnitus Tips
Posted by Charity (faithville, Us) on 01/21/2022
that is interesting that you write about frequency under tinnitus. I was hit by a car and flew in the air at 4. My head hit the fire hydrant and I was wearing those pokey curlers. I always hated those. I remember around that time I could hear my heart beating in my ears and they rang a lot. Naptime was the worst as a kid. The funny part about the ringing is that some days there is none and other days it has varying degrees of sound. Some days it turns into rhythms, and I hear songs created out of it and other days I ignore it. If a sound from a door or cabinet door happens, my brain will pull up a song with that sound in it and start to play it. Intentionally, I cannot remember many songs or song words. As a kid I would sing these sounds I would hear that were like a foreign language and then as I sang them, I would hear them turn into English and I would sing that. I thought when I grew up, I would write these songs in these foreign languages for a living because it seemed so natural and easy and was uplifting. I sing a lot.
I also see pictures in my mind, I call snapshots. I saw one last month of a black background with a silver wrench on it slanted open end to the upper left. Like an invisible hand was holding it. I frequently see horses and I'm not a horse person. I saw an anvil that had on its squared side a whitish grey horse trying to get out of it and it was wresting its neck like it was trying to escape the anvil, and like the anvil was the material it was being created out of but becoming real. The horse was escaping to the left.
I meditated once, when I met my spouse, he meditated all the time with the words I AM, as his mantra. I did that and saw a vision of me married to him. Today is our 44th and we are total opposites. Opposition will make you very strong from resistance training. Being opposites also makes us full of giftings to strengthen each other. I am creative and he is technical. Life seems to be frequency, Light and color are frequency. The spirit realm is more real than the natural, and the natural is like a hologram. You have to let go to go higher, but the gravity pulls you down. In the natural realm it feels like you have to take care of things, but if you go higher then things get sorted out. You find solutions and there is more clarity.
I don't practice yoga, but I have done a lot of things that took me high. Thoughts create reality.
Hyssop
Posted by Julius (Netherlands) on 10/27/2017
★★★★★
Hyssop for curing tinnitus. Burn hyssop and try to get the smoke in your ears. First: three times a day. As it gets better, you can decrease the number of treatments.
Topical Vinegar, Baking Soda and Borax Solution
Posted by storycharms (Turkey ) on 06/09/2021 8 posts
Hi Sylvie, I'm not sure the percentages given are accurate, since they add to 90% rather than 100%. If they're rough estimates, the approximate equivalent would be 2 parts water + 2 parts apple cider vinegar with 1 part borax and 1 part baking soda, uing the same measure, such as a teaspoon, for all ingredients.
However, you might prefer to use equal amounts of Distilled Water and Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, say 1 tablespoon of each, with just a pinch or 1/4 teaspoon each of Borax and Bicarbonate of Soda, at least to start with, and see how you get on.
Good health!
