[*Scotty*]

Apparently many suffering from the symptoms of Tinnitus can get relief by retraining their response to hearing the self noise that the neurological system generates during the act of hearing. The retraining involves desensitization to tinnitus and training your brain to tune out or ignore the noise. Anyone who spends more than 5 minutes in a very quite room with no background noise present will become aware of the self generated noise that is present in their hearing mechanism. The retraining, when successfully implemented, allows the tinnitus sufferer
to relearn how to ignore this noise. Check out this link for more information on this method.
http://www.tinnitus.org/home/frame/THC1.htm
And the book containing retraining methods
http://www.amazon.com/Tinnitus-Retraining-Therapy-Implementing-Neurophysiological/dp/0521088372
Scotty

[dflee]

Scotty
Since you started this topic, can we assume you have tinnitus? I am going to look that book up cause I also have Tin. The difference is I was born with it and have become so accustomed to the noise that in a completely quiet surrounding I can't stay awake. The ringing puts me right to sleep. I can put my head down and I'm out. With most people it does just the opposite. Thus the annoyance for most. Please keep me informed as to your progress if you are into the book.

Thanks
Don

[*Scotty*]

I would say I have a mild form of it that is noticeable in a quiet room. I notice it when I am getting ready to nod off and when I wake up in the morning, fortunately it does not interfere with listening to music.
Scotty 

[stereocilia]

There is an up-and-coming alternative to TRT (tinnitus retraining therapy) called Neuromonics (www.neuromonics.com).  It uses similar but not identical principles to habituate the tinnitus.  Both methods use sound generators as part of the treatment.
The most common and the most effective treatment for tinnitus when hearing loss is also present is amplification (hearing aids). 

The American Tinnitus Association is a fantastic resource for info:  www.ata.org

By the way, whatever you do, don't use earplugs to treat tinnitus.  Earplugs are great for thwarting overexposure to loud sound, so please do use them for that to help prevent hearing loss and tinnitus.  But remember, tinnitus has no external source so earplugs can only make tinnitus louder.  I only say this because I hear this recommendation from time to time, and it's ill-advised.

[jriggy]

Sorry... Are you saying earplugs make tinnitus louder as in they progressively make it worse over time, even when not wearing the plugs? Or earplugs make tinnitus louder only while the plugs are in?
Thanks

[stereocilia]

Earplugs will not make the tinnitus more intense, but they will likely make it more noticeable while they are in place.  Anything that draws attention to tinnitus might make it worse (which we will probably perceive as "louder") even if the intensity is unchanged.

In this case, you could see how somebody who thinks that earplugs treat tinnitus would end up using earplugs more and more as they become more and more focused on the tinnitus.  Earplugs do prevent incurable hearing loss and the tinnitus that might come with it from overexposure, but they do not treat it.

[jriggy]

Thanks... that's what I thought you were saying.