subject: Tinnitus Relief Without Drugs or Surgery [print this page] Adequate tinnitus relief is not only hard for sufferers to come by, but also tough for medical researchers.There have been major advances in the understanding of the causative mechanisms of some forms of tinnitus and the development of several realistic models of understanding about tinnitus the progress in the development of drug treatments has remained slow.
Tinnitus is a complex disorder. There are many risk factors for subjective tinnitus such as age. The incidence of tinnitus increases with age. Also cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, noise exposure and different drugs are all risk factors that can trigger or increase the chance of suffering tinnitus.
Some drugs prescribed for tinnitus treatment aim to inhibit the activity of the nervous system. One such commonly prescribed drug for tinnitus is benzodiazepine. In a long twenty five year retrospective study this was found to be partially effective for about one third of sufferers. Although other more in depth clinical trials have not been conducted. The alternative drugs of choice are anti-seizure or anti-epileptic medication. Once again there is a lack of well controlled clinical studies. But the theory behind the application is once again calming down the nervous system. The anti-convulsant drug Gabapentin has been studied most extensively and appears to work best for those whose tinnitus is a result of acoustic trauma.
Another popular choice of drug for tinnitus is anti-depressants. If depression developed after the onset of tinnitus this approach has been found to provide some relief for the tinnitus severity and the depression. However some researcher feel that there is insufficient evidence to conclude whether antidepressants are effective in treating tinnitus.
It is important to understand that using drugs or medication often only treats the symptoms of tinnitus. When deciding what treatment approach to use it is important to evaluate whether that treatment is addressing the cause of your tinnitus or just treating the symptoms. A natural and holistic approach has work well for many people who suffer from tinnitus and has enabled them to regain their quality of life.
