Alternative Treatments
Some people have taken minerals such as magnesium or zinc, herbal preparations such as Ginkgo biloba, homeopathic remedies, or B vitamins for their tinnitus and found them to be helpful. Others have experienced tinnitus relief with acupuncture, cranio-sacral therapy, magnets, hyperbaric oxygen, or hypnosis. A few of these therapies have been researched in an attempt to verify the anecdotal claims. But the results have not conclusively identified these treatments as helpful for tinnitus. Your doctor might give you clearance to try them for tinnitus anyway given that they generally carry little risk to health and some people find them helpful.

Amplification (Hearing Aids)
Some tinnitus patients with hearing loss experience total or partial tinnitus relief while wearing hearing aids. There are many variables that determine success. However, if a patient has a hearing loss in the frequency range of the tinnitus, hearing aids can bring back in the ambient sounds that naturally cover the tinnitus.

Biofeedback
Biofeedback is a relaxation technique that teaches people to control certain autonomic body functions, such as pulse, muscle tension, and brain wave activity. The goal of biofeedback is to help people manage stress in their lives not by reducing the stress but by changing the body's reaction to it. Many people notice a reduction in their tinnitus when they are able to curtail the stress or modify their reaction to the stress in their lives.

Cochlear Implants/Electrical Stimulation
A cochlear implant has two implanted components: 1) an electrode array that is threaded into the cochlea, and 2) a receiver that is implanted just beneath the skin behind the ear. The electrode array sends electrical sound signals from the ear to the brain. Because electrode implantation destroys whatever healthy hair cells are left inside the cochlea, these implants are prescribed to deaf or near-deaf patients only. In one study, half of those who'd had tinnitus before their cochlear implants experienced tinnitus relief after their cochlear implants.

Why do cochlear implants help tinnitus? There are two possible reasons: 1) The tinnitus might be masked by the ambient sounds that these devices bring back in. 2) The tinnitus might be suppressed by the electrical stimulation sent through the auditory nerve by the implant. Some forms of electrical stimulation to the ear can stop tinnitus briefly.

Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive therapy is a type of counseling that is based on treating a patient's emotional reaction to tinnitus rather than the tinnitus itself. To accomplish this desired change in perception, a counselor will help the patient identify negative behaviors and thought patterns, then alter them. Counseling programs are individually designed for patients and are most effective when coupled with other tinnitus treatments such as masking or medication.

Drug Therapy
Many drugs have been researched and used as tinnitus relief agents. Anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax, antidepressants like nortriptyline, antihistamines, anticonvulsants, and even anesthetics like lidocaine have all successfully quieted tinnitus for some people.

Because side effects can happen with any drug or drug combination, patients have to decide for themselves if an undesirable side effect is worth the trade off of tinnitus relief. ATA continues to fund research in this area.

Masking
Masking devices resemble hearing aids and are designed to produce low-level sound that can reduce and in some cases eliminate the perception of tinnitus. Masking can also produce the phenomenon of residual inhibition, where the reduction or elimination of tinnitus perception continues for a short time after the masker is removed.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) combines low-level, steady background sounds with one-on-one patient/clinician directive counseling. The patient enriches his or her background sound for a minimum of eight hours a day usually with in-the-ear sound generators. This combination of therapies helps people habituate (essentially grow unaware of) the sounds of their tinnitus. Tinnitus Retraining Therapy can take 12-24 months before a patient no longer needs the in-the-ear devices.

TMJ treatment
Tinnitus can be a symptom of a jaw joint (temporomandibular joint, or TMJ) dysfunction because muscles and nerves in the jaw are closely connected to those in the ear. Dental treatment or bite realignment can help relieve TMJ pain and associated tinnitus. See your dentist if you think you have this problem.