We’ve tried all of the treatments for tinnitus… this is what REALLY works – and the ‘ridiculous’ solutions that can make it worse

A whistling, ringing, buzzing or whooshing – for some it may be roaring or hissing. Tinnitus, the perception of sound with no external source, comes in many forms and has many different triggers.

This lengthy list stretches from hearing loss to earwax, high blood pressure and stress. But whatever its source, for the one in seven people in the UK who suffer from tinnitus, it can seriously affect their quality of life.

While there is no cure, there are ways to help manage the condition and strategies to reduce its volume and ferocity.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommends talking therapies such as CBT to relieve tinnitus-related distress and, in turn, your perception of the noise – or hearing aids for those with hearing loss and tinnitus (it’s thought if the brain doesn’t receive the sounds it’s expecting to, it becomes more sensitive to sound to compensate, which can result in the ringing).

However, these treatments aren’t suitable for everyone and the internet is now saturated with alternative remedies, from listening to white noise to cutting out milk and even placing a candle in the ear.

Franki Oliver, audiology manager for the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, says: ‘Tinnitus is one of those subjects where there is so much information out there, it can be hard to know what to do or where to go for help. Sometimes there’s no evidence behind the things suggested online – or they might even cause harm.’

So we asked experts to assess some of the online suggestions…

Jut your chin forwards

Some sufferers say that their tinnitus has been cured by clamping their teeth together or jutting their chin forwards. This can provide temporary relief, as it engages the trigeminal nerve in the face, which controls muscles used for chewing as well as the auditory system linked to tinnitus, says Mark Williams, an audiologist from the Tinnitus and Hearing Clinic in London.

He explains: ‘The trigeminal nerve shares a junction in the brainstem with the auditory nerve [that sends sound signals from the inner ear to the brain] – this has most likely evolved to cut down on the amount of body noise we hear when our facial muscles contract. So engaging the trigeminal nerve in this way can also “silence” tinnitus.’

However, any change is temporary, Mark Williams adds, advising against relying on jaw manoeuvres because you are engaging with the tinnitus.

‘All tinnitus treatments and rehabilitation are ultimately reliant on patients becoming fundamentally disinterested in it,’ he says. ‘If you’re messing about with it, spending executive effort monitoring it, that is slowed.’

Red light therapy

This involves using a pen-shaped device, available online for as little as £20, to aim low-level red light into or just behind the ear. The theory is that this will stimulate mitochondria – the ‘batteries’ in all cells – in the cochlea (a spiral structure in the inner ear containing minute hairs which transmit sound signals), repairing cell damage which contributes to tinnitus.

‘The mode of action is nonsensical,’ says Mark Williams.

‘The cochlea is completely inaccessible as it is set in the hardest bone in the body.’ And in fact, once dead, hair cells cannot be repaired or regenerated, he adds.

Anti-inflammatory foods in diet

There have been suggestions that diet tweaks can make a difference to tinnitus – the theory is that inflammation in the ear or brain may trigger the ringing – so a diet to reverse that (high in wholegrains, fruit, veg and oily fish) may be beneficial.

Trials have had inconsistent results. However, rather than having a direct impact on your auditory system, Mark Williams says it could help ‘if an anti-inflammatory diet improves someone’s overall holistic wellbeing – as this puts them in a better emotional frame of mind that could be beneficial to tinnitus’.

An exception might be those who have autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis. ‘then there is a greater risk of experiencing inflammation in the inner ear [which converts sound vibrations into electrical impulses for the brain], but they are isolated cases,’ adds Mark Williams.

Meditation and deep breathing

These techniques are recommended widely online and they may have some benefit, say experts. This is most likely because they reduce stress, which can excite the auditory system, making you more sensitive to the sound of tinnitus.

‘Fearing the sound can be stressful in itself and that can make it worse,’ says Franki Oliver, of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People. ‘This can become a feedback loop and a difficult cycle to break. If stress management exercises help you, brilliant, that’s another thing in your tinnitus management toolkit.’ There are apps available that can help you master these approaches at home, such as Calm and Headspace.

Mushroom supplements

Costing about £10 for three months’ supply, enthusiasts of lion’s mane supplements (so-called because they come from a white, shaggy mushroom) say they have anti-inflammatory, nerve regenerative properties.

‘There’s very limited evidence for any kind of supplement for tinnitus,’ says Franki Oliver.

‘If you’re considering taking supplements, consult a doctor beforehand, especially if you are taking regular medication that might interact with it.’ One example is diabetes drugs that lower blood sugar levels – lion’s mane can have the same effect, putting patients at risk.

Drinking more milk

Scroll through social media and you’ll find plenty of people who swear that giving up milk reduced their tinnitus.

However, while drinking less milk may be beneficial, it’s only for those who are lactose intolerant (roughly 5 to 10 per cent of the UK population), suggests Mark Williams. ‘It might only be relevant if someone is feeling sick or bloated with diarrhoea and stomach cramps from dairy, as stress can trigger or worsen tinnitus,’ he explains. ‘But it’s not necessarily directly to do with milk.’

Confusingly, a 2014 study published in PLOS One – involving 170,000 people aged 40 to 69 – found that those who avoided dairy were more likely to experience tinnitus.

‘Diet is an area where we need more research,’ says Franki Oliver. ‘What helps one person, may not another.’

Essential oils

Some sufferers say that a few drops of lavender, basil, clary sage or chamomile oils dropped on their pillow, massaged on their neck, behind their ear, or on their ear lobe (note: not in the ear) helps their tinnitus.

There’s no high-quality evidence to support this, but any benefit will be because the oils help you to feel relaxed, says Mark Williams. ‘If you’re more relaxed, your auditory system will probably tick over at a lower rate – and the tinnitus won’t be as intrusive for that period,’ he says.

Ear candles

An ear candle is a hollow cone of fabric soaked in wax which is inserted into the ear and set alight. It is meant to soften and draw out any ear wax which is blocking the ears and may be contributing to tinnitus.

Mark Williams says the idea this can remove hard ear wax ‘is illogical and frankly ridiculous’.

‘There’s no way something like this could possibly be effective at removing debris, improving hearing and reducing tinnitus. It just defies physics,’ he says. ‘In clinics, we use a microsuction pump to do this.’

What’s more, he warns, ear candles can cause harm. He has seen cases when candle wax has gone into the ear canal and caused temporary hearing loss.