Tinnitus is believed to be the result of injury to the auditory system, which then causes neurons to be triggered for no apparent reason.  The brain, in turn, perceives this as sound, even though no external sound is present.

The extent to which a person is bothered by it will determine how likely the person is to seek treatment. Many people with tinnitus suffer from insomnia and depression.  This interferes with their ability to perform their usual work and social activities.

One treatment  is tinnitus masking. It is based on the idea that having tinnitus sufferers listen to an outside noise will make their internal noise less noticeable. This concept was discovered by Dr. Jack Vernon in the mid 1970s.

At night, when it is quiet, the sounds generated by tinnitus are annoying.  The sufferer can opt to listen to calming sounds played on a CD or MP3 player hooked up to a pillow, or choose to wear a headset.  Tinnitus masking usually involves calming sounds of the ocean, rainfall or other “white noises”.

Does tinnitus masking work?

There are some professionals who believe that tinnitus masking can lead to habituation. This is another term for teaching the brain to become less stimulated by sound, so that a person no longer notices the noises.

The problem with tinnitus masking is that it doesn’t work for everyone.  Some people with tinnitus don’t obtain relief through the tinnitus masking process.  Likewise, there are those who continually use the masking devices and never experience habituation.  For all victims of tinnitus, we recommend our product, Tinnitus DX, a dietary supplement for tinnitus.