HELP for Tinnitus

PBB Doesn't sound like you suffer from tinnitus or you wouldn't be so sarcastic and maybe more understanding of how unconfortable it can be.
The placebo effect does not really exist but is just something dreamt up by doctors so they can explain anything out of the ordinary.

In fact I do. So there.

One should always consult a specialist and not self-diagnose. It is a most frustrating ailment, as it does not appear that anything can be done for subjective tinnitus. Good healthy living habits are a must. Alcohol, aspirin, heavy meals, exposure to loud noises, lack of sleep, long drives in the car and a bunch of other things can make it worse. My main point is that after you have been diagnosed, you have to come to an understanding with yourself and that is that it is a lifelong condition that you have to deal with. The fact that medicine has so little to offer to cure the problem or to alleviate it leaves one open to trying just about anything. If what you do or take to alleviate the symptoms has no side effects, go ahead and do it. Chances are it is, in fact, the placebo effect, but under those circumstances who cares.

To say what you said about the placebo effect is just proof that you and may of your compatriots have fallen prey to miracle thinking in every facet of your lives.

Pbb ... minds only work when they are open. It is good to be skeptical, but you shouldn't deride things unless you have first hand experience. If you think it's nonsense then don't waste your own time and money, but don't try to talk others out of trying something that may help.

I first took fish oil on the urgings of my mother. I completely expected it to have no effect whatsoever, but I figured it was a small price to pay for a quiet life.

I have been overwhelmed by the changes it has made to my mood, my ability to cope with stress (and I'm talking about real stress .. raising a child with severe learning difficulties) and my general feeling of well-being. It may not have the same effects on everybody, but for about $15 a month, and with no known negative side effects (aside from slightly fishy breath about 2 hours after taking it) I figure it's worth a try.

It is also interesting to note that fish oil has been evaluated in double-blind placebo controlled trials to reduce ADD in children and to counter depression in adults. The level of depression and mental illness in societies around the world is also negatively correlated with intake of oily fish. I found all this out since I started taking it.

Vegetarian alternatives (flax seed oil, hemp oil) though similar, just don't work for me (I;ve tried). Only fish oil hits the spot.

Oh, and I make my own cables, for a few bucks each, because I'm too skeptical to shell out hundreds on snake-oil. Only the fishy type for me !

PBB You seem to contradict yourself. A doctor can't help and can't tell you what is causing the problem and you are crtitcal of trying something else outside of traditional medicine. Then you say it is the placebo effect when I say I got relief.
I clearly know if I got relief or not. You sound just like a doctor. I recently consulted 2 specialists at MT. Sinai hospital here in New York a suppossedly pretty reputable place. I asked the first doctor why I had such a remarkable positive reaction to a certain drug that lasted for a week and then stopped. The immediate reply was it was the placebo effect. I went to the next specialist and the exact same reply came about the placeb effect. I stared the guy straight in the eye and said "come on" He looked sheepishly at me and said, "we say placebo effect when we don't know what it is"
I'm not the kind of person to be satisfied with a doctor telling nothing can be done about my tinnitus. There are answers for everything....you just have to keep asking questions.

Khaki8...The placebo effect does certainly exist, but this is not to say that it explains every unexpected result.

Pbb...They don't know how to cure it at the moment, but don't despair. The stomach ulcer cure that I cited on 2/29 should give us hope.