Anyone successful in dealing with Tinnitus?

I am a bit hesitant to enter this discussion because I am a research physician, but I have had this problem for about three years. Rich is correct: one possible cause is a tumor either in the nerve from the ear or in the brain. An MRI exam should find these; surgery may be possible. My problem was from a blood clot that "knocked out" the nerve from my right ear, only partially. There is good research ongoing at MIT/Harvard if you want to look into it. People have occasionally had tinnitus reduced by a large number of different drugs, but no one drug works for everyone. Elizabeth is partly right; many of the drugs that have worked have effects on the brain such as sedation which can be unpleasant. Above comments about aspirin, Tylenol, alcohol, etc., making it worse are also true for many of us. And, you can "learn to live with it", but it can be very annoying in quiet settings especially when you want to listen to music. I have been using headphones a lot recently, and I have found that listening at loud volumes seems to make it worse for the next several days.

i'm in the same symptomatic boat as chazro, and at 36yrs old its a concern. when i saw the ear Dr, he said, its life, its with you, but try not to make it worse.

ie: i no longer use power tools / lawn equipment without hearing protection. its not the stereo that kills your hearing...my rig wont hit 100db, but my lawnmower? concerts? absolutely, and that's where you need to use protection.

I enjoy a fine cigar every evening. I do notice the increase in tinnitus after the cigar.

I'd be curious to hear from other audiophiles as to the 'level' of their affliction.

Mine isn't noticeable except when there is no other sound. Music masks it perfectly, but in a quiet room it's there, and in varying degrees I assume caused by what I'm consuming (ie how much coffee). I don't play my stereo loud enough to aggravate it - my normal listening levels are in the ~80-85db range max.

Two months ago I had the flu, blew my nose too hard and since then have had a pulsing vibration in my right ear. Went to an ENT no tumors or closed down arteries so now I'll start changing medications and see if this helps. I'm listening at lower levels now, down from 75-85db to 60-75db. Inserting a foam ear plug when not listening to music helps to reduce the intensity of the vibration and sometimes seems to eliminates it!! The vibration is similar to the pulse of the bass in a loud car audio system thumping it's way down the street!!! So one of the things I dislike the most is now something I feel/hear pulsing constantly, life's strange.