news about melatonin
Quieting Ringing Ears
06/02/2007With work, kids, traffic, and countless other noises we're bombarded with every day, it seems unfair to have a medical condition that keeps some people from getting any peace and quiet at all.
Tinnitus -- a constant ringing in the ears -- is something sufferers could do without. Now, new treatments are getting closer to quieting the noise for good.
Every second of every day, Joyce Lajeunesse of St. Charles, Mo., has ringing in her right
"Just kind of a humming, like an electrical humming, and it's constant," said Lajeunesse.
The ringing, called tinnitus, came on suddenly five years ago.
"I truly did expect it to go away, just figured it was something connected with the ear plugging up or something," Lajeunesse said.
But it stuck around and now follows her everywhere.
"I hear it right now while we are talking," Lajeunesse said.
Dr. Jay Piccirillo said at least 50 million Americans have tinnitus.
"There is no drug that we can give them," said Piccirillo, an otolaryngologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. "There is no surgery that we can do or device that we can put in the ear to cure the tinnitus."
But there is help for people with sleep problems as a result of their tinnitus. A new study shows melatonin lessens the ringing and significantly improves sleep.
"I would definitely think that patients with tinnitus who are having problems sleeping should consider melatonin," Piccirillo said.
Another small study shows injecting Botox around the ear might also help. Piccirillo is also studying a procedure called transcranial magnetic stimulation -- where a magnetic device stimulates certain areas in the brain. Early studies are promising.
Lajeunesse was in a study on melatonin to help the ringing and her sleep.
"I had more energy in the mornings," she said. "I woke up more refreshed than i had been, and that was wonderful."
Piccirillo said other sufferers could easily get the same benefit -- since melatonin is available over the counter.
Though all three methods are showing success in helping lessen the ringing, doctor Piccirillo said there is still no cure for the condition. He said seeking help from a professional hearing expert is the best first step to take.
Other medications, like anti-anxiety drugs, are also used for tinnitus with some success.