Robert Rose
There is hope. There are several really good clinics around United States. The one my wife went to is in Oregon. Marsh Johnson was the specialist who worked with usI also spoke with a doctor in one of the southern states when I was researching for the best clinic and he himself at one time had a severe case of tinnitas. He said it sounded like a jet was taking off 100 feet away from him. He however found relieve using these devices. To clear up a missconception concerning the devices, I must explain that there are two devices on the market. One device produces a masking sound which simply hides the sound and the other one produces white noise. The white noise has many difficult pitches one of which matches the sound you hear in your ear(s). The device which produces the white noise is the only device on the market which has any kind of measurable result in retraining the brain. I would not go to a ENT who does know the difference between a masker and white noise device. What the doctors have came to learn is that the part of the brain which normally interprets the background noise we hear every day(i.e. refrigerators) is malfunctioning. Since our bodies run on electricity, high pitch sounds are not uncommon. Unfortunately, for what ever reason, that part of the brain that is malfunctioning choices not to ignor the sound, but in fact interprets it has been dangerous and signals the rest of the brain to start worry about it. What doctors believe the white noice device does is retrain the malfunctioning part of the brain to ignore the sound. The Oregon clinic as had 80 to 90 percent success with the device. The failures usually are drug user. To answer your question, yes you can stop wearing the device after 18 to 24 months. I hope this is helpful. Not having the problem, but going through the hell with my wife, I have greater understanding of the pain you are going through. God bless! Robert