tinnituspatient.de - The Informative Website For Chronic Inner-Ear-PatientsExperiencing the Low Level Laser Therapy by Dr. Wilden in case of Tinnitus.
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Overview Manfreds Tinnitus-report: |
My report as tinnitus-patient Manfred.The following text deals with my own tinnitus and its slow but steady improvement. I need to point out that I did not find the therapy that finally helped me through the advice of a physician or the Deutsche Tinnitus Liga, but after a tedious research on the internet. I have been on this therapy since August 2003. Now that I am publishing this website, its is June 2007.
The effect is fact.Despite its positive effect, the approach is barely known. The formal-medicinical verification of the helping effect is still to come.
It is a "huge pain in the ears" that the existing therapy is not provided when necessary. That way, the tinnitus-sufferers become victims all the more. I have been such victim for quite a while - feeling no life-quality at all. Luckily enough, I am feeling much better now.
Why low level laser therapy by Dr. Wilden?Regardless of a small number of "unfriendly" responses to this website, I am accused with being nothing but a commercial campaign for MD Wilden.
If you are interested in how my state improved, I kindly invite you to read on.
To me and my ears.Manfred R. 2013. Please understand that more details are missing here. I am a private person. At the beginn of my lasertherapy in August 2003 I was a 100 percent Tinnitus-Patient. I feel now in 2012 as 10-15 percent Tinnitus-Patient.
E-Mail to: manfred@tinnituspatient.de As to my ears:My ears were "behaving" quite normal for many years.
Meanwhile, I bought myself a device for noise-measurement. When it is quite, the device shows about 40 dba. I am trying to avoid places where there are more than 60 dba or I am using ear-plugs. In the inside of a car at 50 kilometres an hour the device shows about 60 dba. As soon as you speed up, it can become far louder. A usual chat takes place at about 60 dba, while a party is far louder. A bus that crosses your way at 5 metres distance causes up to 75 dba or more, depending on how fast it goes.
How it all began It was back in the beginning of July 2003 right after lunch.
How I experienced my Tinnitus
Even in the very first days, I found my tinnitus to be something very special. It is an illness that does not cause pain, but noises. In my case it was a high and fady whistle-tone. What was so strange about it, was the way that it was connected with my emotional state. Throughout the day, the tone would move between low and medium volume. With the slightest mental effort, like when focussing on something, the whistle-tone got louder. It also increased dramatically when I was trying to relax. Only when I spent time doing things that did not ask any mental efforts, I found my ears to become at least slightly better. I could not do anything else than clean up the cellar or sort screws and such things. I wandered around our cherry-tree in circles, went up and down in our back-yard. That was what I did from sun-up until sun-down as every time when I was going to take a break, my tinnitus would deteriorate. It was in July/August 2003, during day-time temperatures went up to 30 degrees and temperatures remained high at night. The nights were a complete nightmare: As soon as I lay down, the noises got louder. At times, the tinnitus screamed so loud in my ears that I could not imagine it to be louder. Within a second, ten screaming fanfares faded into a permanent roaring tone. I felt like I was unconscious lying in my bed for hours, and a second felt like forever. Sometimes I tried to make that much complementary noise by putting on ventilators trying to oversound the noises. At times, I found myself walking around on the road between 2 and 4 a.m. I took cold showers up to five times a night - afterwards, the tone became more bearable sometimes. In the daytime, it was impossible to keep up with the sleep that I had lost at night. As soon as I tried to lie down, the tinnitus got louder and louder. My life-quality was more shallow than the waterlevel of a kid's pool in Lone Pine. Every day turned into a fight from morning until evening and at night it would always become worse. I felt as though I was losing my sanity. My physician treated my severe tinnitus as though I was having some minor illness - according to his usual treatment-pattern. When I asked him to prescribe me sleeping-pills and told him about the nightmare-like nights, he was unable to provide help. I had already talked to a couple of his tinnitus-patients. They were obviously having less problems than I had. They were able to fall asleep or the noises appeared only rarely. Later on and also on the internet, I learned to know people who were suffering about as much as me. In one of the toughest moments I ended up thinking: "As long as I am strong enough to commit suicide, I am strong enough to seek help." My hope were the searchengines on the internet. If there was any way out, I would find it there, even though the lobbyists score higher.
What the physicians did in my case.
The beginning of the treatment by the ENT-doctor - hearing test and gingko...I told him about my noises, since when I had them and that the whistletone had stayed for as long as two days. The doctor looked me in the ears and they did a hearing-test with me. Then he prescribed me a treatment. He did not let me know about the diagnosis. So I thought he probably gave me some bloodflow-enhancing remedy. But as I found out later, the doctor had put me on gingko. The doctor's advice was: "Go and see an ortheopaedic and have your spine checked." So the orthopaedic checked my spine...After x-raying my spine, he stated: "Your spine shows signs of aging." I was prescribed 5 appointments for stretching-lessons with breaks of two days. I obediently took the prescribed gingko-treatment. And I saw the orthopaedist every two days. But the tinnitus showed no mercy and I felt no relief at all. After the fourt stretching-lesson, I told the doctor that I did not believe the noises were caused by my spine. The doctor interrupted the lesson and let me leave without comment. Since the noises were increasing, the gingko-treatment seemed to have no effect. So I went to the doctor again, about 10 days after my first visit. The infusions by the ENT-doctor.The doctor pretended he had never seen me before and asked me since when I was having the noises. I received my first infusion and we made appointment for the next working-day. I thought I was feeling a slight improvement for one day. I received my first infusion and the next appointments were due on the following working-days. After infusions of 10 days, the noises wwere still there. The doctor said: "We can't give you any more infusions, 'cause otherwise you will get itching that won't go away." He put me on tablets and said: "Come back in 2 weeks." Since I was unable to find sleep at night, I asked him to give me a treatment that would help me sleep. But he could not think of one. At that very moment, I became fully aware that I could not go on that way.
When receiving the treatment I had consulted the internet, as the doctors
showed ignorance regarding the topic of tinnitus. I had reflected over the steps of treatment and questioned the effect.
The alternatives seemed to provide no hope, as the possibilities of scholastic medicine proved to be very limited.
The tablets were followed by infusions and the success seemed questionable.
That was likely to end up with the sentence "I can't do anything more for you".
An attentive pharmacist...Patients are having a conversation during infusion. All of them are suffering from tinnitus. They are asking each other how long they have been receiving treatment and if they are already feeling better. One of the patients tells her co-sufferers about an attentive pharmacist she met. When that pharmacist noticed that her GP had prescribed her a gingko-treatment, the pharmacist asked her if she was supposed to treat her tinnitus with the gingko. When she said yes, the pharmacist said she should rather get infusions immediately, as he knew the gingko-treatment was unlikely to help her. "Ask your GP or pharmacist" is what the tv-commercials recommend. Sometimes it needs both of them, I thought by myself. My pharmacist had not come up with doubts, though.
The shop window illness.When I came home, I read the instructions. I found out that a treatment against shop-window illness was supposed to help me... Can the doctor help? Especially at night the tinnitus made me lose my sanity. The noises used to get louder as soon as I lay myself down to sleep. At times, I fell into a short period of exhaustive sleep. In order to get a treatment against the horrible nights, I went to see my (ex-)GP. He told me that he would have given me the infusions immediately. When I asked him about the treatment against shop-window illness, my GP said the effect was very questionable. Unfortunately, he did not know a treatment to soothe my night-problems, either. The psychiatric approach.I was fully aware that they would have put me on psychotropics as soon as I had received psychiatric help. But do you have to go trough the "out-therapied"-status to be "entitled" to receive such help? I came up with the decision to try that treatment I had found on the internet - and I knew it was the right thing to do!
Thorough research on the internet - the decision.Due to the huge variety of information provided by the internet I name only those that were important for my decision. Comparison of my own treatment and the recommendations of well-reputed hospitals on the internet.Unsurprisingly enough, I had started searching the net from the beginning on, mainly via the searchengine google. The doctor and the orthopaedic had been treating me speechlessly and without taking themselves time for me. Never did they explain the treatment or the trigger of the tinnitus to me. That is why I read up on the internet how hospitals treat their patients. I looked up how my treatment and medication were evaluated by the experts. Many of the important institutes recommend an immediate treatment with infusions. They point out every slight retardation is hazardous to the success, the success-rate is supposed to decrease with every day. I consider it a pity that there is no uniform way of treatment in Germany. In my treatment the infusions were the third step after three weeks with gingko-pills and spine-checks. I daresay that treatment seems to be up to the taste and intelligence of the doctor. Whom of the physicians would I be able to trust, provided there was a treatment for me at all? Sheer desperation came over me. Help by Deutsche Tinnitus Liga.In the course of my research I got to know the Deutsche Tinnitus Liga. It seemed to be the patients' most powerful organisation. I became member because I thought I was likely to receive real help. I was sent lists of names, cities, hospitals, etc. I learned that such a huge organisation provides very little help. Scholastic medicine is well-organised, but they provide no help other than the scholastic approach. I found out that the doctor who had treated me was member of the Deutsche Tinnitus Liga. During an infusion-session I asked him about his membership, but he largely ignored my question. Various and mainly questionable approaches.Obviously, there are different causes for tinnitus resulting in many different healing approaches. A part of the tinnitus-sufferers can be helped by the scholastic approach. Many of the sufferers could not be helped, remained ill and were deemed "out-therapied", though. A huge number of institutes and providers of technical devices supposed to fight tinnitus promise help on the internet. I started to realize that it was all about money. To test these methods would be a long, expensive and possibly very sad way. Tinnitus Retraining TherapyI bought myself a book that was recommended in order to get to know the method. The therapy aims to help patients to cope with the noises. The patients' exaggerated attention to his own noise is supposed to be reduced. Additionally a "noiser" is used. The noiser externally creates the tinnitus-noise so that the patient no longer suffers from his own inward ear-noise. As the tinnitus remains, the term "therapy" is not correct. If there was no therapy that provides real help, that approach would all probably be a way of staying alive, but it is another question if such life is worth living. The extent of the tinnitus varies. As far as I am concerned, I doubt I would have been able to learn and apply the Tinnitus Retraining Therapy-method for myself as the roaring tinnitus at night was just too strong. Low level laser therapy by Dr. Wilden as a view from the internet. I kept on searching for a treatment. I was aware that only a treatment I considered trustworthy and effectful would be able to help me. I happened to find the low level laser-therapy by Dr. Wilden and his website www.dr-wilden.de. I read about his approach and treatment, about energy in the cells and the cells' ability to recover. A cell starts off a recovering-process when it is being damaged. To be able to do that the cell needs ATP (adenosine-tri-phosphate). That celluluar energy is produced by tiny cellular organs called mitochondrien that generate ATP out of fat, (...).
Low level laser therapy by Dr. Wilden.In the following I am explaining the time I spent with low-level laser therapy at Dr. Wilden's. Upon my e-mail including my latest audiometry Dr. Wilden wrote me back that my ears were already highly over-challenged, and yet very likely to respond to the therapy at that point of time. There was a sparkle of hope to me that there could be a life without permanent stress and desperation. My next e-mail was: "When can I come?" The answer: "See me soon." I called him right away. Dr. Wilden explained the process of the 1st therapy-block to me and I made an appointment for the next possible date. My first day of treatment.Unsurprisingly, I had high expectations. The rooms were modern and friendly, light-blue was the predominant colour. The employees were friendly as well and everything was accompanied by the typical calm Bavarian tonality, just like Dr. Wilden himself. The doctor's welcoming my wife and me was very hope-enhancing. He explained the schedule for the first day. Then he did an audiometry before the first laser-treatment. Afterwards he explained us the audiometry and what was going to happen to my ears and that I would soon be without noises. His way of speaking made it clear that he was very convinced of the scientific results he had come up with. I listened to his words, could barely believe what he said and the only thing I hoped was that he was right with what he said about hearing-cells and energy and that I would respond to it. Then I had my first laser-treatment done. You lie on a treatment-bed. The head is placed in a softly shaped place.
The eyes are covered for the sake of protection. The ear that is to be lasered is left free. The laser is positioned correctly. One right onto the hearing-tract, the other ones onto points on the head close to the inner ear.
The treatment of one ear takes about 30 minutes. You do not feel much more than a slight feeling of warmth close to the (...). You do not hear much more than your own tinnitus, the soothing music in the treatment-department and people talking in the background as there are seven cabins. During treatment I found my tinnitus to be soothed.
Consultation via e-mail is a very good thing. Healing-process takes a very long time and the fact that you are not within the realms of scholastic medicine makes it even harder for the patients.
Time between 1st and 2nd treatment.Within this period of time my hearing experiences were worst. The noises were alternating several times a day. The nights seemed very loud and accordingly very exhausting. I proved to be impatient and full of doubts as I was experiencing things in my earthat noone else could relate to. I explained my perceptions and the questions that were resulting out of them about once a week to Dr. Wilden. The asnwer would always come by e-mail. What I appreciate more than anything in Dr. Wilden is that he was always able to give me a clear and precise answer on the questions and doubts I raised. As I had decided to do the LLL-therapy a few weeks after the suffering had started, I expected the recovering-time to be rather short. But since the hearing-cells are as tough as they are, they start to "complain" a long time after the severe damage has happened, just like in my case. Even though I was going through tough times noise-wise, I was able to notice a slight improvement as to the nights from November 2003 on. After I went to bed after a couple of glasses of wine at about 10 p.m., I lay awake until the morning after a short sleeping-phase. The sleep-phase was very short at times, sometimes I did not sleep at all. Then I lay awake until the morning and went for a walk through the vicinity at night. It is due to the hearing-cells' toughness that they start to signalize impediments when the damage is already done. I went trough tough times but at the same time I noticed a slight improvement as to the quality of sleep. After drinking a couple of glasses of wine I used to go to bed at 10 p.m. and ended up lying awake until morning. The sleep-period could be very short, sometimes I got no sleep at all. Then I would wander trough our vicinty at night. It became better, though, and I was able to sleep until 3 in the morning, which I considered a real improvement. The following descriptions of my noises are not supposed to be narcisstic self-expression - if there had been a way to put them down in pictures I would have attached them in pictures. The description of the noises is the only way to comprehend the ear's recovering process.
The second laser-light treatment phaseThe second treatment phase with laser-light took place in December 2003 instead of 4 months after first treatment. The second phase included four hours of laser-light onto each ear. The laser-light treatment took place in the same pleasant atmosphere as during the first phase. Again, I had a long conversation with Dr. Wilden. For me as a patient, it was very helpful to talk to my doctor who highly approves of his approach. It was very important to him that I considered my annoying noises as something positive as it was a sure indicator of a recovering process. That makes it much easier for the sufferer when he knows that the noises are part of the process.
The 3rd laser-light treatment phase in May 2004.It included 5 hours of laser-light onto each ear. Again, I talked to Dr. Wilden.
The 4th laser-light treatment phase in October/November 2004.It included 5 hours of laser-light onto each ear again. The atmosphere was comparable to the pleasant atmosphere in the beginning. As in the preceeding phases Dr. Wilden took himself time for a long conversation with me.
The 5th and last laser-light treatment in March 2005.It included 5 hours of laser-light treatment onto both ears again.
The atmosphere during treatment was as pleasant as usual and I had long conversations with Dr. Wilden afterwards.
From December 2005 on, I have been using the 30 mw ELP-laser pen developed by Dr. Wilden at home.It has been for a while that I have wanted to complete the laser-therapy at home. A reason for that are the long journey of about 9 hours train-ride as well as the hotel-costs. You can guess what a struggle it used to be for patients from foreign countries. The laser-device had been planned for a while, but market-response retarded. I use it every day for 15 minutes each ear. Because the shape of the burst is like a slot, I turn it a little bit around in my hand after some minutes. Since June 2007 the device specially built for ear-usage, type MLS, can be delivered at the same performance of 30 mw. The noises have been decreasing ever since. They show an amazing cyclus of exactly four days.
In the days accompanied by noises noises, my sensitivity to noise is higher: the more noise, the more
sensitive are my ears. When wearing ear-plugs, like on car-rides, the noises emerge earlier and become louder.
The cyclus then shortens to three days.
In the following time beginning in November 2007 I went to MD Wilden once or two times a year for 5 hours of LLLT.
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