When I no longer could sleep through the night, I knew it was time to find a natural treatment for tinnitus. The buzzing,roaring,whooshing noises are worst at night when the world is at its most quiet. Problems with sleeping are one of the worst effects of tinnitus.

I made my living for years playing mostly rock and roll in bands 3 or 4 nights a week. The guitars were loud but I think what caused me the most trouble was the drums. The cymbals crashing is what gave me the ringing of ears that I experienced.

It began as a ringing but went away by the next morning. Then it lasted into the next day before fading out. The final step was that it stayed to plague me permanently. It just didn't go away and in fact got worse, especially after playing a job.

I went to the doctor and was prescribed betahistidine. It gave temporary relief but of coarse wasn't a cure. The side effects were not good either as I experienced nausea.

Then I was given tranquilisers to help me cope with the noses. Again the side effects were not good and the ringing seemed to get even worse. There was even talk about surgery. I knew it was time to search for a more natural treatment for tinnitus. It certainly couldn't hurt.

I found that techniques like biofeedback,meditation and stretching exercises such as yoga helped me. Anything that increased circulation seemed to lessen the roaring I heard daily.

Dietary changes were the next area to work on. I cut out salt completely as it can lead to fluid buildup in the inner ear area. Late nights and alcohol to extremes were next on the "don't do" list. I learned that nicotine and caffeine make the vessels carrying blood shrink and this decreases circulation.

Certain herbs have been found to alleviate the suffering of tinnitus. Ginkgo biloba has no known side effects and helps the circulation in the head. Researchers in Germany discovered that taking 160 mg. of ginkgo daily helped significantly.

The supplement Niacin results in flushing of the skin. This is because it opens up blood vessels. This enlargement of the vessels increases the flow of oxygen and other vital nutrients to the head and the ears. Zinc has been found by researchers to also alleviate the suffering of ringing of ears. 50 mg. a day was discovered to reduce the noise of tinnitus.