Are you Suffering from any of these symptoms as a result of Tinnitus? Call Today for a Consultation.

    Mild to severe anxiety
    Insomnia
    Triggered fight or flight

  Depression
  Negative thinking
  Crying spells

  Hopelessness
  Suicidal thoughts
  Ringing in the ears

Do you feel your family and friends don’t understand?
Are you growing more isolated?
Do you feel like life will never be the same?
Are you refraining from activities that you enjoy?
Are you fearful of losing your job?
Do you find that your thoughts tend to be negative?

If you answered yes to 3 or more of these questions or symptoms, then we can help.

You may be a candidate for Tinnitus Cognitive Retraining Therapy, or TCRT.  Stephen Geller Katz, LCSW-R, with over 20 years of clinical experience, a New York University graduate, developed Tinnitus Cognitive Retraining Therapy and founded Tinnitus Cognitive Center™ in response to the growing number of Tinnitus sufferers coming to his private practice. He discovered that by helping people to retrain and reinterpret the thoughts around their Tinnitus, anxiety and depression symptoms began to improve. But even more important so did the Tinnitus.

Call us at (646) 213-2321 for a consultation.


See our main site: www.tinnituscognitivecenter.com
Blog Posts are Below:


Monthly Archives: May 2014

Are there foods that can relieve tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a chronic condition of constant ringing in the ears. The cause is frequently unknown, which makes treatment a struggle to separate what works from what doesn’t. In cases where the medical cause is apparent – such as acoustic trauma, an inner ear disorder such as Meniere’s disease or infection – the treatment for tinnitus is the treatment of the disease. For idiopathic (unknown) tinnitus, lifestyle changes including exercise and diet are often effective.

Can what I eat cause tinnitus? BestTinnitusDoctorNYC3

Idiopathic means “unknown” and for most of us this also implies, “It could be anything!” – which is not entirely accurate. With the exception of autoimmune or allergic inner ear disorders (which do exist) the answer to “Can foods cause tinnitus?” is maybe…but it’s pretty unlikely.

Some research has shown that people clinically deficient in some nutrients (like B12 or Zinc) may be more prone to develop tinnitus when exposed to acoustic trauma. Hyperinsulemia and unhealthy fluctuations in blood glucose have also been implicated in some inner ear disorders which can result in tinnitus. Whether or not diet is the source, the good news is that what you eat may help improve your symptoms.

BestTinnitusDoctorNYC4How can my diet improve my tinnitus?

When tinnitus cannot be associated with a diagnosable disorder, the general recommendation leans toward improvement in overall health, especially inner ear health. In almost all circumstances, an improvement in one’s general health will have a positive effect on reducing symptoms.

One common suspect in idiopathic tinnitus is blood flow. The inner ear and the stria vascularis are big energy users; needing a constant heavy supply of oxygen and nutrients to generate ATP. Some suspect tinnitus results from restrictions to blood flow, whether from blockage or genetically small blood vessels. Anything that can improve blood flow may improve tinnitus.

How do I improve my blood flow?BestTinnitusDoctorNYC5

Many of the same dietary recommendations for cardiovascular disease are recommended for tinnitus. High blood triglycerides and cholesterol can lead to narrowed and hardened vessels. Reducing these to healthy levels can – at least in theory – lead to improvement of symptoms and a slow-down of disease progression.

Removing vasoconstrictors or foods that aggravate hypertension may help as well. Fewer caffeinated beverages, increasing essential fatty acids (EFAs), and supplements which have been shown to increase vasodilatation (such as Ginko Biloba and Niacin) may also have positive effects. Reductions in salt are a common recommendation for some illnesses such as Meniere’s disease, and may have benefits for peripheral blood flow as well.

Exercise is, of course, one of the best ways to improve blood flow throughout the body. It increases oxygenation to all tissues including the inner ear, creates a more flexible vasculature and an improved circulation overall. The hormones triggered by exercise have growth and healing effects for tissues that have been or are being damaged.

It’s always best to consult a doctor before embarking on any major lifestyle change involving diet or exercise. With your doctor’s guidance you can improve your diet and health, which will likely improve everything else including your tinnitus symptoms.

A paradigm shift in thinking creates new possibilities for tinnitus treatment

BestTinnitusDoctorNYC1Tinnitus affects more than 10% of the American population. A constant ringing in the ears, it can vary from little more than an irritation to a debilitating condition. Tinnitus is caused from a variety of problems ranging from hearing loss to injury, and has been the subject of extensive research into both its causes and potential treatments.

New research into tinnitus

Researchers at Berkeley recently published an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences offering insight and new hope into the phenomena that is hearing loss induced tinnitus. In their paper they claim tinnitus is the result of acoustic cortex neurons attempting to “fill in the gap” of missing sound. It is this attempt that results in tinnitus.

Over-excited neurons may lead to tinnitusBestTinnitusDoctorNYC2

Co-author Shaowen Bao and his team support the idea that neural cells of the auditory cortex strive to maintain a constant rate of firing regardless of the level of sound. The balance between this constant rate and the actual input from the inner ear is part of hearing homeostasis. In hearing loss induced tinnitus, the sound transcribing hair cells of the ear are destroyed and stop sending their signal to the brain. In the brain’s attempt to reconcile this loss the cortex neurons become hyperactive – creating the sensation of constant sound (tinnitus). Bao describes this phenomenon as similar to “phantom limb syndrome” where amputees continue to feel sensation from the missing limb. It’s this last observation that leads to the first of two exciting new possibilities for treatment.

BestTinnitusDoctorNYC3A new therapy for tinnitus?

Re-training the brain to ignore or otherwise minimize tinnitus is a long standing therapy. However, this new information has created a paradigm shift in the way hearing specialists view the process.

“We changed our [brain retraining] strategy from one where we completely avoided the tinnitus domain [of the cortex] to one where we directly engage it and try to re-differentiate or reactivate it; and we seem to be seeing improvement…” said Dr. Michael Merzenich, professor emeritus of otolaryngology at UCSF and chief scientific officer at Posit Science.

The idea is that the overactive neurons can be convinced to “calm down” by offering them input from alternative sources. This is similar to treatments for phantom limb syndrome where the brain is convinced to substitute different input (such as from a finger next to the missing finger) to correct its sensory gap.

Activating GABA may help tinnitusBestTinnitusDoctorNYC4

This new research has also opened the way for a second, pharmacological solution. Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain which both excite and dampen neuron signaling. Serotonin and glutamate are well known excitatory neurotransmitters, with GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) being one of the common inhibitory neurotransmitters. In the brain, these inhibitory and excitatory actions are in constant debate. Signals from one source attempt to excite a neuron while contradictory signals dampen it. The analogy here is a balance scale, where sand is constantly being added and subtracted from both sides and the overall activity of the neuron being the weight at any given moment.

Bao’s experiments have shown that tinnitus is out of balance with GABA. “There are a lot of things we can do to change GABA functions, some of which could potentially alleviate tinnitus with fewer side effects.” He and his team have begun applying for research grants into way to modify GABA levels in the auditory cortex. Some of these include enhancing GABA receptor function in the auditory cortex, increasing GABA synthesis, and slowing re-uptake or enzymatic degradation of the neurotransmitter.

Stop letting the ringing of your ears distract you from life. Contact our New York specialists for help and answers.

Monthly Archives: May 2014

Are there foods that can relieve tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a chronic condition of constant ringing in the ears. The cause is frequently unknown, which makes treatment a struggle to separate what works from what doesn’t. In cases where the medical cause is apparent – such as acoustic trauma, an inner ear disorder such as Meniere’s disease or infection – the treatment for tinnitus is the treatment of the disease. For idiopathic (unknown) tinnitus, lifestyle changes including exercise and diet are often effective.

Can what I eat cause tinnitus? BestTinnitusDoctorNYC3

Idiopathic means “unknown” and for most of us this also implies, “It could be anything!” – which is not entirely accurate. With the exception of autoimmune or allergic inner ear disorders (which do exist) the answer to “Can foods cause tinnitus?” is maybe…but it’s pretty unlikely.

Some research has shown that people clinically deficient in some nutrients (like B12 or Zinc) may be more prone to develop tinnitus when exposed to acoustic trauma. Hyperinsulemia and unhealthy fluctuations in blood glucose have also been implicated in some inner ear disorders which can result in tinnitus. Whether or not diet is the source, the good news is that what you eat may help improve your symptoms.

BestTinnitusDoctorNYC4How can my diet improve my tinnitus?

When tinnitus cannot be associated with a diagnosable disorder, the general recommendation leans toward improvement in overall health, especially inner ear health. In almost all circumstances, an improvement in one’s general health will have a positive effect on reducing symptoms.

One common suspect in idiopathic tinnitus is blood flow. The inner ear and the stria vascularis are big energy users; needing a constant heavy supply of oxygen and nutrients to generate ATP. Some suspect tinnitus results from restrictions to blood flow, whether from blockage or genetically small blood vessels. Anything that can improve blood flow may improve tinnitus.

How do I improve my blood flow?BestTinnitusDoctorNYC5

Many of the same dietary recommendations for cardiovascular disease are recommended for tinnitus. High blood triglycerides and cholesterol can lead to narrowed and hardened vessels. Reducing these to healthy levels can – at least in theory – lead to improvement of symptoms and a slow-down of disease progression.

Removing vasoconstrictors or foods that aggravate hypertension may help as well. Fewer caffeinated beverages, increasing essential fatty acids (EFAs), and supplements which have been shown to increase vasodilatation (such as Ginko Biloba and Niacin) may also have positive effects. Reductions in salt are a common recommendation for some illnesses such as Meniere’s disease, and may have benefits for peripheral blood flow as well.

Exercise is, of course, one of the best ways to improve blood flow throughout the body. It increases oxygenation to all tissues including the inner ear, creates a more flexible vasculature and an improved circulation overall. The hormones triggered by exercise have growth and healing effects for tissues that have been or are being damaged.

It’s always best to consult a doctor before embarking on any major lifestyle change involving diet or exercise. With your doctor’s guidance you can improve your diet and health, which will likely improve everything else including your tinnitus symptoms.

A paradigm shift in thinking creates new possibilities for tinnitus treatment

BestTinnitusDoctorNYC1Tinnitus affects more than 10% of the American population. A constant ringing in the ears, it can vary from little more than an irritation to a debilitating condition. Tinnitus is caused from a variety of problems ranging from hearing loss to injury, and has been the subject of extensive research into both its causes and potential treatments.

New research into tinnitus

Researchers at Berkeley recently published an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences offering insight and new hope into the phenomena that is hearing loss induced tinnitus. In their paper they claim tinnitus is the result of acoustic cortex neurons attempting to “fill in the gap” of missing sound. It is this attempt that results in tinnitus.

Over-excited neurons may lead to tinnitusBestTinnitusDoctorNYC2

Co-author Shaowen Bao and his team support the idea that neural cells of the auditory cortex strive to maintain a constant rate of firing regardless of the level of sound. The balance between this constant rate and the actual input from the inner ear is part of hearing homeostasis. In hearing loss induced tinnitus, the sound transcribing hair cells of the ear are destroyed and stop sending their signal to the brain. In the brain’s attempt to reconcile this loss the cortex neurons become hyperactive – creating the sensation of constant sound (tinnitus). Bao describes this phenomenon as similar to “phantom limb syndrome” where amputees continue to feel sensation from the missing limb. It’s this last observation that leads to the first of two exciting new possibilities for treatment.

BestTinnitusDoctorNYC3A new therapy for tinnitus?

Re-training the brain to ignore or otherwise minimize tinnitus is a long standing therapy. However, this new information has created a paradigm shift in the way hearing specialists view the process.

“We changed our [brain retraining] strategy from one where we completely avoided the tinnitus domain [of the cortex] to one where we directly engage it and try to re-differentiate or reactivate it; and we seem to be seeing improvement…” said Dr. Michael Merzenich, professor emeritus of otolaryngology at UCSF and chief scientific officer at Posit Science.

The idea is that the overactive neurons can be convinced to “calm down” by offering them input from alternative sources. This is similar to treatments for phantom limb syndrome where the brain is convinced to substitute different input (such as from a finger next to the missing finger) to correct its sensory gap.

Activating GABA may help tinnitusBestTinnitusDoctorNYC4

This new research has also opened the way for a second, pharmacological solution. Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain which both excite and dampen neuron signaling. Serotonin and glutamate are well known excitatory neurotransmitters, with GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) being one of the common inhibitory neurotransmitters. In the brain, these inhibitory and excitatory actions are in constant debate. Signals from one source attempt to excite a neuron while contradictory signals dampen it. The analogy here is a balance scale, where sand is constantly being added and subtracted from both sides and the overall activity of the neuron being the weight at any given moment.

Bao’s experiments have shown that tinnitus is out of balance with GABA. “There are a lot of things we can do to change GABA functions, some of which could potentially alleviate tinnitus with fewer side effects.” He and his team have begun applying for research grants into way to modify GABA levels in the auditory cortex. Some of these include enhancing GABA receptor function in the auditory cortex, increasing GABA synthesis, and slowing re-uptake or enzymatic degradation of the neurotransmitter.

Stop letting the ringing of your ears distract you from life. Contact our New York specialists for help and answers.

Tinnitus Cognitive Center

Stephen Geller Katz, LCSW-R
19 West 34th Street
Penthouse Floor
New York, NY 10001


Call today for a consultation
646-213-2321