Tinnitus sound or noise levels can lead to tinnitus. Ear plugs or other measures can help with prevention. Several medicines have ototoxic effects, and can have a cumulative effect that can increase the damage done by noise. If ototoxic medications must be administered, close attention by the physician to prescription details, such as dose and dosage interval, can reduce the damage done. If there is an underlying cause, treating it may lead to improvements. Otherwise, the primary treatment for tinnitus is talk therapy and sound therapy; there are no effective medications. The best supported treatment for tinnitus is a type of
Tinnitus masker amplitude determines the degree of masking achieved. In some cases, the required masking amplitude is so high as to cause discomfort to the user of the sound generator, and the tinnitus is therefore considered unmaskable. The frequency and other characteristics of tinnitus can vary over time, and the shifts can be temporary or permanent. They may also be cyclical. Therefore the optimal tinnitus mask may need to be adjusted periodically, within days, hours, or even minutes. So a fixed recording (i.e. CD, DVD or audio file) of a tinnitus mask is not a very efficacious application. There are also safety