2. Patient Stories
3. Karan Khemka

Karan Khemka

International businessman, Karan Khemka has stepped forward to share his positive experience of a new tinnitus treatment - Acoustic CR® Neuromodulation - offered in the UK exclusively by The Tinnitus Clinic.

Prior to the onset of tinnitus, Karan Khemka led a full and active life, enjoyed his fulfilling career as an International Management Consultant and spending time with his young family. Just before Christmas 2010, Karan sustained a blow to left side of this head. Two weeks later, his tinnitus started.

"It came on out-of-the-blue and it was so severe, rather like a mobile phone ringing inside my head. It was there all of the time and I could even hear it in a busy airport. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't interact. For the first month, I couldn't work; I was so shocked by the condition and its severity. For the first time in my life, I felt depressed and had to seek help for anxiety. It's hard to describe just how disruptive it was," explained Karan.

Within two days of experiencing tinnitus, Karan visited an Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic. He tried various treatments, including steroids, sinus treatments and stress reduction techniques. Numerous visits to other centres and experts, found through constant trawling of the internet, followed. Karan's search was global and included a visit to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA. But no relief could be found.

"I came across The Tinnitus Clinic purely by accident. It hadn't long opened and a friend sent me a link to the website in October last year. By this stage, my tinnitus had decreased only very slightly and it still impacted greatly on my life. I was having maybe one or two good days a week and I wanted to get back to enjoying my life, to the full. The Acoustic CR® Neuromodulation treatment offered by the clinic was unlike anything I had heard of before and I immediately made an appointment."

Prior to treatment, one of the Clinic's Audiologists, Nel Govender, undertook a full audiological assessment and examined the impact of Karan's tinnitus. Acoustic CR® Neuromodulation treatment was then personalised to fit in with his lifestyle and to match Karan's exact tinnitus profile and pitch.

"I experienced the most dynamic change within the first two weeks, following by an ongoing progressive improvement in symptoms. I went from not being sure if I would sleep at night, to dropping off straight away. From being unsure if I'd have a good day, to having a succession of them. It's hard to describe how much the condition changed, but it's gone from feeling like my head would split open, to being a very mild annoyance, like a scratch on your foot – and the relief has been sustained."

During treatment, the Acoustic CR® Neuromodulation device is worn for between 4-6 hours each day. As treatment progresses, the tinnitus sound is regularly evaluated and treatment is fine-tuned in line with changing symptoms.

Before starting treatment, Karan was slightly concerned about wearing the device for 4-6 hours every day. "It sounded like a long time but it's actually been really easy. The device is very portable – I just clip it onto my jacket – and all you hear is an intermittent tone combination. I actually find it quite relaxing. Some days, I wear the device for a full four-hour stint in the office but when I have meetings, I pop it on in between."

Karan continued, "It's worth putting in the time to make sure that your device is correctly tuned. You need to be patient but it pays dividends – and I travel from India for each appointment! I can now go for four to five days without noticing any tinnitus sound during the day. I experience only a very mild tinnitus tone in the evenings and we're now working to tune into this residual note."

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