As some of you may know, I've been suffering from tinnitus (ringing in the ears) for a few years. I have Meniere's. I've also personally investigated several natural ways to reduce my tinnitus too. After I started talking about my issue, I was alerted to a supplement I've never heard of before – Tinnitus 911. Since I have a dog in this fight, I became interested and decided to review the product. Does Tinnitus 911 really work or is it a scam? Who makes it? These and other questions will be the focus of this review. Also, see my review of tinnitus supplements.
How Is Tinnitus 911 Supposed To Work?
The product is touted to improve ringing in the ears. Looking at the ingredients, it appears to me they seem to offer help by providing the following benefits:
- Improving blood flow to the ears
- Helping to support nerves involved in hearing
- Providing antioxidant support
Of course, this is just conjecture on my part. In the sections below, I'll cover the evidence the company has presented to support the choice of the ingredients in the product.
Tinnitus 911 Ingredients
Each bottle of Tinnitus 911 has 60 capsules. In 1 capsule, there are the following ingredients:
| Ingredient | Amount | Percent Daily Value |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin C | 60 mg | 100% DV |
| Vitamin B12 | 5 mg | 250% DV |
| Vitamin B6 | 5 mg | 250% DV |
| Niacin | 2.5 mg | 13% DV |
| Folic Acid | 100 mg | 25% DV |
| Garlic (powder) | 150 mg | N/A |
| Hibiscus Flower (powder) | 100 mg | N/A |
| Olive Leaf (18% extract) | 125 mg | N/A |
| Hawthorn Berry (1.8% extract) | 175 mg | N/A |
| Buchu Leaves (4:1 concentrate) | 25 mg | N/A |
| Uva Ursi (4:1 concentrate) | 15 mg | N/A |
| Juniper Berry (powder) | 15 mg | N/A |
| Green Tea (50% extract) | 15 mg | N/A |
In the table above NA = no daily value established
The company recommends taking 1 capsule daily with water to achieve optimum results. Each bottle will last 2 months.
Tinnitus 911 Clinical Evidence
The product website (Tinnitus911.com) does not list any clinical research on Tinnitus 911 itself. What they do however is list links to research on 11 of its 13 ingredients. The idea is that evidence for the ingredients means evidence for the product.
Let's look at the evidence the company provides for each ingredient separately.
Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. List of Plants for Tinnitus. Plant. Chemical Count. Activity Count “Hibiscus sabdariffa, Chemical Count 42, Activity Count 19”. (click to download the PDF).
This is just a big list of “plants for tinnitus.” Ok, hibiscus is in the list but so too are a LOT of other things. The list offers no dosage amounts and no studies.
Dr. Duke was the former head of the USDA's Economic Botany Laboratory in Maryland. He is the author of numerous books on the medical uses of herbs.
Hawthorne Berry (Crataegus oxyacantha)
The evidence for hawthorn is a paper on caffeic acid (click to download the PDF), which is found in many things such as coffee and wine – as well as hawthorn. The ironic thing however is that neither hawthorn berry or crataegus oxyacantha are mentioned in this paper.
Olive Extract
The link provided for olive extract goes to a page on Medline that only mentions that olive extract is used for tinnitus. It does not provide any proof it actually works.
Niacin (B3) (Nicotinic acid)
The evidence for niacin helping tinnitus/ Meniere's presented is an except from a book published in 1982 titled Tinnitus: Facts Theories and Treatment. While this book does mention positive results with niacin conducted in the 1940s and 1950s, the book also states “Subsequent experience with niacin treatment has not been as positive, so while it is still occasionally used, it is not a routine component in the treatment of Meniere's Disease or of tinnitus.” That does not sound like an endorsement to me.
Vitamin B12
The source for evidence for B12 is a pdf file called Diagnostic Approach to Tinnitus. This appears to be a review of Tinnitus published in 2004 in the journal American Family Physician. Click here to download the pdf.
While this paper does mention lack of vitamin B12 may be a cause of tinnitus, it offers no evidence that taking B12 improves this condition. Many other things are also mentioned as a possible cause of tinnitus also.
It's interesting that the next source of proof below – for vitamin B6 states – “there is no clinical proof for the effectiveness of niacin in treating tinnitus.”
Vitamin B6
The source for B6 is a paper published in 2003 titled Alternative medications and other treatments for tinnitus: facts from fiction (Click to download PDF). The paper offers no dosing instructions for vitamin B6 but does say ” Only anecdotal evidence exists regarding this treatment method.”
Buchu leaves (Agathosma betulina)
The evidence for this herbal ingredient is the same as for hibiscus above – Dr. Dukes List of Plants for Tinnitus (click to download PDF). Buchu leaves are listed, but that's all we see. There is no evidence for it helping ringing in the ears, no dosing instructions, or anything else.
Green Tea
The evidence presented for green tea is a book titled Diet for Tinnitus. The Tinnitus911 website uses this quote from the book:
“There are three types of teas that should be consumed by tinnitus sufferers. These include: i. Green tea: Being one of the most respected types of tea, green tea …”
I have not read this book (it's available on kindle so I might grab it). I'll point out that consuming green tea (the beverage) may not offer the same results as green tea extract (what's often in supplements).
Uva ursi (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
The evidence for this ingredient is again, Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. List of Plants for Tinnitus. As stated above, it's just a list of plants that Dr. Duke has listed as helpful for tinnitus. But, that's all it is – a list.
Juniper berries (Juniperus communis)
Once again, the evidence in support of Juniper berries is Dr. Dukes list of herbs for tinnitus. My hunch is his actual books might be of more help than just a list.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a well-known antioxidant. The evidence offered in support of vitamin C helping tinnitus is a paper titled, Antioxidant therapy in idiopathic tinnitus: preliminary outcomes. This investigation involved 31 people with tinnitus who were given a mixture of vitamins (vitamin C and E), beta carotene and phospholipids for 18 weeks (4.5 months).
The combination of ingredients appeared to reduce tinnitus symptoms which is great. But, vitamin C was one of several ingredients uses. You can't pin down the benefits of this study to just vitamin C.
Also – and more importantly- the Tinnitus 911 supplement does not contain all of the ingredients used in this study. While this is a very interesting study, I don't see it as evidence for Tinnitus 911.
Who Makes Tinnitus 911
The company calls itself PhytAge Laboratories. The name PhytAge is a play on words and pronounced Phyt-Age (“Fight Age”). The prefix “Phyt” and “phyto” refers to plants. The name seems to be a reference to an anti-aging supplement they also market called “PhytAge PLUS.”
PhytAge Labs Address
This is a bit of a rabbit hole, but here is what I was able to find out:
The website for PhytAge Labs was registered in 2015. The Tinnutus911.com website was registered in 2017.
From PhytAgeLabs.com, the company has two different locations:
Mailing Address
1732 1st Avenue #28568 New York, NY 10128. This address corresponds to a UPS store.
Address for Returns
PhytAge Laboratories
37 Inverness Drive East, Suite 100 Englewood, CO 80112. This address corresponds to a company called “ShipOffers.”
The company, Ship Offers (ShipOffers.com) is a fulfillment company. They help other organizations, create supplements, market them and ship them off to customers. Since PhytAge labs shares the same location as ShipOffers, one wonders where the actual “laboratory” is?
Interestingly, The Better Business Bureau lists another address for PhytAge laboratories: 7308 S. Alton Way #2A Centennial, CO 80112. This address has in common 2 other companies:
- Supplement Support (see BBB file)
- ThirdView (ThirdView is a website marketing company)
The Alton Way address is also listed for ShipOffers also. If that's the case, where is PhytAge Laboratories really located?
From a press release, I learned ThirdView also makes and markets dietary supplements, which people can purchase and then sell as their own products. This is called Private Labeling. ThirdView appears to be related to another organization called EyeFive Inc which is an online marketing company. So, is a website marketing company really behind Tinnitus911?
For more insights, See the DietSpotlight Review.
PhytAge Labs has a BBB rating of B-. See the BBB file for updates and more information
ShipOffers had a BBB rating of “F. See the BBB File for updates and more information.
Who Is Charlie Gains?
One page I saw on the Tinnitus 911 site featured a testimonial/story from someone named Charlie Gains. The testimony starts off like this “Hi, my name is Charlie Gaines and this is the true story about how I helped find a real answer for tinnitus.”
Whether or not Charlie Gains actually exists, I cannot say because at the bottom of the Tinnitus 911 website it states “Charlie Gains is a pen name. Any likeness to a real Charlie Gains living or dead is entirely coincidental.” What does that mean? I don't understand why a pseudonym is needed. Why doesn't Charlie Gains want us to know his real name? I don't know what to make of this.
Tinnitus 911 Cost
Here are the prices I saw when this review was created:
- 1 bottle: $69.95
-
LipoFlavonoid Plus 150 caplets 2 bottles: 59.95
- 4 bottles: $49.95
In my opinion, this is expensive. Remember, there is no clinical evidence for Tinnitus911 itself to prove it actually works.
Tinnitus 911 is on Amazon but it was expensive there too when I looked.
Tinnitus 911 vs. Lipoflavonoid
Lipoflavonid is the most popular supplement for tinnitus / Meniere's disease on the market. Every doctor I've talked to has heard of this supplement. How does Lipoflavonoid compare to Tinnitus 911? Here is a side-by-side comparison of the ingredients in each:
| Tinnitus 911 (1 capsule) | Lipoflavonoid (3 caplets) |
|---|---|
| Vitamin C 60mg | Vitamin C 300mg |
| Vitamin B12 5mg | Vitamin B1 1mg |
| Vitamin B6 5mg | Vitamin B2 3mg |
| Niacin 2.5mg | Niacin 10mg |
| Folic Acid 100mg | Vitamin B6 1mg |
| Garlic powder 150 mg | Vitamin B12 5mcg |
| Hibiscus Flower 150mg | Pantothenic acid 5mg |
| Olive Leaf Extract 125 mg | Calcium 87mg |
| Hawthorn berry 175 mg | Blend (1500mg) consisting of the following: |
| Buchu Leaves 25mg | 1. Eriodictyol glycoside |
| Uva Ursi 15mg | 2. Choline bitertrate |
| Juniper Berry Powder 15mg | 3. Inositol |
| Green Tea Extract 15 mg | 4. Lemon bioflavonoid complex |
As can be seen from the table, both supplements have some vitamins in common although they differ in the amounts.
But, that's not what's important.
When it comes to lipoflavnoid, the evidence is on its lemon bioactive complex. Research done in the 1960s appeared to show this lemon extract helped reduce tinnitus. Is the research perfect? No. When I tried Lipoflavonoid, it did not help me but I've heard others say it helped them.
Lipoflavonoid is much less expensive than Tinnitus 911.
Click here to read how I tried to cure my tinnitus.
Tinnitus 911 Side Effects
In healthy people, Tinnitus 911 appears to be safe. Based on the ingredients, here are a few things to keep in mind when trying this product. This list is not complete:
- Stop taking Tinnitus 911 at least 2 weeks before surgery
- Speak to your doctor /pharmacist first if you are pregnant/breastfeeding
- Speak to your doctor/pharmacist if you take any medications, like blood thinners
- Speak to your doctor/pharmacist first if you have any medical issues like heart or blood pressure problems
- If possible, start the first week by taking less than is recommended to see how you respond.
Tinnitus 911 Pro and Con
Here's a brief overview of what I liked and didn't like about this supplement. These are my own opinions. Take it for what it is:
| What I liked | What I didn't like |
|---|---|
| website lists supporting evidence | Lacks clinical evidence |
| Likely safe in healthy people | Evidence listed for ingredients was lackluster |
| Lack of transparency about company location | |
| It's expensive |
Does Tinnitus 911 Really Work?
Even though I have Meniere's, I did not try Tinnitus 911 and that is because I didn't think it was worth it based on the totality of what I saw as I reviewed this supplement. I've been down too many rabbit holes already trying to find a cure for my own tinnitus. I understand that is a shortcoming to this review. In my defense, I might have tried it if there was better evidence presented for the ingredients or if I had more faith in the company that supposedly makes it. Have you tried Tinnitus 911? If yes, let me know what happened.
Here it is on Amazon