It was the early morning hours, the latter part of April 2003, and I
was beside myself, well beyond normal suffering due to the incessant
ringing, chirping, tapping, and wind-like sounds coming from inside my
head.  Nothing
helped that I had on hand, not white noise from the radio or soft
music.

Then, I recalled a conversation I had with a friend at work.  He knew
about my condition and handed me a printout of a website he stumbled
upon that offered low level laser treatments for tinnitus sufferers.
I laid it aside somewhere on my desk.  "This must be God talking to
me," I thought, as I
scrounged through the mess of papers.  Finally, I found it.  

Advanced Energy Medicine it is called, located in Daytona Beach,
Florida.  A few hours passed before I could call them to set an
appointment, after which I called in sick at my job, packed two bags
and drove from Tampa, a 2.5 hour drive east, to 1620 Mason Avenue,
Suite B, Daytona Beach, on the second floor.  It was there that I
expected to receive "the most precise and advanced treatment for
Tinnitus in the world."

First, I rented a motel room not far from the "center."  The first
room I was given reeked of an awful smell.  The maintenance man tried
to clean it up, but they tried merely covering it with an additional
odor.  After a good bit of complaining, I was finally moved below a
room that held a pack of screaming party animals, then drove to the
center.

At first, I was given a set of paperwork to fill out.  One page stood
out above the rest.  I was to sign it as confirmation that I
understood I would be given this new treatment as a clinical trial.
It was not as yet -- and still hasn't been -- approved by the FDA for
tinnitus treatment.  I handed it to the receptionist and was then sent
one block down the street where an MRI was taken of my head.  Next, an
ENT specialist located in the office near Advanced Energy Medicine, on
the same floor, examined me.

His posture and words said it all.  "Do you really hold out much hope
for this?  You don't think this is going to work, do you?"  I could
see he considered me reasonably intelligent and not given to hoaxes.
Still, I kept to my plan, replying, "At this point, I'll give just
about anything a try."

"Good luck," he said, as he continued to examine my ears while asking
the usual questions.

One of the "techs" at the treatment office gave me a hearing test.
Another hearing test would come in a couple of days and would be
compared to the first one.

With preliminaries completed, my first laser session finally arrived.
Escorted into one of several small treatment rooms, I was asked to lie
on an ordinary examination table.  Attached to a pole near this table
was the small laser machine.  The laser beam was shot through a line
and expelled at a metal tip which was placed for a few minutes on
three different spots in and near my ears: my inner ear, my temple and
behind my ear on the bone.

After my first round, I went back to the motel hoping for a change.
Not much occurred.  After the second round the following day, my ears
rang awfully loud.  I asked the tech, a young married Jehovah's
Witness with whom I enjoyed religious chit chat, "What's the highs
mean?  It's pretty bothersome."

"Don't worry," he said, "this indicates we're hitting all the right
spots." After another session, the loudness grew even worse, so the
tech's response was to decrease the time of laser treatment.
Incidentally, before each session I was given a shot of a B vitamin.
Other vitamins offered to me, I refused, as I have difficulty
digesting most supplements.

I believe it was on the third day that I was sent to see the doctor in
charge, Miraslav Prochazka, M.D.  He offered his expert advice in
regards to nutritional and herbal supplements and said he had the sure
cure for IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).  I listened, but knew very
well, I wouldn't be able to digest most the things he suggested.

None of the three techs with whom I was in touch, had medical
credentials. The older woman, with whom I discussed her husband's
crabbing while she administered treatments, was attending a junior
college or technical school and looked forward to graduation.  She
seemed to express a feeling that her career was well on its way.

Because I departed Tampa in a mad rush, there was no one with me to
lend support.  Consequently, I felt very alone and took to walking a
nearby mall, swimming in the pool, and taking long walks on the beach.
A great deal of time I spent on my cell phone talking to relatives.
After five days, I felt deeply depressed and alone.  My hopes
shattered, I pleaded for my brother, who also lives in Tampa, to visit
me on the weekend.

When he and his wife arrived on Friday evening, I felt a bit revived.
They accompanied me to the tinnitus treatment center the next day and
that night we strolled the beach together.  The following morning,
after the sixth treatment, I chose to return home, disappointed with
the entire endeavor.

Despite my early withdrawal, the folks at Advanced Energy Medicine
told me I can go in for more sessions as often as I want.  Ten days
each year if I want them.  The cost of the service may still be $800,
with health insurance.

After I was home for I while, I began to receive mail from Advanced
Energy Medicine.  They requested I fill out questionnaires sent to me
periodically so the folks at AEM could keep up with my progress.  When
I failed to do respond, a woman from the center would call me at home,
to whom I would often repeat, "What progress?  I'm still the same."

The website information about the center, I presented to my ENT
doctor.  He had a good laugh and couldn't believe such a place exists
today.  "People will resort for anything," he said.  During a call to
my house from one of the employees at AEM, I suggested they no longer
contact me as I've been instructed by my doctor to consider them a
bunch of quacks.