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Ingredient & advertising guide

This page has two jobs. First, it explains every one of the five herbs printed on the label of the bottle we sell, what each is, and what the research does and does not say about it, including the one trial that matters most. Second, and this is the part most advertising pages leave out, it lists the headlines we run for this page and the headline families common in this category, tells you which ones are exaggerated, and separates the small number of things that are genuinely supported by evidence from the many that are not.

1. Our headlines, and what is actually true

These are the headlines we run for this page, together with the headline families that advertisers in this category use for bottles like this one, which you may have seen elsewhere and which we do not run. The right-hand column is our own plain assessment. Each family is marked Exaggerated, Partly true, Withdrawn, Wrong or Broadly supported. If you arrived from a headline that is not listed here, write to the address at the foot of this page and we will add it with its verdict.

The headline as you saw it	What is actually behind it
"Five Herbs in a Two-Ounce Bottle, Half a Milliliter in a Quarter Cup of Water Three Times a Day, and a Full Year to Send It Back: I Put the Bottle Beside the Only Large Trial of Its Main Herb in People Who Hear a Ringing, and Did the Arithmetic the Listing Didn't"	Broadly supported This is the reading our article is built on, and every part of it is on the seller's pages or in a published trial. The bottle is 60 milliliters, about two fluid ounces, of five named herbs in vegetable glycerin and water; the direction is 0.50 milliliters in a quarter cup of water three times a day; the seller's guarantee page gives a full year to return it after trying it for at least thirty days. The main herb is ginkgo, and the only large trial of ginkgo extract in people with ringing in their ears, 1,121 of them for twelve weeks, found no difference from placebo. [1] The arithmetic: at the adult dose a bottle lasts about forty days, not the "approximately 80" the listing says. The headline is meant to state facts and their qualifiers, not to raise expectations. It is not a claim that the bottle works.
"Ringing in your ears? Ear specialists point to this one herb""The herb ear doctors want you to know about"	Exaggerated A common construction in this category, and we do not run it. No ear specialist was consulted and none endorses this bottle. The herb the seller singles out for hearing is ginkgo, and the evidence runs the other way: the 1,121-person trial found nothing, [1] a Cochrane review of four trials with 1,543 people found no evidence that ginkgo helps when the ringing is the main complaint, [2] the National Institutes of Health says research suggests it is not helpful for it, [3] and the 2014 guideline of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery recommends against ginkgo, melatonin, zinc and other dietary supplements for persistent, bothersome ringing. [4] See section 3.
"Ear ringing isn't age: just avoid these 3 drinks""Seniors: these 3 drinks may be making the ringing worse"	Exaggerated Another common construction we do not run. Ringing in the ears is strongly tied to age and, above all, to hearing loss: most people who have it have some degree of hearing loss, [5] and about one in three Americans between 65 and 74 has hearing loss. [6] No drink has been shown in a trial to cause it or to quiet it. The one large prospective study of a drink we can cite followed 65,085 women for eighteen years and found that those who drank the most coffee were somewhat less likely to develop ringing, not more. [7] See section 2.
"Hear a ringing in a quiet room? Doctors say check this first"	Partly true Half right, and we run a plainer version of it. If you hear a sound in a quiet room that no one else hears, the sensible first step is a hearing test, because most people with the ringing have some hearing loss [5] and the ear, nose and throat guideline asks for a prompt, comprehensive hearing examination when the ringing is one-sided, has lasted six months or more, or comes with hearing difficulty. [4] What is wrong is the implication that "this" is a bottle. It is not. See sections 5 and 7.
"The overlooked cause of ear ringing after 60, and the 80-day bottle that helps"	Our headline was wrong We withdraw this construction outright. There is no single overlooked cause; the documented ones (noise, hearing loss, earwax, some medicines at high doses, head and neck injuries) are listed by the NIDCD and none of them is a secret. [5] "Helps" is a claim no trial supports for this bottle, and "80 days" is the seller's figure; at the adult dose on the same listing a bottle lasts about forty days. See the ingredients below.
"Quiet the ringing tonight with this old herbal remedy"	Withdrawn We do not run this and will not. Nothing quiets the ringing tonight. The NIDCD says there is currently no cure, and the things that help people live with the sound are a hearing test, hearing aids when hearing loss is found, sound at night and counselling. [5] [4] A bottle that promises tonight is promising something nobody has measured.

2. Every drink the headlines point at

Headlines in this category refer to "3 drinks" or "the evening drink" without naming them. Here is what advertisers mean when they say it, and what the research actually supports for each one. Where a study is cited, it is observational unless stated otherwise: it can show that two things travel together in a population, not that one causes the other.

3. Every food and herb the headlines point at

The food versions of the headline refer to "1 herb", "3 foods" or "a kitchen herb". Here is what was meant, and what stands behind it.

4. The medicines question

Ringing in the ears can be a side effect of certain medicines, especially when they are taken at high doses. ^[5] The NIDCD lists the groups below. "Can be" means it is documented for some people at some doses, not that your medicine is doing it.

What this section is not. It is not a claim that any of these medicines is causing your ringing, not medical advice, and not a suggestion that five herbs in glycerin are an alternative to any of them. It is a prompt to have one specific conversation with a professional who knows your history.

5. The "hearing tests" the headlines mention

Several headline families in this category invite you to test your ears online: "can you hear this tone", "count the beeps", "if you can hear this, your ears are younger than you think". There is no validated test on an advertising page, and we cannot give you a real one, because a real one does not work that way.

What a real hearing examination looks like. An audiologist measures the quietest sound you can hear at each pitch in each ear, in a sound-treated booth with calibrated equipment, and plots it as an audiogram. The ear, nose and throat guideline asks for that examination promptly when the ringing is one-sided, has lasted six months or more, or comes with hearing difficulty. ^[4] Three things make it different from a phone playing tones:

• The equipment is calibrated and the room is quiet; your phone's speaker and your kitchen are neither.
• Each ear is tested separately, which is how one-sided loss, the finding that matters most, is caught.
• The result is read against your history, your medicines and a look inside the ear canal, where a plug of wax can account for the whole thing. ^[5]

Since October 2022 adults with what they perceive as mild to moderate hearing loss can buy hearing aids over the counter in the United States, ^[13] which has made the test cheaper to act on than it used to be. A hearing test is also the one thing on this page that can find something fixable.

6. Real warning signs, and the causes worth ruling out

Ringing in the ears is common, usually not a sign of anything serious, and for most people a nuisance rather than a disability: in the largest US survey, about one adult in ten had it in the past year, 41.6% called it a small problem and 7.2% a big or very big one. ^[14] A few patterns, though, deserve a prompt appointment rather than a bottle:

• Ringing in one ear only, or hearing that has dropped in one ear.
• A sound that came on suddenly, over hours or a day, especially with a drop in hearing: seek care the same day.
• A sound that pulses in time with your heartbeat.
• Ringing with spells of spinning dizziness, fullness in the ear, or hearing that comes and goes.
• Pain, discharge or fever with it.
• Ringing that started after a head or neck injury, or after a new medicine or a higher dose. ^[5]
• Ringing that is keeping you from sleeping or concentrating, or that is weighing on your mood: that is a reason to ask for help, and there are approaches that work. ^[4]

Ordinary ringing looks different: a steady, faint, high tone in both ears that you notice in a quiet room, that has been there for years, and that fades into the background when there is something else to listen to. That is the common kind, and it travels with the gradual hearing loss that about one in three people between 65 and 74 has. ^[6]

7. What actually has the best evidence

If we only had one section to be useful in, this would be it. Not one item on it is a supplement, and the guideline written by the ear, nose and throat specialists' own academy recommends against ginkgo, melatonin, zinc and other dietary supplements for persistent, bothersome ringing. ^[4]

• Get a proper hearing test, promptly if the ringing is one-sided, persistent or comes with hearing difficulty. ^[4]
• If hearing loss is found, use hearing aids: the NIDCD lists them as one of the main options for people who have both, ^[5] and the guideline recommends a hearing aid evaluation. ^[4] Over-the-counter models have been available to adults with perceived mild to moderate loss since October 2022. ^[13]
• Protect the hearing you have: long or repeated exposure at or above 85 decibels (a motorcycle, a concert, headphones at full volume) can cause loss; earplugs and distance are the protection. ^[15] In the US survey, ringing was about three times as common in people with steady loud noise at work. ^[14]
• Use sound at night: a fan, a radio or an app playing rain or waves, which the NIDCD lists as an aid for sleep when the ringing is mild. ^[5]
• Ask about counselling: the guideline recommends cognitive behavioral therapy and sound therapy for persistent, bothersome ringing, and both are aimed at how much the sound bothers you, which is the part that can change. ^[4]
• Have your medicines reviewed, and have your ear canals looked at. ^[5]
• Treat hearing loss for your brain as well as your ears: it is one of the fourteen modifiable risk factors in the Lancet Commission's analysis, ^[9] though the one large trial of hearing aids for that purpose found a benefit only in the group already at higher risk. ^[16]
• Sleep, blood pressure, alcohol and weight: the unglamorous list that helps everything, ears included. ^[9]

These are unglamorous. They cannot be delivered in a headline, some of them cost money and time, and none of them can be sold to you by us. They are also, by a wide margin, the best-supported things on this entire page.

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8. Ingredient guide: what is actually in the bottle we sell

What each of the five herbs printed on the label of Native Remedies TinnaRex is, what it is traditionally used for, and what the cited research says. The label prints no amount for any of them: the listing says "in therapeutic dosage" and gives no number, the serving is half a milliliter, and the base is vegetable glycerin and deionized water. Where a study is cited below, it used one herb at a time, at a measured dose, in a different preparation; none of it tested this bottle. Read the statement at the end of this section before you buy anything.

St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum), flowering herb

A perennial herb with yellow flowers marked by black glands and leaves that look perforated when held to the light, common in meadows and along roadsides across Europe and North America. It blooms around late June, near the feast of St. John the Baptist, which is where the name comes from. In this bottle it is the wild-crafted flowering herb, first of five, in vegetable glycerin and water.

Traditional and everyday use. Used in Greek, Islamic and Chinese systems of traditional medicine and, in modern shops, sold mainly as a mood herb. The seller lists it here for the nervous system.

What the research says. No trial has tested St. John's wort for the ears, for hearing or for ringing in the ears, and the seller cites none. What the research does establish is on the other side of the ledger: the National Institutes of Health states that St. John's wort can interact in dangerous, sometimes life-threatening ways with a variety of medicines. ^[12] This product prints no amount.

Amount per serving in TinnaRex · 60 mL. not stated (first of five herbs; the label's own caution: not with warfarin or other anticoagulants, and avoid excessive sun while taking it)

Good to know. The label itself says not to use this product with warfarin or other anticoagulants and to avoid excessive sun or UV light while taking St. John's wort. The NIH lists interactions that weaken some antidepressants, oral contraceptives, cyclosporine, some seizure, heart, HIV and cancer medicines, warfarin and certain statins, serious effects when combined with other drugs that affect serotonin, and severe skin reactions after sun exposure at large doses. ^[12] If you take anything daily, ask your doctor or pharmacist before this bottle, and do not stop any medicine to make room for it.

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), leaf, in a liquid herbal extract

The fan-shaped leaf of the ginkgo tree, a species so ancient it is called a living fossil, planted along city streets across the world. Here it is the certified-organic leaf in a liquid extract as one of five herbs in a blend (cane alcohol and water in the Herb Pharm blend; vegetable glycerin and water in TinnaRex): a different thing from the standardized leaf extract (120 mg tablets and the like) used in the large trials, and from the homeopathic dilution found in some sprays.

Traditional and everyday use. Ginkgo leaf extract has been sold as a "memory herb" for decades.

What the research says. In the largest trial to date, 3,069 adults aged 72 to 96 took 120 mg of a standardized extract twice a day for a median of 6.1 years and declined at the same rate as the placebo group in memory, attention, language and every other domain measured.^[17] The National Institutes of Health states there is no conclusive evidence that ginkgo is helpful for any health condition.^[18] This product gives no ginkgo amount; the whole five-herb blend is 646 mg per 0.7 ml serving, and that figure is for the liquid extract, not for standardized leaf extract. On the ears: the largest trial of a standardized ginkgo extract in people with ringing in their ears (1,121 people, 12 weeks, 50 mg three times a day) found no difference from placebo, ^[1] a Cochrane review of four trials found no evidence it helps when the ringing is the main complaint, ^[2] the NIH says research suggests it is not helpful for that ringing, ^[3] and the 2014 guideline of the American ear, nose and throat academy recommends against ginkgo and other supplements for it. ^[4] TinnaRex prints no amount of ginkgo at all.

Amount per serving in TinnaRex · 60 mL. not stated (the herb the seller says was "researched for its ability to support healthy hearing"; the largest trial of its extract on ringing found nothing)

Good to know. Ginkgo may increase the risk of bleeding in people who take anything that thins the blood; fresh ginkgo seeds are toxic. Talk to your doctor before use if you are under a doctor's care or are due for an operation.

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus, formerly Rosmarinus officinalis), leaf

A small evergreen shrub of the mint family, native to the dry, rocky Mediterranean coast, whose needle-like leaves are one of the world's most familiar cooking herbs. The FDA lists rosemary among spices generally recognized as safe for their intended use in food.

Traditional and everyday use. In ancient Greece and Rome rosemary was associated with memory, and in folklore it has long been an emblem of remembrance. In the kitchen it flavors roasts, breads and oils.

What the research says. In a small crossover trial of 28 adults with an average age of 75, a single 750 mg dose of dried rosemary leaf, close to a culinary amount, was associated with faster speed of memory compared with placebo, while a much larger dose (6,000 mg) had the opposite effect.^[10] More was not better.

Amount per serving in TinnaRex · 60 mL. not stated (the kitchen herb; the seller calls it a "circulation tonic")

Good to know. Culinary amounts are widely used. In the trial above, a very large single dose (6,000 mg) slowed memory measures, so more is not better. Talk to your doctor before use if you have a health condition or take anything daily.

Oatstraw (Avena sativa), green stalk and leaf

The green stalk and leaf of the common oat, the same cereal grass whose seed is the breakfast grain, cut and dried as an herb rather than threshed for the grain. It is a different preparation from the milky green oat seed extract used in the trials, and from rolled oats.

Traditional and everyday use. A traditional "nerve tonic" in European herbalism, drunk as a tea; the grain has been a staple food for millennia.

What the research says. The trials of oat as an herb used concentrated extracts of the green seed in capsules, with mixed results on thinking in healthy adults, ^{[19] [20]} not oatstraw in glycerin, and none looked at the ears or hearing. The seller cites none. This product prints no amount.

Amount per serving in TinnaRex · 60 mL. not stated (the green stalk and leaf of the oat plant, not the grain)

Good to know. No specific safety warnings were found in the NIH herb references for oat herb; the listing says the product is gluten-free. As with any daily herb, talk to your doctor first if you have a health condition or take anything daily.

Vervain (Verbena), wild-crafted herb, listed as "European Blue Vervain"

Blue vervain (Verbena hastata) is a perennial of the vervain family that grows across the continental United States and much of southern Canada, with tall spikes of small violet-blue flowers. Common or European vervain (Verbena officinalis) is a different species, native to Europe, with delicate spikes of two-lipped mauve flowers. The listing's name mixes the two, and the label is not shown, so this guide cannot say which plant is in the bottle.

Traditional and everyday use. Both species have long histories as bitter tonics in folk herbalism; the seller lists it for tension and the nervous system.

What the research says. No controlled trial in people on the ears, hearing or ringing in the ears could be found for either species, and the seller cites none. Descriptive only. This product prints no amount.

Amount per serving in TinnaRex · 60 mL. not stated (blue vervain is a North American plant and European vervain another species; the listing does not say which)

Good to know. No specific warnings were found in the NIH herb references. As with any daily herb, ask your doctor if you are pregnant, have a health condition or take anything daily.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This information does not constitute medical advice and it should not be relied upon as such. This product is not a substitute for medication or other treatment prescribed by a physician or health care provider. Consult your doctor before starting any dietary supplement.

9. What we can and cannot promise

Set against the headlines that brought you here, this is the complete and honest position.

Things we cannot promise, and that nobody selling you a bottle of herbs can:

• That this bottle will quiet, reduce or stop the ringing in your ears. Its main herb was tested for exactly that in 1,121 people and did not beat placebo. ^[1]
• That it will improve your hearing, protect it from noise, or clear an ear.
• That it can replace a hearing test, a hearing aid, a medication review, or a doctor's look inside your ear.
• That any ear specialist, audiologist or "ear expert" recommends it. None has.
• That an online tone test can tell you anything reliable about your ears.
• That "supports healthy ears and clear hearing", "fast-acting", or the listing's description of a product free of unwanted effects describe a proven benefit. They are label words and sales words; the same page carries the FDA disclaimer and a caution about anticoagulants.
• That a bottle lasts 80 days. At the adult dose printed on the same page, it lasts about forty.

Things we can say honestly:

• It is a 60-milliliter bottle of five named herbs in vegetable glycerin and water, alcohol-free, sold by Native Remedies, a brand of Silver Star Brands, Inc. of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, a company with a street address, a toll-free number, an email and a returns desk; the listing says it is gluten-free, lactose-free and vegetarian.
• It contains no caffeine, no alcohol, no sugar and no zinc. It contains St. John's wort, which has a long list of interactions, and ginkgo, which the label itself says not to take with anticoagulants.
• The label's direction is half a milliliter in a quarter cup of water three times a day for adults and children ten and over. At that dose a bottle lasts about forty days and costs about a dollar a day.
• The price, the shipping terms (economy delivery at $7.95 in the United States, free with the seller's subscription plan) and the refund terms (a one-year unconditional money-back guarantee after trying it for at least thirty days, refund of the price less shipping, all opened and unopened containers returned with your name and order number to the seller's Oshkosh address, ideally with a return authorization) are exactly what is written on the seller's pages. Nothing more, and no promise made elsewhere overrides them.
• The customer reviews we quote are real and public on the seller's site; we quote them word for word, we mark "Confirmed Buyer" only where the seller's review system marks a verified purchase, and we left out reviews that named a condition or claimed a cure. Individual experiences are not evidence.
• We earn a commission if you buy. That is our interest in this, stated plainly.
• Nothing here is medical advice, and none of it replaces your doctor or a hearing test.

10. Questions people ask us

Did an ear specialist or an audiologist really say this?

No. Those attributions are advertising language. No named or identifiable specialist made those statements, and none has endorsed this product.

Will this bottle stop the ringing?

We cannot promise that, and nobody honestly can. The NIDCD says there is currently no cure, ^[5] and the main herb in this bottle was tested for the ringing in 1,121 people for twelve weeks and did no better than placebo. ^[1] What the label claims is support for healthy ears and clear hearing, with the FDA disclaimer beside it.

Is coffee making it worse?

The only large prospective study we can cite found the opposite direction, in women: more caffeine, somewhat less ringing over eighteen years. ^[7] Caffeine late in the day spoils sleep, and a bad night makes any sound harder to ignore. That is the only reason our article suggests nothing after two in the afternoon.

Should I stop my painkiller or my blood-pressure medicine?

Not on your own, and not because of an advertisement. Take your full medication list to your doctor or pharmacist and ask whether anything on it could be behind the ringing. See section 4.

Is this product a treatment for tinnitus or hearing loss?

No. It is not a treatment for any disease or condition. If you are facing either, the people to talk to are your doctor and an audiologist; the NIDCD helpline listed above sells nothing.

How much of each herb is in it?

The label does not say. The listing says the five herbs are "in therapeutic dosage" and prints no number for any of them; the only quantity on the page is the serving, half a milliliter. We asked the same question of the seller's pages and found no panel with amounts.

Why does the listing say 80 days when this page says forty?

Because the listing's own directions are 0.50 milliliters three times a day, which is 1.5 milliliters a day, and 60 divided by 1.5 is forty. We do not know how the seller arrived at eighty; a smaller dose for younger children would explain it, but the listing gives directions only for ages ten and over.

What does the one-year guarantee actually require?

Trying the product for at least thirty days, then returning all opened and unopened containers within a year, with your name and order number, to the seller's returns address in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; the refund is the price less shipping, to your original payment method, and the seller recommends requesting a return authorization first. Those are the seller's terms, quoted from its pages, and we add nothing to them.

Why does this page talk about medicines if the product is not one?

Because ringing in the ears can be a side effect of some medicines at high doses, and because two of the herbs in this bottle carry interaction warnings of their own. Nothing in section 4 is advice to change a medicine, and the product is not an alternative to any of them.

If your own headlines are exaggerated, why should I believe this page?

A fair question. Do not take our word for it. The references below are real, published sources you can look up yourself, and nothing in sections 5, 6 and 7 requires you to buy anything or trust us. If this page and a headline disagree, believe this page.

Does this page cost anything?

No. It is free, there is nothing to sign up for, and you are welcome to read it, close the tab and never come back.

Can I check these claims myself?

Yes, and you should. Every numbered reference below can be found by searching its title. For general information, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (nidcd.nih.gov) publishes plain-language material and sells nothing.

References

These are the sources behind the claims marked with a number above. The ginkgo trial was a twelve-week, placebo-controlled trial of 1,121 people; the Cochrane reviews pooled four trials of ginkgo and three of zinc; the guideline is the 2014 clinical practice guideline of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation; the caffeine and survey findings are observational, which can show association but not cause; the NIDCD, NCCIH and FDA pages are public health information. We have deliberately not cited anything for the claims we describe as exaggerated, because there is nothing to cite.

1. Drew S., Davies E. (2001). BMJ 322(7278):73 doi.org
2. Hilton M.P., Zimmermann E.F., Hunt W.T. (2013). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013(3):CD003852 doi.org
3. NIH NCCIH. "Ginkgo" nccih.nih.gov
4. Tunkel D.E. et al. (2014). Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery 151(2 Suppl):S1-S40 doi.org
5. NIH NIDCD. "Tinnitus" (health information page) nidcd.nih.gov
6. NIH NIDCD. "Age-Related Hearing Loss (Presbycusis)" nidcd.nih.gov
7. Glicksman J.T., Curhan S.G., Curhan G.C. (2014). American Journal of Medicine 127(8):739-743 doi.org
8. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (2015). Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine. EFSA Journal 13(5):4102 doi.org
9. Livingston G. et al. (2024). The Lancet 404(10452):572-628 doi.org
10. Pengelly A. et al. (2012). Journal of Medicinal Food 15(1):10-17 doi.org
11. Person O.C., Puga M.E., da Silva E.M., Torloni M.R. (2016). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016(11):CD009832 doi.org
12. NIH NCCIH. "St. John's Wort" nccih.nih.gov
13. US FDA. "OTC Hearing Aids: What You Should Know" fda.gov
14. Bhatt J.M., Lin H.W., Bhattacharyya N. (2016). JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery 142(10):959-965 doi.org
15. NIH NIDCD. "Noise-Induced Hearing Loss" nidcd.nih.gov
16. Lin F.R. et al. (2023). Lancet 402(10404):786-797 doi.org
17. Snitz B.E. et al. (2009). JAMA 302(24):2663-2670 doi.org
18. NIH NCCIH. "Ginkgo" (updated February 2025) nccih.nih.gov
19. Kennedy D.O. et al. (2020). Nutrients 12(6):1598 doi.org
20. Wong R.H. et al. (2012). Nutrients 4(5):331-342 doi.org

Citing a study does not mean the study is about this product. The ginkgo trial tested a standardized extract at a measured dose, not this bottle; none of the other research tested Native Remedies TinnaRex, and none of it supports it.

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