The TV ad is quite convincing. An older middle-aged model tells us earnestly that her doctor recommended Lipo-Flavonoid Plus to help her tinnitus, and it worked!
But as an alternative medicine doctor, I’ve never heard of Lipo-Flavonoid Plus. And I know most of my conventional colleagues don’t prescribe anything alternative, so who are these doctors recommending this product?
On their website, the Lipo-Flavonoid folks don’t mention doctors by name, although the creator of their product was a doctor. I always love the idea that an M.D. degree makes one an expert on supplement creation and manufacture. It must have been the course on supplement manufacturing and analysis of product purity they had between pathology and anatomy classes. Oh, they didn’t have any courses on that? Being an expert in the ear doesn’t actually translate into the manufacturing field, but let’s overlook that for now.
The ingredients of Lipo-Flavonoid Plus are mostly vitamins.
- Eriodictyol glycoside (an extract from citrus bioflavonoid)
- Bioflavonoids
- Vitamins B6 and B12 (B complex)
- Vitamin C
- Niacin
- Riboflavin
- Thiamine
- Choline
- Inositol
- Pantothenic acid
So what is the difference between this product and, say, a multivitamin? The marketing website has an answer.  “Histamines are believed to create or worsen the symptoms of Meniere’s Syndrome (including tinnitus), but key ingredients, specifically eriodictyol glycoside, in Lipo-Flavonoid Plus are believed to block these histamines.”
If you look at the research, most of it is from the 1960’s, and done by the same doctor the company claims as its creator. Dr. Henry L. Williams was active in the 1960’s and is now manufacturing a supplement? What does this guy put in his coffee, because that is a loooong medical career? A little too long, truth be told. According to an awards booklet from his specialty, Dr. Williams was born in 1898, got his Yale medical degree in 1921, and died in 1974. So he has nothing to do with this product and should be left to rest in peace.
Dr. Williams did do research on citrus bioflavonoids and mentioned it in relation to the ears in 1962. The abstract to that paper is not available online, and no research has been done on the specific Eriodictyol glycoside compound or citrus bioflavonoids and ears since.
Verdict? I’ll leave it up to you. But no doctor is behind this supplement, and no research has been published showing this product is effective. Poor Dr. Williams should not be cited as the creator of this supplement.
Update:Â So what would work for tinnitus? Go to post here.
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Alternative Holistic Health Answers 
I have been given a sample of this medicine. And it does work. I have went for years with the problem of ringing in the ears and not being able to hear like others. Having to turn the volume up on the TV and radio. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I recommend this product 200%.
Interesting. If enough stories like yours come in I will need to re-evaluate. Otherwise, my current recommendation still stands, but thank you for sharing your story.
My ENT is highly regarded in the area, and he has me taking this for six weeks. Said the majority of his patients got good results with it.
Any chance I could get his name? (By email is fine. All my contact information is at: http://www.maloneymedical.com). Thanks!
If this doesn’t work then what will? My Tinnitus has gotten suddenly worse and is driving me nuts.I have had the condition for years and usually can block it out but recently it has become more high pitched and annoying.
Actually…Dr. Peter Gott has recommended Lipo-flavonoid often and for years: http://bit.ly/ZZTPfY. He has nothing to do with the company to the best of my knowledge.
I followed your link, and what I found was the Dr. Gott merely directed a reader to the specific brand and mentioned that some of his readers had found relief while others had not. He was simply clarifying, not recommending. It would be the equivalent of me directing you to the Lipo-flavonoid site if you asked me to, which does not mean I endorse or recommend the product.
Dear Barbara Mahoney,
I wish I had a global cure for tinnitus, but instead I can only give you some idea of how I would address the issue with my patients.
The treatment for tinnitus is often systemic. I usually start by looking at medications and underlying disorders like hormone imbalances (perimenopause) or lifestyle (pre-diabetes).
Occasionally, I have seen the cause of tinnitus be entirely stress-related. It is evidently possible to clench one’s neck and jaw to cause ringing.
A range of chronic infectious situations (sinusitis) can block the draining of the tympanic membrane and lead to noise.
None of the above would necessarily be treated by Lipo-flavonoid, although they might benefit. I hope I’ve given you a brief idea of why I can’t simply recommend another pill for you, nor should anyone who hasn’t seen you as a patient. If you want to get to an underlying issue, I would start by finding a local, licensed N.D. and talking with them. They might be willing to recommend something after hearing about your health. I’d use http://www.naturopathic.org as a starting point.
Best of luck.
My ENT just recommended this to me today but I haven’t tried it yet.
Can you ask where he/she got the information? I’d love to see some studies, rather than just individual reports.
I appreciate your objectivity. I’ve had tinnitus for about 3 years after a sinus infection coupled with ETD and numerous environmental allergies, and nothing is working. Sigh. I would LOVE it if this product could help for real, but like you, I’m waiting to hear more than anecdotal evidence. I hope there is more info forthcoming…I know this is months old by now…but I’m interested.
I’ll look and see if anything new has come up in the literature… Nothing new, but I did a quick analysis of what we do know. It isn’t much, but it may give people a little hope. Here’s the new post: https://alternativendhealth.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/what-works-for-tinnitus/
I have to strongly disagree with this article. Lipo-Flavonoid has worked for me for over 3 years and has been my saving grace for my ringing in the ear. And if I didn’t try it for myself and NOT listen to reviews like this one, I would still be suffering with Tinnitus. People look to the interest for advice for a lot of things and opinions matters. People don’t work for companies that have bad reviews and people don’t try products when they say that they don’t work. My constant ringing in the ear kept me for doing normal things around the house. Lipo did have a waiting period of two months for it to work, which was really annoying and I almost gave it up, but afterwards my high pitch tone went down to a dull “hmming” sound. And now its something I can deal with. If you did try the product for yourself or actually HAVE tinnitus, then I would understand, but it sound like you don’t, in which case, I don’t want to hear your medical advice. Please, people with Tinnitus, try any product for yourself. Most products like Lipo give you your money back if it doesn’t work and because they isn’t a cure for tinnitus ( I wish there was), get your money back!! What do you got to lose??? Check out http://www.lipoflavonoid.com and make your own decision if you like this product or not.
Dear Tammy Sanchez,
If you read the article, you would not disagree with it because I don’t take a stand on it either way. Everything I say about it is true, as is the reality that unfortunately companies purchase false positive, anecdotal reviews. It’s cheaper than doing a medical study that would show their product worked. I’m glad for your results, but it has nothing to do with my post. I’ll leave both up for now.