Q How did actor William Shatner conquer his tinnitus? It was reported that it bothered him so much while working on Star Trek that he almost quit.
—Inez M. Stewart, West Baraboo, Wis.
Shatner, 75, suffered from tinnitus (ringing in the ears) after standing too close to a special-effects explosion during filming for a 1967 episode of TV's Star Trek. Treatment at the University of Maryland Medical Center taught him how to ignore the sound by a process called "habituation," in which response to a stimulus is lessened through repetition. His 2006 TV game show, Show Me the Money, was canceled recently due to poor ratings, but Shatner continues his starring role in the popular ABC-TV series Boston Legal.
