My T is described in detail in my introduction post, but in short:
Since falling down the stairs one day, I've had multiple tones/static noises/crickets at both sides of the head, and occasionally even in the middle. Things slowly got worse in the first few months, with a burst of stress resulting in the worst week of my life. After which I started to deal with the sounds a bit better concerning my attitude, but they remained the same in volume.
Among other things, I noticed at some point that neck movement influenced some T sounds. Things changed when I went to the physio one day to check up, and he diagnosed clear issues with the muscles there. For example, I had to lie down and lift my head up just a bit in a certain posture: I couldn't even last for a few seconds. Normally someone can hold that pose for roughly 20 seconds. He demonstrated correct postures which I needed to work on, though I wouldn't know how to share that here. Shouldn't matter though, since I only "trained" myself in posture a few times. More benefit was gained from these exercises:
I checked them with my physio, after which he recommended them as well. The exercises should be useful in his opinion.
It's in Dutch though, sorry about that. Roughly translated he tells the following:
- Exercise daily.
- Do the exercises on both the left and right side.
- Repeat exercise 1-3 ten times in total.
- Repeat exercise 4-7 three times, each set taking 7 seconds of stretching.
- Stretch (tension) is good, but pain is bad. If you experience pain, stretch less far and less long at first, and slowly build up during the days/weeks/whatever time you need.
- Contact your physio if you keep having complaints (more of a disclaimer, I guess).
I've been doing this for over two months, with really slow progress at start: but after a few weeks, I started to notice small periods of silence/T being masked by the environment, and these periods kept building. At the moment of writing, I'm having a break of a week, since my neck is a bit sore at the moment: perhaps I over-stretched at some point, dunno. I'm continuing next week.
Something to keep in mind. I'm certain these exercises only helped because my T finds its origin in the neck. Therefore, if your T has another cause, it probably won't have any effect. Don't unnecessarily get your hopes up. However, this is a cheap and easy way to at least check: if you don't notice any effect in two months, then the neck is not related. If it is, hey, congratz: hopefully some relief in time
And another thing:
My T sounds usually peak a bit after the exercises: nothing too bad, but a minor increase for up to half an hour. This actually motivated me in the starting period, since any effect could indicate a relationship between T and the muscles. If this occurs to you as well, you could consider it to be a good sign. Over time, as the muscles become more flexible, complaints should lessen.
