Can We Fix Our Brain?

So from my understanding, many of us have Tinnitus because the brakes that prevent tinnitus in most people is broken in our brains. One common reason is because that part of the brain has shrunk. Usually due to depression. So is it feasible to fix that part of our brain thru different therapies. To make it healthy again and get those brakes working again thru the following avenues?

1. the Brain and Gut connection : this has been gaining a lot of traction. I was introduced to a book called Fat for Fuel and the benefits of having the brain/body run on more fat and less glucose. This is know to create brain derived neurotrophic factor. Another book called Grain Brain which talks about getting the gut biome straightening out and how it affects the brain.

2. Mindfulness. I would think that certain mediation or mindfulness techniques could effect the brain in a positive manner. Maybe even effect those misfiring neurons that is involved in Tinnitus.

3. Exercise and Diet: Adding more oxygen to the brain on a daily basis from what I've read increases grey matter.

4. Joy: adding more happiness to your lives. Laughter. Things of that nature. Anything that combats depression to help restore grey matter.

These are things I thought of so far on how to fix our brains and the brakes. If anyone has other methods id love to hear them. But does this seems like a possible solution? And I mean a real one that's very noticeable. Not just like feeling a little better and the T seems less harsh. I mean a real reduction.

 

For those that do not have an organic problem, chronic tinnitus is created by our reaction when we first got it. If we could ignore it, probably tinnitus would be a non issue, but we created the vicious cycle that turned into a conditional reflex in our subconcious. All things you mentioned are probably necessary but not sure if enough, nobody can tell. Certainly first condition is to avoid negative reactions to tinnitus, as long as this happens, habituation and fading it out of conciousness is impossible.

I am full of remorse because I created this issue wiht my obsessive behaviour and google searching when the sound was faint and not so bothersome. I reinforce it with waves of fear and negative feelings when thinking it wont go away, after reading all horror stories. For me, this is so hard to get over with, but i stopped being scared of it, need to also avoid being sad because of it.

 

Tinnitus is the symptom, but this is the disease. Unchecked this becomes a positive feedback cycle. It builds on itself.

 

Is true. Issue is that negative emotions have more impact on brain and limbic system than positive ones. So it's easier to do harm than good. Unlearning the tinnitus sound and associating it with positive reinforcement in order to retrain the brain is so hard, but its the only way.

 

That’s why I call it a negative feedback cycle. Perhaps it is technically a positive feedback cycle which has negative effects?!

 

It's the timing of the neurons we need to fix, which is quite difficult at the moment as we have no available potassium channel activator (modulator). If you want to create new new neurons I heard Lion's mane is fantastic at doing just that.

 

You think there is any way of enforcing positive associations with tinnitus sound? Like would it be better to treat it like a friend, maybe think of it as a noise that protects us or helps us sleep (like white noise). I tried to see it as neutral, hard to make it positive, but maybe would help.

 

I currently believe that T is a natural warning response like pain. Like pain we can lock it in if we focus too much on it. The brain turns down the volume of pain too once the brain realises it’s part of the ageing process or the threat/trigger has gone.

 

Close, the last sentence catches it. In medical speak a negative feedback loop tends to be defined as self-limiting process (sort of like the unwanted erection that lets itself down as soon as you stand up to get off the bus) while a positive feedback process (its not really a loop) is a process that escalates and isn't going to stop until its complete (say...like childbirth). The psychological consequences of tinnitus/hyperacusis could go either way, but one only has to follow some of the punters here to see a positive feedback process unfolding for some as their anxiety, fear and anger escalates. The difference for us with being stuck in positive or negative feedback cycles come down to coping skills. Some have them already waiting, and some need help to find them. Poor quality of care at the very beginning can make the difference between finding them and being stuck in despair and developing maladaptive behaviours and reactions. What can you expect though from a disease process where subjectivity is the only real measure of severity and blaming the patient for not coping is still part of the lived experience?

 

Knowledge is power.

 

All I know that my life was great,.
I was eating good, excercising regularly and sleeping nicely with minimal stress, until the day I noticed a high pitch eeeeeeee in my head as I was driving my car.
Little did I know at the time, that day will be the turning point of my life as now Im just in a continuous survivol mode with no help in sight.

Ever since then my life is just a sleep deprived nightmare filled with fear qnd anxiety with no joy or happyness.
So getting T from stress or bad lifestyle its one of those "chicken before the egg" theories.

 

Depression can be one part of the puzzle, but not the only part. I was having a great life.