Exercise and Tinnitus

I'm doing some experiments on exercising and tinnitus and here is what I found. This probably only applies to people that have anxiety in general or anxiety is making their tinnitus worst. I tried doing light exercise and it has done practically nothing for me. Doing light exercise, 30 min per day of aerobic does help me sleep though where being inactive with anxiety and tinnitus gets me insomnia.
Yesterday I was feeling pretty bad. At 4pm I did an all out sprint around my block. Probably 3 minutes or so. I got home and was exhausted, my heart rate going. I sat back down. An hour later I still had my tinnitus, but I felt good. Its almost like my brain got rewired to feel good instead of bad. At 7pm I ran the same sprint. By 7:30pm again I could still hear my tinnitus but it didn't bother me for the rest of the night. Its almost like I was on clonazepam, but I wasn't. Sleeping was a breeze with the tinnitus. The next morning I woke up and my tinnitus was back at baseline and hardly noticeable. 6 hours into the day and I'm still good. I'm not sure how long this will last, but so far so good. I'm going to keep trying this and see if I can reproduce the same results everyday. I think there is something to tiring the body to the point of exhaustion even for only a small time that is helpful.

 

@RB2014 I totally agree with you on this. I think short-term for me, T can be exacerbated a little by exercise, but the "happy hormones" that kick in offset the anxiety/sad feelings around T.

 

Yup, the hormone being Cortisol. And living in the modern world, we all have too much of it. According to the Germans, "In the ear, cortisol causes a massive release of glutamate into the neurons. This ultimately leads to a greater accumulation of calcium, which damages auditory sensory cells and nerve cells in the ear.”
Yikes.
Short periods of intense exercise will decrease cortisol fast.

 

I found that when I first got T, I could drastically reduce the loudness and intensity of the T by doing a five mile run everyday, which I did anyway before T. Even though while exercising the T got worse, it got better afterward. But after trying several treatments for T, then exercise no longer worked, and the treatments made the T worse. I have quit all treatments, and I am back to where a run can help lower the T.

 

Hi there, if you don't mind me asking, which treatments made your tinnitus worse?

 

Oh my, where to begin . . . Acupuncture, chiropractics, massage, tinnitus masking hearing aids, TMD treatments, Neuromonics, trigger point injections, intra-oral massage, cranio-sacral therapy, ultrasound, some pharmaceuticals (anti-depressants and sleep meds), Prolotherapy, and TENS all made it worse. Exercise, cold laser, Yoga, melatonin, ginger root tea, and hot emu oil on my neck have all had a positive effect at one time or another. The most consistent has been aerobic exercise if I was not being debilitated by any of the other treatments listed above. I have been trying everything recommended and trying not to give up! Even though I have been told by three internists, five ENTs, and two oral medicine specialists that I was just going to have to learn to live with this. It is like having a car alarm going off in my head. If standing on my head for a month non-stop would help, I'd do it!

 

I had a descent T day, probably would be what I would call baseline for me with no additional volume. I did have 4 to 5 instances of a high pitched T that all went away within 10 to 20 seconds. At 7:40pm I just went out for another quick sprint. At 8:35pm I feel ok. Not the same high I had after yesterday's sprint, but I definitely feel better. We will see what happens when I wake up tomorrow.

 

I had another descent T day today. I didnt sleep at all last night for some reason. Took a 5 min nap and bamn was T was back for an hour or two, but it left. Another sprint tonight at 7pm. Its 9 and I feel pretty good again. Hopefully another good T day tomorrow. Before this I was having a good T day and a bad T day and I've had 2 good T days in a row. I think I am at the end of my T spike after 4 months. I have slowly been getting better by clearing my mind of everything, but I do think the exercise is helping get better faster.

 

I like to work out when I can for stress relief but it definitely doesn't help my T. The only thing that calms it slightly is a lot of sleep and zero noise.

 

I often notice quiter T the day after cardio, this is not an perception thing. My T is totally random with highs and lows but on an average the little bit lower days often occurs the day after a cardio. Of course i have tried to overdo the cardios with doing it 6-7 days in a row but that don´t give the same effect.
I should also ad that T goes up the hours directly after the workout

 

I think exercise is great for t try to get a few runs in a week on the fields by me and and get in the gym at least four times a week like Nick said the t spikes but always settles down.
I've just changed the way I train using my mind as well as body if that makes sense.
I would recommend exercise to anyone who has t it's great for overall General well being,sleep,anxiety,depression.

 

@Shaun, sure right about that. No better thing to get rid of stress and anxiety. Just do until you drop

 

@Steve H , very interesting about cardio and the vagus nerve. This have puzzled me for a while why lower T more often the day after cardio than not.

 

So any updates?

 

I didn't get a good sleep last and woke up about 5 times and had to take some meds to make me drowsy to get back to sleep. I woke up with loud T this morning. After two good days in a a row I was hoping for better but I'm pretty sure it'd the back to back nights of little to no sleep that did me in.

 

Brisk walking for about 30 minutes reduces my tinnitus to a great extent . any guess why this happens ?

 

walking in one thing which gives me relief .....i think it has to do with circulation of blood!!

 

The gym is the ticket for reducing stress, makes you sleep better and definitely has a positive effect on my T. Funny thing I never hear my T when working out although it may seem to be louder for a short time when im done. I do one hour of weight training and 15 minutes treadmill 5 days a week. Gives me a relaxing feeling after an hour or so and my T volume seems to be improving.

 

I am an exercise junkie. Mostly cardio. Just returned from my bike ride. I am a fast guy on a bike...ride with the fast guys in town. Honestly exercise increases my T and in fact my ride this morning amped it up as I type this. This normally subsides however. I have been an exercise nut for years. I will also swim this afternoon. I try not to let the swings in my T in terms of volume bother me. I somewhat accept it.
My thoughts.

 

Eating better and any form of exercise is always good. You don't necessary need to pump iron or run 5 miles on a treadmill. Many people today barely even get out for a walk, unless they are shopping. So even a simple walk around a block or 2 every evening can have drastic benefits to some. Joining a gym these days can be a racket and they typically try to pitch more reasons why you should spend more money with them. You should hire a trainer or upgrade to a better membership or.............

I also went looking for a gym to join and decided the best for me was to join my local YMCA. They typically have all the exercise equipment, sauna's, pool, indoor running track, etc etc. No pressure to upgrade and no sales pitches when you join. I go typically 3 times a week and mostly to swim. I love working out with light free weights and am not looking to become the incredible hulk! Just more toned and as you say, more relaxed after a swim or light workout.

Joining a gym has advantages in bad weather days but really is not necessary. So much you can do to exercise without a gym. Take a walk more often, jog a bit, buy some cheap free weights, push ups, crunches, etc. A little goes a long way and the more you do, the more you will want to do because of how much better you feel. Start slow in the beginning.