If I Can Turn Ringing Noise On/Off at Will, Is This Still Considered Tinnitus?

What is tinnitus? Is the high pitch ringing tone continuous for 24/7 minus the slumber hours?

I notice high pitch ringing tone only if I choose to pay attention to my mind. I can turn off the ringing tone at will. Hence, am I still considered as having tinnitus?

I wasn't even aware of this until I read "Inner Silence" PDF written by a Buddhist monk who uses the sound for meditation.

Generally, I don't hear the tone at all because my mind is paying attention to the external environment. Even if the environment is of dead silence, I will not hear any ringing tone. However, if I choose to pay attention to my mind and bodily sensations, I will hear it. It will last for as long as I am paying attention to myself.

The minute a train of thoughts arise the sound disappears. I will not hear of it. It all depends on the focus of my mind.

Is tinnitus defined as constant hearing that you cannot get rid of?

For me, I am using this tone for mindfulness tool. When I hear it, I know I am mindful. I am fully present moment to moment. My attention is inward. When I watch movie, TV, or listen to radio or using computer, it is gone.

 

My definition of tinnitus: As long as you're not bothered by the noise, it's not tinnitus.

 

But, medically, that is tinnitus. I would think it's more powerful to say "Yes, I have tinnitus but it doesn't bother me." instead of "No, I don't have tinnitus."

 

Please teach us your secret! You sound like you have it, but it's likely very low that you have developed amazing ability to control your brain's focus on it. I hope you can give us some tips, then probably best to run away from here! Don't poke it. Don't bother it. Just forget about it and go back to living your life. You are an amazing human being!

 

Heh, so, this sounds like you've figured out a conscious interaction between thalamic gating hardware. Pretty cool.

 

Sound of Silence,

That's wonderful you're able to "turn off" your Tinnitus. May I ask how and when you got your Tinnitus?

I would like to mention that yes the ringing continues even when your brain doesn't consciously notice it. Depending on how you got your Tinnitus can give me a better understanding of what could be going on with your ears/brain. The brain is made up of billions of neurons. These are what allow us to think, to control our movements, and to feel emotions. It's been found in studies that the ringing we hear from Tinnitus runs through the same regions of the brain that pain does. Almost along side it. Tinnitus can be pin-pointed in many different areas of the brain.

 

I have no idea how I got to this point. I was reading a PDF written by a monk who practices mindfulness. He called this "sound of silence". He said that he uses this for meditation object. He had heard this sound but then for a long time he hadn't heard it again until he went to certain temple.

I emailed a friend about this "sound of silence". He told me that he has this experience as well. He then started a survey asking if his wife has ever heard of it. I asked my wife about it as well. My wife says the same thing that she has heard of it on rare occasions. My friend's wife said that she never heard of this. He did more research and found out about tinnitus.

I only realized this noise after reading the PDF. I don't know when it first happened, because like my friend and my wife we only hear this noise on rare occasions. Of course, now that I am progressing with mindfulness I can hear more of this.

I can easily turn off this sound by not being mindful such as being cognizant that when I look, walk, eat, stand, lie down, or whatever activities it is I who is experiencing. In this case, I will never hear it.

Once I put myself in pure awareness mode such that when I look, walk, eat, stand, lie down, or whatever activities it is there is the experience (not I am experiencing). I can hear it.

What is the difference? When you are walking, you have thoughts. Your walking is on automatic pilot. In this case, in your mind you are feeling "I am walking." You feel that there is an "I" that is doing the walking, because there are thoughts arising while you are walking.

When I am walking, there is just the consciousness of seeing with my eyes and the cognizance of movement of legs. My mind does not have thoughts. There is just pure awareness of the seeing and of the movements. In this case, there is not a feeling of "I am walking". There is just the experience of walking without the subject.

This is called non-duality (no subject and object - the two are merged as one). People who have awakened to the reality that everything, every events, every beings, every happenings, and every living things are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-substance. Their minds are awakened to the absolute reality of no-self or non-self or not-self. Their minds do not think. When they speak or write, thoughts will automatically arise. There are no arising thought such that they react. For example, a thought arises about a fight you had with a friend. Your mind then reacts with more thoughts leading to a long train of thoughts. For enlightened mind, such a thought does not arise. If such a thought does arise, it does not cause mental reaction. It would arise and vanish right away.

As I am progressing towards non-duality where my mind tends to live more in the experiencing rather than the "I am experiencing", I hear more of this ringing noise. It is fine with me, because it is a tool for me to progress into non-duality, seeing life and nature in its absolute reality rather than living in conventional reality. It helps me know that I am not in unconscious mode where my head is lost in thoughts.

In absolute reality, the mind has pierced through the conventional reality and abandons craving for "sensual stimulant", "forms", "beings", and "self". It doesn't mean that one rejects it but one doesn't seek it.

Here is an article of a research done on enlightened (awakened) being's mind under MRI at a hospital with a Harvard Medical School neuroscientist researcher.
http://psychologytomorrowmagazine.com/inscapes-enlightenment-and-science/

 

I just did this, really weird experience. It only came on for a few seconds and I just turned it off, then in the confusion I realised I'd controlled it and brought it back. Then even more confused turned it off and then it was gone.....

 

You might be the one... the answer. Expect secret agents in white hazmat suits and white vans to try and capture you for further study.

Seriously though that is pretty amazing.
You must have the ability of extreme selective focus.

 

Yes that is tinnitus. What you have is similar to longterm tinnitus sufferers not hearing their tinnitus unless they think about it.

 

Like most people have said, this is typical tinnitus. I also experienced the exact same but that was when it was really quiet. It's always there but very easy to tune out which is why I ignored it till it was too late. I guess you can also call this habituation if you want. Unfortunately, these concepts fall apart completely when it becomes too loud.