Mindfulness Is Key to Tinnitus Relief Research Reveals

Hey remember when you said this crap wasn’t a real drain on tinnitus research, and another CBT research study game out and wasted our money even more? Good times, good times.

D E F U N D I N G T I M E

 

Very good point.

 

Yeah, I think this is worth studying more, so we disagree about "wasted", but like I said... feel free to donate to whatever causes / labs you think are a better use of money, and I'll do the same <3

 

We should get studies like these funded on a national level so the republicans can defund it.

 

Laurence McKenna is at it again.

I Wasn’t at War With the Noise: How Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy Changes Patients’ Experiences of Tinnitus
Elizabeth Marks, Paula Smith and Laurence McKenna

Objectives: Intrusive tinnitus is a challenging, life-changing experience for which traditional medical treatment does not yet have a cure. However, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for tinnitus (MBCT-t) is effective in reducing tinnitus-related distress, disability and intrusiveness. It is a priority to understand patients’ experience of MBCT-t and active processes which they regarded as underpinning the changes they experienced. Semi-structured interviews were conducted 6 months after participants had completed MBCT as part of a randomized controlled trial (RCT), with a focus on exploring their experiences of the course, what they felt had changed and how they felt such changes had occurred.

Methods: Nine participants took part and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the interview transcripts.

Results: Four overarching themes emerged: (1) Relating to Tinnitus in a New Way, (2) Holistic Benefits, (3) Connection, Kindness and Compassion, and (4) Factors Supporting Engagement and Change.

Conclusion: All participants reported benefits from MBCT-t, based on a radically new relationship with tinnitus. It was no longer characterized by “fighting it” and was instead based on “allowing” tinnitus to be present. Changes were supported by the development of open, stable, present-moment awareness and attitudes of equanimity, kindness, and compassion. Practices encouraging focus on sound (including tinnitus) were challenging, but essential to learning this new way of being with tinnitus. MBCT-t had a huge range of benefits including reduced distress and enhanced wellbeing. The group nature of MBCT-t was an integral part of the therapeutic process. A number of clinical and research implications are discussed.

Tinnitus distress is maintained by repetitive, catastrophic and negative thinking leading to unhelpful fear-based strategies of suppression, avoidance and distraction (McKenna et al., 2014; Marks et al., 2019). Unhelpful attentional processes include purposeful and automatic selective attention toward the feared tinnitus, and difficulties with sustaining attention elsewhere or switching attention away from tinnitus (as attention is “captured” by tinnitus).

MBCT-t was not a panacea, and many participants felt resignation as well as acceptance or “the right mental attitude” (Sam). Most still wished for a definitive “cure.” Yet participants saw the big advantage of mindfulness being it’s ability to empower them, offering a tool to “take away” (Damien).

The "feared tinnitus" - because it's just an anxiety issue. Rilana Cima seems to be of the same opinion and therefore also promotes exposure therapy rather than distraction because you just have to lose the fear of it. These people will never believe severe sufferers. They also keep writing "spike" and "cure" and I'm wondering why they can't just define those terms and stop using quotation signs.

Spoiler

TQ ranges from 0-82.

 

Can I somewhere downvote this stupid research? I'll gladly do that.

 

Why won't these people stop? It's all so tiring

 

I've had tinnitus for just over 2 years. For 18 months it was very severe, and intrusive. It is finally settling down to something somewhat livable. The change hasn't been so much in loudness, but intrusiveness. To suggest that the intensity of the tinnitus doesn't matter, and can just be rendered harmless with your thoughts is ridiculous. Tinnitus like other chronic conditions varies from person to person. The level of "pain" produced often determines its impact. I have a BA in psychology and everything I've read about CBT and mindfulness as a treatment for tinnitus just screams BS.

 

You're saying that no-one has ever benefited?

 

I'm saying that people with mild-moderate tinnitus may benefit. Severe tinnitus is an entirely different beast.

 

Hi...
You may have previously mentioned it, but did you do anything to help yourself, or was it simply “time” that helped you go from severe to less severe?

Thanks.

 

Mindfulness... such a scam haha.

 

I believe time was the biggest factor. Whatever damage was done has healed to a certain extent. I really hope it continues to fade. I do take a handful of supplements daily: Ginkgo biloba, turmeric/curcumin, multivitamin, fish oil, CoQ10, melatonin, lipoflavonoid (generic), B-vitamin, zinc, and magnesium. I have also gone for about 25 sessions of electroacupuncture. I try to eat right, exercise, and keep my weight down, as well. I believe a healthy body without a lot of inflammation helps the healing process. As my ENT said nerves grow at a very slow rate so she believes time is the biggest factor.

 

The benefits of mindfulness for tinnitus by Elizabeth Marks.

Mindfulness-based psychological therapy for tinnitus has, in recent times, been the subject of well-designed clinical research that demonstrated impressive benefits. Dr Liz Marks guides us through this field, and advocates for better access and availability of these techniques.

 

Great reading, thanks for sharing @Frédéric!

Elizabeth Marks has pointed out some really essential things here imo, especially regarding negative view of self and the world. Such mindset is usually counterproductive (whatever your condition is), and will prevent habituation.

The condition is hard, and can be debilitating, but it will be even harder if you feed your mind and body with hopelessness. We all have bad days, some people more frequent or worse than others, but nothing is impossible.

As psychologist Marks points out:

 

Quote from The Benefits of Mindfulness by Marks:

Now we know what the BTA will be wasting its research funds on over the next couple of years. Definitely beats curative research.