Running (Exercise in General) and Tinnitus

Hi all,

Does anyone have any experience of running causing their tinnitus to get worse permanently?
I have read that running or any other high impact exercise should be avoided as it damages crystals in the ear (?), however, running makes me feel mentally a lot better and I seem to be able to cope better and don't dwell on my tinnitus as much after a good blast. I am not sure if this is making it worse or not as I have recently suffered a pretty major breakdown which I suspect to be the root cause. I seem to be over the worst of that but my tinnitus is worse than ever , and I don't want to keep on running if its exacerbating the tinnitus.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,
Rich

 

Hi Rich, it's difficult to say really, high impact exercises can sometimes make my Tinnitus worse but it's only temporary. I stopped jogging many years ago but I do sometimes do HIIT exercises using Kettlebells or very occasionaly sprinting. That's does make it louder for a little while.

Everyone's ears are different so what might effect someone could have no effect on sombody else. My friend's dad has been jogging his whole life and has competed in something like 20+ London marathons but he has perfect hearing and no tinnitus and is in his late 50's. Everyone reacts differently.

Exercise does make people feel good in general so if you are worried that running might make your tinnitus louder on a permanent basis maybe you can try other types of exercises perhaps?

 

Hi Rich!

I´m no medical professional, and I have not been running much since I got my T 3 months ago. However my guess is that even though T might spike for a short while, it's just a spike. I miss running, and since running (and exercise in general) is part of breaking down cortisol stress hormones in your body, running is a way of becoming more relaxed. So I think that in the long run, running will be part of me managing my T. If T spikes for say a few hours after a run, but I feel more relaxed, rested and in shape, and knowing that T will go down again, then its definately worth the run instead of being afraid of ever sweating a bit again.. And who says that we have to start with a marathon. I'll start with some jogging.. just a few K´s to begin with, and depending on my T, and even more importantly, how my emotions and feelings are after the run (T-spike or not), I can always increase or decrease the intensity of the run.

I´ll go for it.Try it out a bit, and my advise is for you to do so too Again, you can always stop if you dont feel good with it. And remember, running is not extreme loud noise, ototoxic medication, or other things that might make permanent damage. I havnt heard or read of others who got a permanent increase after moderate exercise. So why should this happen to us too?

Best of luck.

Mark

 

Hi both
Thanks for your advice. I washed my car this morning and that even increased my T so I think I'm just going to carry on. I'm battling some tough days at the moment and just hoping things will get better. Have ENT appointment at T clinic in London next Sat so hoping they might spot an underlying issue.
Thanks again
Rich

 

Hey Rich,

I don't jog but I play a lot of sports namely basketball and soccer several times a week. It does usually make my T spike for the day but like others said it is temporary for me. The enjoyment and exercise I get out of it is worth it for me anyway. I am sure you will get better once you get thru this bad spell.

 

Hey erik
Thanks for your words. This forum helps so much. I've got my kids tomorrow so I will be doing plenty of exercise and will continue my gym visits/running. Right now I'd be lost without it.
Thanks
Rich

 

Rich T-
I also run. I just ran a 5K last week. For me, it has no effect at all.

The key to whether it effects your tinnitus, is whether running somehow excites the nerves associated with tinnitus. For most people, running increases endorphins, which make our mood better.

My advice : Don't stop running. If it makes your T worse, it's only temporary. The benefits out weight a temporary spike.

 

Hey Karl
Thanks. I generally do 5 miles most nights either road or in the gym on the treadmill depending on where im at. I will study my T closer next run and see what happens, its hard to tell sometimes if it is worse or not. What I do know is that my mental state is much better after exercise. I think the main reason I have it worse now is because of a nervous breakdown I suffered 3 months ago, I was scared to leave the house! Thankfully I am in recovery, and I'm hoping the T will subside in due course to a quieter level. I also seeem to feel a kind of dizziness when running but I guess I may be pushing my body too hard too soon and its telling me so.
Thanks again for the advice, much appreciated
Rich

 

I started "running" (it is rather fast walking yet) after T worsening. I was never runner before, but now I need to do something active instead of sitting home and grieving over noise. So I am walking/running almost every day. It causes me spikes too, but I don't care about them, they are temporary. In fact, running makes me feel better, supresses anxiety, I sleep better and has overall good impact on my condition.

I always needed to lose some weight, and now I am finally doing it At least one positive thing, that came from my worsened T.

 

Running or jogging may spike my T but it's always temporary, go ahead and run, you'll feel better and may sleep even better afterwards, I do...when I run outside I don't wear plugs, but when I run in the gym, sometimes it's louder there so I just place cotton balls in my ears while I run in the treadmill.

 

I run regularly and I have no negative side effects regarding T. I think it's good to keep exercising and I keep telling myself that it keeps my T. from getting worse. Don't run with music, though. It's easy to turn up the volume. Also, if you feel better in general it helps you to cope with your T.

I'm 100% sure T caused by noise/loud music can't worsen with exercise.

 

Could anyone who has noticed that their T gets worse after exercise please give some detail on this thread? Please let me know whether even going for a walk makes a difference. If you could mention how long the increase in volume or change of type of noise lasts as well, I would be grateful. I think this is mainly directed at those who have 'variable' tinnitus. Thanks!

 

Yep, mine is sometimes triggered by doing long, hard bike rides (say, over 2.5 hours). I gather it's due to either my neck getting stiffer from being bent over for so long, dehydration, increased BP during the intense efforts, or reduction in some other mineral or electrolyte. I first assumed it was traffic noise, or the wind blowing hard across my ears, but wearing earplugs did nothing.

 

Hi there

I guess we all have our situations where we really wish the T would just F*k off. Most likely the situations in our pre-T life where we experienced moments of bliss. I think these are the times where our new found reality makes itself known most. For me these times were on a long distance run. Maybe 40 mins into a run and everything is flowing well and you reach some pretty awesome states. This is now a bit more challenging with the T following me everywhere. I've had T now for one and a half years and am having difficulties getting to these points again. Life has gotten a bit a crazy and hectic in general (new baby etc) and I havent hit the road quite so much. My plan though is to up the ante and run a whole lot and see what its going to do for my T. My hope is that although the T will obviously be there (i refuse to ever wear an ipod while running (another day's debate!)) i can maybe reach some kind of meditative state while running where it doesnt bother me anymore and i can tap into the experience and my environment like i used to. I havent really done this since i got the T.

I kinda feel like this T is something which in a way focuses us to live the life we should have being living before- like it pushes us further so we can once again experience the joys of life fully again. I feel like we have to work harder to get the same return from life but that maybe that aint such a bad thing. Just a general thought and one upon which i hope people can add to and share their experiences whether runners or not. (although id love to hear from marathon runner with T and maybe what they focus on on a run or any other thoughts).

Thanks guys!

 

Sometimes it is hard to find the positives in T, but since the onset of my T, I can say I am healthier, am much more active now, appreciate the little things more and try to live an overall better life. Ironic I must say....but you're right, sometimes I think T was a wakeup call for me to get my sh** together and be a better, healthier person. It worked....unfortunately, I have still T but it does get better and you can still lead a good life. It's not so much different from any chronic condition which you might be afflicted with, that you have to adapt to and press on....

I am not a marathon runner by any stretch, but I do run try to run a couple of miles a few times a week if I cannot get my other sports in and the T doesn't really bother me like it used to.

 

I'm with you guys, T has made me a crazy ton more healthy than I ever used to be. I do a ton of strength and conditioning stuff and run or do some form of high intensity cardio at least 4 times a week. I did my first half marathon last year and did tough mudder this year, training for my next half marathon at the moment. I've also improved my diet tremendously.

I don't think I would've pushed anywhere near as hard had it not been for my T. I get a great amount of relief during and after my work outs, for one I don't get a chance to focus on my T when I'm working out and also reap the benefits of having reduced anxiety/stress. I'll have the odd occasion where an intense session will actually notch my T up considerably but goes away pretty quickly.

 

Hey @Shambles, @erik

before i got T i was a fitness guy, always goin to the gy, working out and stuff. Always tried to maintain a healthy lifestyle and did tons of cardio, at around Feb i started feeling as if i m not able to give a 100% and my perforance was not quite as it used to be. Had this every happened to you guys before you got your T. I m meaning to get back to workouts any suggestions of what should be avoided.

Want to get my life back, even before T i always enjoied the little things in life mostly because i already am partially sighted....i was always positive in my life and faught everything head-on. I would say T has been the biggest challange i have ever faced, i draw inspiration and seek guidence from you.

cheers
Dhaval

 

Hi Dhaval

I think we need to inspire each other for sure and of course this forum has been doing this for quite a while. We can also offer more practical tips. My view on this topic is that it is really easy for T to knock us off our game and just say 'whats the point anymore?' as it has done to me in the past. This is hard to combat but i think our response should be 'lets be more organised and pro-active than before'. For me I feel like T obviously put our heads into a negative place and one way out is to change our 'headspace'. Running and exercise creates tonnes of endorphines and feel good chemicals which is a way not just of feeling a tonne more positive but I think of creating focus which diverts attention from the T. I feel like you gain more control of your thought processes and what you CHOOSE to focus on. Without this you dont choose what you focus on and guess what is No. 1 on the list in the case. Of course- the T!

Anyway just my thoughts and for me a damn good reason to target a marathon in a couple months. This is pretty much in line what yonkapin was saying also..

take care..

 

Just thought I'd start a thread about this and ask how many of you are actively engaging in regular cardio?

Out of everything I've tried to treat my tinnitus volume, making sure I get a regular amount of cardio exercise into my schedual has been, by far, the most effective form of treatment for myself.

I often forget how important this is actually. This past week and a bit I've been appling for new jobs and have been all over the city for interviews and what not, so I got a bit lazy and I wasn't getting my regular amount of cardio in. Immediately my stress creeped up on me and so did my focus on the tinnitus, I felt pretty horrible - my ears were blasting off. So last night I got in a big session and immediately felt the benefits, the volume decreased siginificantly and my stress levels reduced.

It's no miracle cure, and it takes alot of effort, but I recommend this to everyone, no matter who you or what type of tinnitus you have. Get moving! Whether it be running, rowing, biking, swimming, circuit training, etc - just start doing it, join a gym if you need to. Regular exercise = less stress (cortisol release) = less tinnitus.

 

Brisk walk and light running (about 1/3 of my usual full running speed) reduced my T most of the time.
And my T is idiopathic.

 

I have a slip disc so there are certain stretches I have been doing for years for this. I also cannot physically do any heavy exercise but would usually do light aerobics. However with PT worsening, when I try to stretch, every movement causes the pulsing to be so much louder that sometimes it feels something is about to pop! and with the aerobics as well, it causes the pulsing to increase and be so turbulent that headaches comes on to the point where I just have to stop. This pulsing can be really hellish. It causes such vibration in my ears and the sound is just too loud. Last night was a rough night as the level of noise in my head was just crippling. But here I am again, another day so I am glad last night is over.

 

I'm 48 and used to run. However, I stopped running several years ago because of my knees. Now, I do interval training on a recumbent stationary bike three times a week for about half an hour each session. I think my tinnitus is helped slightly when I finish. I also typically lift three times a week and it seems to help a little. I don't do any high impact exercising, though. I do use dumbbells and a Swiss ball. Instead of running, maybe try a recumbent stationary bike?

 

Im 55 im still out there running round my park.Doesnt make it worse,just sad that when Im out there as well as everyday sounds I have a jet engine in my head.
Still, I can still exercise ,that has to be a good thing as I really enjoy it.Im lucky.

 

I noticed something interesting. My tinnitus creeps up in volume in my sleep. By morning I'm hearing it over the masking noise I'd set up for night volume. If I do 45 minutes of cardio exercise it drops to almost nothing for a few minutes after. It then goes back to the usual volume. I've tried this a few times now and it always works. I'm thinking this might have something to do with circulation.

I'm almost at the three week point, still not sleeping well and losing hope of improvement. This is the first thing I've found that's made any noticeable difference in the volume. I wish there was a way to maintain the effect longer.

 

I haven't measured blood pressure but I think it is fairly high when working out - it is a very weird silencing effect, but sadly it only lasts a few minutes. I will keep at it though. Maybe there is some cumulative effect. I know it definitely helps with stress reduction. I think I have regular tinnitus by the way, but lately it sounds like morse code beeping in the affected ear.

 

http://curezone.com/forums/am.asp?i=1763776

From what I gather here, if I ride my bike 3 hours a day with moderate volume music (maybe white or pink noise is better?) it will make my brain communicate better with ear nerves or something, and this can make my Tinnitus and Hyperacusis less of a problem?

Could this have any helpful effect?

 

I'm concerned, mine is really ba when doing any form of physical exertion, even just walking or just putting a coat on lifting lights objects etc. I can't do ANYTHING other than sit or it's devistatingly loud. I also get rally bad vertigo with the exertion too