Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System Experiment Idea

Okay..so I have issue with fluctuating tinnitus loudness on certain tones and whistle sounds some days and haven't quite figured out completely of what causes it...I saw a study which they used HRV recorders (which I assume stands for Heart Rate Variability recorders) on tinnitus "sufferers". The study is here:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00016489.2016.1269197?scroll=top&needAccess=true

The results said:

"The pre-treatment HRV recording showed sympathetic preponderance/reduced parasympathetic activity in about three quarters (73%) of patients."

Then they used a type of vagus nerve treatment and then measured the results on the HRV and concluded:

These results indicate that tVNS can induce a shift in ANS function from sympathetic preponderance towards parasympathetic predominance.

I don't know much about HRV recording but I do see some apps on Google Play for it. Has anyone used them? I am wondering if some people who have loud tinnitus sometimes and lower tinnitus other times could be affected by sympathetic preponderance/reduced parasympathetic activity.

I have read the sympathetic nervous system causes "fight or flight" and the parasympathetic system causes "rest and digest" though to honest, I am not too familiar with the autonomic nervous system so I figured I would ask people on here what they thought.

Could I use an HRV recording app and get the data I need to see if I have a "sympathetic preponderance" on the days I have loud tinnitus and see if it is different on the days I have lower tinnitus?

By the way, if you know of any heart rate monitor wristbands or devices that could give the information I need please let me know.

 

One other reason I would like to do this experiment is because sleep sometimes can affect my tinnitus. Some days I can wake up with lower tinnitus and some with louder tinnitus. I found this study discussing the fluctuating autonomic nervous system during sleep: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7783886

The conclusion says:

"The sympathetic predominance that characterizes wakefulness decreases during non-REM sleep, is minimal in slow-wave sleep, and surges toward mean awake levels during REM sleep. The autonomic balance is shifted toward parasympathetic predominance during slow-wave sleep. This noninvasive method used to outline autonomic activity achieves results that are in complete agreement with those obtained with direct invasive tools."​

I know other people who wake up to lower tinnitus or louder tinnitus as well and am wondering if some of this has a role. Of course I may be totally wrong but that's why I wanted to do an experiment.

 

Yeah I can wake up sometimes in the morning and have very low tinnitus. Almost imperceptible. Seems like wje I wake up in the middle of the night to wizz its always gone.

 

Sleep is the main modulator for me. If I have a low day and wake up super early, that low day can continue into the next. My theory is that if I wake up right after slow wave sleep (around 5am) I'm good to go – if I try and go back to sleep and start dozing, I find that the "early morning" sleep switches on my my buzzing sound that remains for the rest of the day until I fall back to sleep the next evening.

I'm certainly going to look into this. Thanks @JasonP

 

You're welcome. I read recently where the length REM sleep stages can increase in length as the night goes on but you probably know that. I wonder if there is something you could take that would lessen REM sleep or increase slow wave sleep that would help.

 

Have any of you looked at mouth taping as a way to increase rem sleep? I have been researching about sleep breathing disorders... and how high their link is with tmj, tinnitus, and a whole bunch of other comorbid conditions. I recently figured out that I am a very heavy mouth breather when I sleep. If I sleep on my side and/or tape my mouth shut, it's crazy the difference it makes in my sleep architecture.

Mouth taping forces the body to use the nose while you sleep and you can buy special tape that will allow you to breathe through your mouth in an emergency. It's an interesting concept that I have found to greatly increase my rem time.