This Is Not a Cure but I Hope This Helps at Least One or Two

I wrote the following after reading of the terrible tragedy when a young man committed suicide not long after developing tinnitus from the use of headphones. If it helps one or two people to better cope with their symptoms it will be worth the effort.

Most animals have a mechanism shielding them from excessive noise. In mammals this is mostly achieved by ‘turning their ears down’. Since the natural state of ears are ‘pricked up’ it takes a muscular effort to ‘turn’ them down which when released restores them to their natural state of alertness. Humans differ in this protective response by applying pressure through the tympanic muscle to dampen the effect of sound in the ear. Both methods involve the employment of muscles not ordinarily in use.

Unfortunately, I have suffered from tinnitus for many years and in my experience the operation of these muscles automatically engages other facial and skeletal muscles in associated groups. It is as if we humans are trying to ‘turn our ears down’. As a result of this primordial response the resultant stress is ultimately experienced in narrowing of the eyes, tensing of the jaw, stiffening of the shoulders etc. In young people, although they may feel that stress, they are so habituated to noise they do not recognise it, but as they age the effects materialise in wrinkles and crow’s feet etc as indicators of its presence. Tinnitus is a double-whammy in that it may be caused by excessive noise but, in turn, becomes an element and contributor of that very noise we instinctively react to.

I am fortunate in that I live in a quite area so one thing I find gives me some light relief is sitting silently in a quiet room and just ‘listening’ to external noises which are often that quiet I have to ‘focus’ on hearing them. This allows my ears to subconsciously ‘relax’ their attempts to dampen out noise. In turn, the corresponding muscle groups in face, shoulders and chest relax slightly too. It often helps if I imagine myself having Mr Spock’s Vulcan-like ears gently unfolding from their turned down position shielding out noise to their pricked-up alertness seeking out sound.

On a few occasions I’ve relaxed so much that I could actually ‘feel’ my inner ears release their tension. It is helpful too if you can shut off the internal dialogue we all carry on in our heads. For many of us this is a task in itself and the cause of much of the tension that contributes to tinnitus. If you can eliminate, or at least reduce, the competition such dialogue has for our attention it will allow relaxation to be more profound.

After about half an hour of this progressive relaxation I feel as refreshed as if I had ‘meditated’. For those who can’t meditate, which includes me, this is a very good substitute. This is not a cure but I hope, at least, one person may read this advice and get some similar relief as I do

 

Welcome to the forum and thank for sharing what works for you. Progressive muscle relaxation in a meditative or pseudo meditative state will calm the body and nerves. It is often recommended for anxiety and stress relief. Once things calm down, I guess Mr T just can't stir up the pot again so easily. Lol. Thanks for coming here with a positive message and sharing your tips with us.

 

Thank you for the warm welcome Billie, despite the circumstances its nice to be in the company of those who understand the distress tinnitus brings. Progressive relaxation is very effective for relieving the stress of tinnitus. Unfortunately, like meditation, I find it too difficult to achieve. My mind tends to be overactive and my inner dialogue constantly interrupts my attempts. I developed my alternative ‘listening’ meditation after noticing a dog turn its ears down when suffering loud noise. That was a ‘lightbulb’ moment from me and the rest flowed from that. The progressive relaxation I experience is a result of ‘listening’ but not the objective. I find it easier to ‘focus’ on exterior sound rather than on interior stress the relief is then a natural outcome of tympanic muscular release . You are right though, what works for me may not work for anyone else, its horses for courses that really works!

 

@Robert Edward

Good post. I too found something similar, which was to LISTEN (HEAR!) the birds outside the window. The brain, as well as certain ear cells, need the re-training it seems...at least in my case (2 months out).

 

Hi Portal, its good to know that someone else has independently found a similar relief to the distress tinnitus brings. To help silence my inner dialogue I often remind myself to just LISTEN too. Listening to birdsong is a pleasure in itself but I find I get better relaxation the quieter the sound I try to focus on, distant sound seems to have the best effect. It seems that attempts to open up the ears to ‘listening’ rather than shutting sound out does the trick. And yes, you are right, it took some effort and several attempts before I achieved any success. I hope readers don’t give up after a few unsuccessful tries, a little perseverance is well worth the effort

Kind regards

Robert