Tinnitus

If you have Tinnitus then you are most probably familiar with some of the most common causes.
There is a whole list of them for you to choose from.
Only when you start to analyze the known facts and their probable consequences will the whole scope of Tinnitus start to unfold.
There can be a million reasons why you have Tinnitus. Lets take a brief look at some of the most common symptoms for tinnitus. How many of these symptoms can you apply to yourself? Add more if you have to.
Lack of concentration,
Headaches,
Fatigue,
Social retreat,
Depressive moods,
Lack of patience,
Nervousness,
Panic attacks,
Anxiety,
Apprehension,
Stress and tension,
Lack of self confidence,
Insomnia,
Exhaustion,
Devaluation,
Other than the hearing loss which is physical, all other symptoms listed here are of a subconscious nature. Lets get 3 important things into perspective here. I will repeat these 3 sentences until they are tattooed into your soul.
1. Tinnitus is not a disease, it is a symptom!
2. You are not sick and you are not mentally ill. You are being warned!
3. You will defeat tinnitus if you accept it as a part of you.
As soon as you are ready to accept that the tinnitus is a part of you, the sooner you can expect to make progress.
The power of the mind is extraordinary. Think about this carefully. If tinnitus succeeded in turning your life upside down then accept the fact that all it used to achieve misery was your own mind. Thats quite an achievement isnt it ?
Thats how powerful your mind is. If it has the capability to make your life a complete misery then surely it can be re-programmed to do the opposite.
Its entirely up to you. The solution lies within yourself and your ability to learn.
What do we know about the causes of tinnitus?.
Where does it have its roots?
Ever heard of social sickness? Me either. Its a phrase that I like though. Here in Germany its called “Volkskrankheit”(has nothing to do with cars).
I once tried to compile a list of all elements which I suspected may have contributed to MY own tinnitus. Obviously, I listed the negative aspects of my life over a 10 year period. Some of these things could have been avoided, most of them were linked to each other. Dont forget, this is only a list of things that I think should be mentioned.
Ive tried not to generalize and Ive tried my best to stay honest, even if it means confessing to some bad sins. To be perfectly honest its not as dramatic as it looks.It just looks outrageous when written down!
Marital Stress,
Heavy smoking,
Drug and medication abuse, (i.e. Valium, Marijuana, Cocaine)
Relationship crisis,
unhealthy eating habits,
Loud noises,
Lack of exercise,
High cholesterol,
High blood sugar rate,
Personal loss,
Caffeine addiction (coffee and cola)
Lack of sleep,
Financial Problems,
Overweight,
Business pressures,
Inclination to worry about everything.
So there we have it.
It looks terrible I know. The worst thing is that I am one of millions who used to live like this. If you cant identify with anything written on this list then you shouldnt have tinnitus. Any one of these elements on their own would be harmful enough for any person.
Combine them and youre left with a time bomb waiting to explode. So now we have two lists. The first one above describes the symptoms and the second one describes possible causes. If you look carefully at the causes it wont take much imagination to conjure up a “symptom list” like the one above. What else do you expect?.
I dare you take a pen and paper and write down your own “bad list”. Be absolutely honest and write down all the things that you arent proud of or maybe would rather forget. Write down all the things you would like to change if you had a magic wand. ( My bad list is there for everyone to see. You can hide yours!
By the way, you dont have to have tinnitus to create a list like mine. I would be willing to bet that EVERYONE can come up with a list similar to mine. I say only similar because I know that not everyone is overweight, or smokes or tried drugs.
Think carefully about what you are reading on your list. If you are very honest, you will find that you dont need a magic wand to shorten this list. The only person on this planet that can change this list to something to be proud of is YOU!. I consider myself to be lucky. Tinnitus gave me a chance to re-shuffle my life
Once more. Please dont forget:
1. Tinnitus is not a disease, it is a symptom.
2. You are not sick and you are not mentally ill. You are being warned!
3. You will defeat tinnitus if you accept it as a part of you.
After an “auditory crash ” two years ago which left me with a temporary loss of all hearing I had no other choice than to take action. Ive been looking for an English Term for the German word Hoersturz. In fact this term is made of 2 words. “Hoer” (to hear ) and Sturz ( to crash ). Sounds nice right ?
Anyway this “Auditory Crash” of hearing lasted almost 2 days at the most and thanks to my doctor, I was up and about a week later.
After reading many books and collecting all the information I could find, I decided to take action. I didnt know it then, but the decision to cut out everything that was harming me probably saved my life.
Did you already write down your own list ?. If not,lets imagine this is your list.
Where do you start?
There are some things you can change straight away and without hesitation. Other things will require great patience, lots of time and the will to change.
“Lets start at the very beginning, a very good place you start” ( Richard Rodgers 1902-1979 )

Stress can cause many problems and exacerbate others, including Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. Many individuals suffer from this malady and can deal with it on a daily basis until stress levels rise and then the Tinnitus becomes significantly worse.
Of course, there are many different reasons why an individual may develop Tinnitus, but stress and anxiety can intensify the effects of the ringing in the ears. Because of this individuals with Tinnitus need to manage the stress in their lives to minimize the effects.
In general, when an individual suffers from tinnitus the body feels as if it is being attacked at all times. So, the effects are never-ending and the body ultimately responds in a physical way with additional problems like insomnia, anxiety, and even depression. Once these responses occur they only serve to intensify the tinnitus, which is just a violent circle. Because of this it is incredibly important for sufferers to find a way to relax and keep their symptoms at bay (as much as possible) instead of stressing out and exacerbating them. Of course, this is much easier to say than to actually implement. But, nevertheless, it is very important to make an effort to achieve. Sufferers of tinnitus know this very well and try their best not to stress out because the ringing in their ears only gets worse.
It is unfortunate that tinnitus makes individuals stress out over their symptoms and then their stressing only causes their symptoms to worsen. Fortunately, for individuals with tinnitus there are ways to get stress under control before it gets out of hand and causes the individual worse ringing in their ears. One example of a way to reduce stress is to simply exercise. It has been proven that exercise really helps individuals relax, forget about whats bothering them, and simply enjoy life. Those with tinnitus should exercise every single day in order to relax, forget about their ringing ears for just a bit, and hopefully relax enough to keep the symptoms from getting too bad. Another good option for reducing stress is to take part in yoga and meditation and even have a massage on a regular basis.
Nobody wants to have tinnitus and those who do certainly dontt want their symptoms to get any worse than they have to. Due to this individuals suffering from tinnitus should make all efforts to live a low key and relaxing life that has as little stress as possible. And, in addition to this tinnitus sufferers should do their best to exercise and take part in relaxation exercises to keep what stress they do have at bay. Many individuals suffer from tinnitus and of them approximately 90% experience exaggerated symptoms when subjected to stressful situations.
Because of this individuals with tinnitus must do all they can in order to reduce stress in their lives so they may live an enjoyable life

Tinnitus: Learning to Ignore a Nuisance

That may sound darn right rude but that’s all it is. A nuisance.

Tinnitus is nothing but a nuisance, which interrupts your daily routine by driving you up the wall.

Ever asked why it’s driving you up the wall?

Once again, the answer is so simple. It’s because you let it do so. Anyone with tinnitus will know what I am saying when you find yourself in the middle of some quality time.
I mean, your having a real ball when all the sudden something (or someone) makes you want to notice this sound in your head. Think about it. Whilst you were having fun, I’m sure you didn’t notice it at all. Not the slightest. This is because your mind was distracted. You were focusing on something else other than your Tinnitus.

And this is what you should be doing.

Focusing on something else OTHER than trying to concentrate on your own tinnitus.

Ever had a badly cut finger? When you think about it, it throbs and hurts and is painful. If you were distracted though, you would most probably forget the discomfort because your brain is trained to ignore pain if it can. This is what we call basic instinct.

Have you ever studied children? They fall over, they hurt themselves, and they freak out if they see their blood. But let’s admit it people, as soon as you give them a candy bar they light up like a candle and forget the pain. This is because children are motivated mostly by instinct. As long as the kid is happy and occupied, he won’t feel the pain. The minute you take his candy bar away and give him time to think about his wound, he’ll start crying because he feels the pain again.

Believe or not, as we grow older this instinct doesn’t disappear or weaken. We just become more aware of ourselves.

I would like you to try something.

Read these words and look four tha spellin mistaikes and caount them as yoo go allong. Notcice hoau haard it is too staay fokased onn wot you ar raedning. The more you have to conncentrtae the hrader it gest. In fact, I can cuotn to ten.
Oen, tow,there,fuor,fvie,six,sevne,eitghm nien,tne!……ist qutie aesy when you know hwo.

Although the letters to each word were mixed up somewhat, you could still read the text right? This is because your brain is can make sense of the pattern of letters.

Now be very honest.

How many of you were aware of the Tinnitus whilst reading the above text. For those that don’t have Tinnitus, how many could read the text but forgot how tight their shoes were. How many of you were not aware of background noises. How many were not aware of the tight pants they are wearing. I could go on and on.

I hope you see the point I am trying to make.

It is possible to distract attention away from negative energy. This is all Tinnitus is. It’s negative energy and it can be ignored. This is not a process that can be picked up in ten minutes. It doesn’t have to be learnt either because your brain already knows how to ignore things that’s are not important to us.

It is vital that you understand this because it is the basis to understanding that you understand what you are doing wrong each time you listen and hear your own Tinnitus.

You brain will always try focus on what is important. Tinnitus isn’t important and you have to learn to put it aside. Imagine putting it in a box and closing it. Or try this, each time your brain is trying to make you aware of Tinnitus, just tell it, ” I have other things on my mind at the moment…. get out of here or come back later…I may have time for you then “.

I can remember jogging through the forest not too long ago. Since loosing almost 20 kilos in weight, jogging was something that made me feel real happy. It was like a scene from a fairy tale. It was December and it was snowing. Through the snow I could still see the sun trying to shine through the thick gray clouds. The snowflakes were dancing all around me. The whole forest was glowing like white gold. Through my MP3 player, I was listening to my favorite music. Everything seemed so safe and tranquil………until I noticed my Tinnitus creeping up behind me and trying to make itself noticed. I could here it screaming away in the back of my head. It was trying to provoke me and take away the fun I was having.

I think this was the first time in 3 years that actually remember saying NO to it.
“Enough is enough,” I said. „. I’m having a great time, I feel fantastic and you are not going to ruin this moment for me “. I remember running faster and faster and feeling better each step I took. I didn’t stop for Tinnitus and I didn’t let it ruin my day. At this point it was making me stronger. This sounds quite unbelievable, but I ended up running the course twice which I had never done before. When I finished the course I was the happiest man alive I swear to God.
It was the first time I realized that I was the problem and not the Tinnitus. The tinnitus is there whether I want it or not. I have to live with that fact. I am now ready to accept that fact.

So, what are my options?

I can suffer, feel sorry for myself and have spend the rest of my life in misery OR learn to accept Tinnitus and learn to coexist with it and ignore it when I feel like it.

Sounds all too easy I know.

That’s where you come in though my friend. It’s entirely up to you. No pills, injections or secret remedies are going to get rid of your Tinnitus. Know why? Because there aren’t any.

So, if you can learn to finely tune your “basic instinct” and teach yourself to ignore the stuff that bothers you………….You are on the right train.

Have a happy journey!

Tinnitus is a common problem affecting almost seventeen percent of the general population around the world. Usually patients in US learn to live with it. Hyperacusis accompany the tinnitus in almost forty percentages of cases. It is actually a decreased tolerance of sound and can be a serious problem. Tinnitus therapy can restore totally or partially the normal level of sensitivity to sound. There are many effects for the tinnitus like lack of concentration, lose of income or job, out of control feelings, family problems, fears of everyday triggers and starting to question your sanity.Tinnitus therapy is a form of habituation therapy usually designed to help people who suffer from tinnitus. Tinnitus retraining therapy mainly uses counseling to explain to the patient. It also uses noise generators to provide a background noise level. The sound improvement can end their negative reaction to the tinnitus sound, and then reduce and finally end their perception of it. Tinnitus therapy provides hope to sufferers. Mainly to those people who are willing to take the time and make the effort to learn and implement it. After a patient has successfully habituated using tinnitus therapy the perception of tinnitus frequently, returns to the previous level of awareness before perception became opening to doubt. Tinnitus therapy includes the basic understanding of Jastreboff model, which is a new scientific analysis of tinnitus. None of them has challenge this thesis n the past ten years and is being adopted and referenced by increasing numbers of researchers and clinicians. Tinnitus therapy also includes a basic understanding of the Heller and Bergman experiment. The tinnitus retraining therapy uses a precise and individual combination of sound therapy and teaching. Learning about tinnitus includes directions about how to return to normal life without provoking symptoms. More than eight hundred professionals around the world have attended training courses and many have published identical excellent results.

Tinnitus: A persistant high pitched screaming only you can hear. You can hear it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Sometimes the noise is enough to make you feel you are loosing your sanity. In fact, on a lighter note one could call it “a big fat pain in the ear !”

It may be of little comfort to Tinnitus victims, but experts estimate that approximately 17 % of the world´s population are currantly suffering from Tinnitus. If that isnt enough to worry about, almost 60 percent of those who have chronic tinnitus are dissatisfied with their current therapy.

Learning to accept help from the right people is elementary in your crusade to escape the claws of tinnitus. It is essential that you find someone you trust and are not afraid of. It’s hard to find someone that will listen to your troubles and problems, especially when dealing with something as complex as Tinnitus.

Most people will listen to you and feel sorry for you. This is only because they can’t begin to comprehend what you are going through. These people aren’t ignorant…they are just human beings, to them you are a probably an image of good health. This is because tinnitus can’t be seen from the outside, to the world you look perfectly healthy.

I am sure that these people have their own worries too. Some people may appear to not be interested in your problems or they can’t grasp the severity of your situation.
Please don’t forget, most people can’t even start to get a handle on what you are going through.

Fighting Tinnitus often ends up in complete frustration. Tinnitus can only exist if it is fed appropriately and given enough room to breath. Stress and anxiety just adds more fuel to the fire. Fighting tinnitus can be futile procedure that will deplete your most of your energy.

There is an alternative solution.

This is the point I hope to make with my e-book ” My Best Friend Tinnitus”.

If you are suffering from chronic tinnitus (with or without hearing loss) you have probably been down every one way road there is in your quest for a cure. That’s it though. There is no patent cure. It’s that simple and that complicated. YOU are the cure.

This concept sounds too easy to be true. Not only can you learn to accept tinnitus as a part of your life but YOU can teach IT to be a part of YOUR life. You can take control by reducing its importancy.

On this note there are a few sayings that spring to mind. “Don’t feed the trolls” or “tame the beast”.
There is a lot of truth in these words.

Tinnitus can be tamed and manipulated. Tinnitus has incredible power, if you give it authority. Think about what it has achieved by taking over your life. Why not turn the tables and learn from it. Get yourself in the driver’s seat and take it for a ride.

My theory isn’t based on medical facts. My theory is based on 18 months of misery and depression.

At it’s peak I was suicidal.

Maybe one of the most important steps I took in learning to come to terms with tinnitus was using its power to help me instead of destroying me. Tinnitus is not physical. It can’t be seen under a microscope and it can’t be measured accurately.

This may seem like simplified thinking, but tinnitus is a power and it can be used.

I used its power to create a new person in myself.
I am using its power to create this very article I am writing.
I used it to loose weight, to stop smoking, to stop worrying, to run a small marathon and last but not least…..to help others overcome this dilema.

Nothing has ever compelled me to sit down for hundreds of hours and write a book. Nothing has ever been worth the effort.

Yes, there is an easier way out if you are willing to try. The best thing is that you have nothing to loose.

I am not a doctor. I am not a therapist. I am Mr Average………..and a darn good coach !

Tinnitus-A persistant high pitched screaming only you can hear. You can hear it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Sometimes the noise is enough to make you feel you are loosing your sanity. In fact, on a lighter note one could call it “a big fat pain in the ear !”
It may be of little comfort to Tinnitus victims, but experts estimate that approximately 17 % of the worlds population are currantly suffering from Tinnitus. If that isnt enough to worry about, almost 60 percent of those who have chronic tinnitus are dissatisfied with their current therapy.
Learning to accept help from the right people is elementary in your crusade to escape the claws of tinnitus. It is essential that you find someone you trust and are not afraid of. Its hard to find someone that will listen to your troubles and problems, especially when dealing with something as complex as Tinnitus.
Most people will listen to you and feel sorry for you. This is only because they cant begin to comprehend what you are going through. These people arent ignorant,they are just human beings, to them you are a probably an image of good health.
This is because tinnitus cant be seen from the outside, to the world you look perfectly healthy. I am sure that these people have their own worries too. Some people may appear to not be interested in your problems or they cant grasp the severity of your situation.
Please dont forget, most people cant even start to get a handle on what you are going through.
Fighting Tinnitus often ends up in complete frustration. Tinnitus can only exist if it is fed appropriately and given enough room to breath. Stress and anxiety just adds more fuel to the fire. Fighting tinnitus can be futile procedure that will deplete your most of your energy. There is an alternative solution.
If you are suffering from chronic tinnitus (with or without hearing loss) you have probably been down every one way road there is in your quest for a cure.
Thats it though. There is no patent cure. Its that simple and that complicated.
You are the cure.
This concept sounds too easy to be true. Not only can you learn to accept tinnitus as a part of your life but YOU can teach IT to be a part of YOUR life. You can take control by reducing its importancy.
On this note there are a few sayings that spring to mind. “Dont feed the trolls” or “tame the beast”.
There is a lot of truth in these words.
Tinnitus can be tamed and manipulated. Tinnitus has incredible power, if you give it authority. Think about what it has achieved by taking over your life. Why not turn the tables and learn from it. Get yourself in the drivers seat and take it for a ride.
My theory isnt based on medical facts. My theory is based on 18 months of misery and depression. At its peak I was suicidal.
Maybe one of the most important steps I took in learning to come to terms with tinnitus was using its power to help me instead of destroying me. Tinnitus is not physical.
It cant be seen under a microscope and it cant be measured accurately. This may seem like simplified thinking, but tinnitus is a power and it can be used.
I used its power to create a new person in myself.
I am using its power to create this very article I am writing. I used it to loose weight, to stop smoking, to stop worrying, to run a small marathon and last but not least..to help others overcome this dilema.
Nothing has ever compelled me to sit down for hundreds of hours and write a book. Nothing has ever been worth the effort.Yes, there is an easier way out if you are willing to try. The best thing is that you have nothing to loose.
I am not a doctor. I am not a therapist. I am Mr Average.

Is worrying a possible cause for Tinnitus?

“Don’t feed the trolls” is a common synonym for someone who likes to create havoc on the internet. Trolls normally use chat rooms, posting boards or Forums to provoke and intimidate people by sending confrontational messages.  People who feel harrassed and provoked and find the time to argue with these people are “Feeding the Trolls”.

It’s just a theory, but it can be said that once the mind is infected by worry, you are opening the doors for the trolls.Learning how to come to terms with worry is like having to learn to fly a jet. You have to be a pilot to fly it. To be a pilot you have to learn. Sounds kind of immature to comment that anyone can learn to fly a jet if they are really set on doing so. It’s just a matter of being educated.

You may disagree with me on this matter but I am certain you could learn to fly a jet if you really had to. It may take hundreds of hours of instruction and countless tests and exams but theoretically, you could fly a jumbo jet if someone taught you how to.

Using the information above it can be said that everyone can learn to cope with worry. Like learning to fly, you have to be taught how. Worry can have great power and influence if it finds a suitable candidate to feed from. Worry is an emotion which means it can be manipulated. 

Being worried is normal. It’s a way of protecting ourselves. People who do nothing BUT worry are feeding the trolls! I still catch myself feeding my own trolls but I’ve learned to keep it to a minimum. The worse thing about worry is that you can’t change the outcome of a certain situation by simply worrying about it. What are you worrying about at the moment? Maybe your company isn’t doing too well and the sales figures are down and people are being told to find new jobs. That’s something to worry about though isn’t it? In fact it’s not. It’s perfectly normal to be concerned about something ( or someone ), but that is as far as it should go.

Deep rooted worrying can and will ruin your life. It will control you.  Okay, let’s imagine for a minute you’re worried sick about losing your job. There are good reasons to worry about losing a job. No one likes to be unemployed. The reasons are obvious and don’t have to be repeated.  In fact, you can’t sleep, you can’t eat, you are nervous, aggressive…in fact you become physically sick. If you look at this from the outside, there are only two things that will happen: A: you lose your job. B: you keep your job.    Let’s say you do lose your job. Ask yourself if your pain, anguish and apprehension could have possibly altered the outcome of the situation I will answer this for you…….NO.  No worrying in the world could have influenced the outcome of you keeping your job or not. All you did was feed the trolls. Be honest, would it have really been worth worrying yourself sick about something you couldn’t change anyway?  Let’s say you didn’t lose your job. Did your worrying have any effect on the outcome ? Let me answer this too……….NOIn other words, you can’t trade your worries for a change in destiny. No one is going to re-write the books just because you like to worry.  I found the best way to deal with worry is to obtain the basic facts and determine what the core of my worry is. If you are worrying about losing your job, what is it exactly you are worrying about? If worst comes to worst, what is the nastiest thing that is going to happen to you ? The answer is: You will be without a job and have less money. There is nothing ecstatic about loosing your job, but it NOT the end of the world.

Please don’t get me wrong and please don’t think I am ignorant ( I am facing the same dilemma ), I don’t know anyone on the Earth who dreams about being unemployed.

But if I can accept that it’s not the end of the world then I can learn to come to terms with this situation when it arises. If I can learn in advance to prepare myself for the worst, then it will be easier for me to accept the worst when and if the time ever comes.

I use to worry myself sick about my loss of hearing and tinnitus until it dawned on me that worrying is part of the cause.  In fact, I fed THOUSENDS of trolls until I realized what I was doing wrong. It took me 18 months of suffering to finally wake up and realize that it was I that was causing the stress. 

I allowed tinnitus to rob me of my identity and place a firm grip on my life. Had I only known!  Everyone knows that you just can’t stop worrying at the drop of a hat or because people advise you to. You may require hours and hours of therapy.

But you can learn to come to grips with a “chronic worrying syndrome.”  I can only speak for myself here and I know that medical world won’t agree with me on this one but I want to recap on the title of this book. I called it “Tinnitus my best friend.”

“How can tinnitus be my best friend” you say.  I used its power to create a new person in myself. I am using its power to create this very Article I am writing. Nothing has ever compelled me to sit down for hundreds of hours and write a book. Nothing has ever been worth  the effort. I learned how to register a domain, set up my own homepage and promote an e-book with the sole purpose of trying to help other people overcome their fear of having to live with tinnitus for the rest of their lives.  Where else did I use it?.  I managed to stop smoking, I lost weight, and I taught myself to start caring for myself. I know how to keep myself fit. I know what to eat ad what not to eat.  I used its energy and made something of it.

You can do the same.

Looking back, it took me a long time to accept that tinnitus actually helped me change my life. Once I realized that tinnitus was nothing but a warning signal, I found ways of coming to terms with it and used its energy to help me out of this pitfall. Tinnitus helped me get my life back on track and for that I’m thankful. In fact I would probably feel lonely without it ( just kidding ).

But I am still aware of it because I have accepted that the noise won’t disappear.  I just learned to take no notice of it. That’s the key to success. Learning to ignore. It’s a learning process that needs time and patience. Maybe it’s hard to explain how to ignore sounds you think you can’t escape but the trick is retraining your brain to distract your attention away from the tinnitus thus making the sounds obsolete. This mechanism is still present regardless of how long you have been suffering from tinnitus. It’s kind of hard to explain how it works but it really is very easy to demonstrate.

You will be bluffed how easy it is to ignore Tinnitus. I will explain this in my next article.