Look after yourself properly and your tinnitus will take care of itself. By Julian Cowan Hill R.C.S.T.
When you work with hundreds of people with tinnitus, certain patterns become clear. The core issue seems to be learning how to let go at a deep level, and once a person becomes able to do this, symptoms get better. In this article I want to show that if you receive the right kind of support, then the process of letting go takes place all by itself. I have had a lot of experience easing people with tinnitus out of a locked up state, and have witnessed great improvement not only with the noises in their head, but in their ability to be comfortable, positive, relaxed and healthy.
A person with tinnitus typically holds tension at the base of the head and along the length of the spine. Often the body feels like it is standing to attention or bracing itself. One man lay on the couch and claimed he was relaxed, and yet his head wasn’t even touching the pillow! He wasn’t aware of this, and when I told him, he needed to put his hand behind his head to check what I said was true. I have met literally hundreds of people with tinnitus who have not much body awareness because they are too locked up and numb to be able to feel what is going on inside.
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Thanks so much for this helpful information!!!
I have found that any irritation of the ear from hives, an infection or a cold can lead to heightened sensitivity. Even if the irritation is physical this can lead to overfocusing on
auditory stimulation, causing an aggravation in tinnitus. But equally just as the cold clears, or the irritation settles then the tinnitus is likely to back off again too.
I was asked this question:
Is all tinnitus the same? What if one suffers from hearing loss as I do. Can your description of “being too revved up and hearing too much” be included in one that also has hearing loss?
Yes it can. If you are hard of hearing your nervous system may switch up its sensitivity to help compensate. This hypersensitivity can lead to tinnitus getting worse. For some, having a hearing aid can help this settle down again. Equally if your system is able to let go and switch off, then tinnitus will probably back down again. I am severely deaf in one ear and no longer experience tinnitus there. My heightened sensitivity has backed down and even though deafness is not ideal, it is possible to not have tinnitus with it.
I am in remission after 12 weeks of extensive chemotherapy as of July of last year. I got tinnitus a short time after. I have had ear surgeries on both my ears in the past. I wear hearing aids. I have been trying real hard to listen to my body as I have developed fatique and joint pain. I am able to take 2 days off a week from work to take a break. I am taking yoga one day a week and exercise 2 or 3 days a week. I try not to focus on the tinnitus but at night in bed it is harder. I am anxious and nervous at times and I have had depression. I have a mom who is a worrier and a sister who is bipolar. I am in contact with them weekly. I try to be as positive as I can when I’m around them. My tinnitus has got louder since I got it. After reading your post, I know that I am on the right track. Thank you for the information.
Hi Dolly, and thank you very much for sharing. Our program helps you focus on personal relief (like what you are doing with yoga and time off), body relief (through physical therapies like cranio sacral therapy massage therapy, etc.), and mental/emotional/spiritual relief (through counseling, psychotherapy, etc.). Wishing you strength to carry on and find relief.
I think that is an interesting point, it made me think a bit. Thanks for sparking my thinking cap. Sometimes I get so much in a rut that I just feel like a record.