Hear2day:Presentation on Tinnitus

Hear2day Tinnitus:
What is tinnitus?
Understanding and managing Tinnitus
Taming Tinnitus – Behavioural Techniques
Information obtained from Website of British Tinnitus Association

What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is not a disease or an illness, it is a symptom generated within the person’s own auditory pathways. The precise cause of tinnitus is still not fully understood but is usually associated with some hearing deficits.
Experiences of tinnitus are very common in all age groups, especially following exposure to loud noise. Mild tinnitus is common – about 10% of the population have it all the time and, in up to 1% of adults, this may affect the quality of their life.

If you think you have tinnitus:
See your doctor:
Tinnitus is rarely an indication of a serious disorder. However it is wise to see your doctor, should something treatable be causing it, you might be referred to a specialist.
Find out more about this condition via the internet.

Try not to worry:
The noises seem worse if you are anxious or stressed. When tinnitus starts, particularly if it’s sudden, you may naturally be frightened and your concentration or your sleep may be disturbed. You may get angry and frustrated because no-one else understands, or you may live alone and not have anyone to talk to about it – this is where a support group can help.

Understanding and Managing Tinnitus:
Tinnitus is perception of a sound when no obvious source of sound is apparent. Approximately 5% of the adult population in the UK experience persistent or troublesome tinnitus.
It is important to realise that we do not hear with the ears, we hear but with the brain. The ears should be looked upon as a peripheral sensor.

The good news:
The good news is that the whole process has been learnt and can, therefore, be reversed through retraining. The first step in this treatment is to de-dramatise the presence of tinnitus. Tinnitus is a non-specific symptom and is a very poor indicator of any specific disease and should be looked upon as a nonsensical sound.

Conclusion:
The crucial information for any tinnitus sufferer is, therefore, to reiterate that it is not the source of the sound that is important, but the interpretation / attitude to the sound. The patient should, therefore, avoid quietness, stop the checking process and let the doctor take care of the medical side of things. In other words, don’t do anything for, or because of, your tinnitus, just avoid the silence.

Taming tinnitus – behavioural techniques:
Whilst there is currently no known ‘cure’ for tinnitus, there are strategies that can help to minimise the intrusiveness of the noises. People can and do manage the impact that tinnitus has on their lives. Here are some ideas:
Make the tinnitus less ‘attention-grabbing’.
Do notice in which environments and during which activities the tinnitus is less noticeable. Try to do more of the activities that help shift your attention from the tinnitus. Take time each day to practice switching your attention between the tinnitus noises and other bodily sensations.

For example, close your eyes and take a couple of minutes to focus on the rhythm of your breathing, then switch your attention to your hands and mentally count your fingers, refocus on your breathing, switch to monitoring the tinnitus noises, then focus on your breathing again. Notice how you are able to control your attention.
Practice slowing down your breathing and relaxing your muscles each day. Tinnitus works a bit like an ‘emotional barometer’ – it is often more intrusive when there is stress or worry around. When you notice that the tinnitus is demanding your attention, ask yourself if there is anything else that is on your mind that you need to sort out. Having tinnitus does not make you immune to other worries and stresses – are you giving the tinnitus more credit for your stress than it deserves?

So live in spite of the tinnitus, not because of it. Do things you want to rather than because you think they will help to ward-off the tinnitus. By planning your life around the tinnitus, you are feeding it with attention, and it will only demand more and more. Perhaps suggest that family and friends do not ask you quite so often how your tinnitus is. Maybe they could help you to focus on other things.
Getting a good nights sleep: Many people with tinnitus believe that the noises disrupt their sleep. If you have difficulty getting off to sleep it may be that the shift from a relatively noisy daytime environment to the quietness of the bedroom makes the tinnitus noises more noticeable – in the same way that a candle looks brightest in a dark room .

Some people find having some low-level sound in the bedroom (eg wave sounds, a fan or calming music) can help to mask the tinnitus noises.
Aim to get some exercise each day – but not too close to bedtime.
Make time to move your head out of planning or worrying mode – before bedtime, spend a maximum of 10 minutes writing down some issues you want to tackle tomorrow (but be realistic!).
Do not panic if you wake up. Your body will ensure you get the minimum sleep you need, but you can help it along by staying calm and relaxed.

When you notice that the tinnitus is demanding your attention, ask yourself if there is anything else that is on your mind that you need to sort out. Having tinnitus does not make you immune to other worries and stresses – are you giving the tinnitus more credit for your stress than it deserves?

When did I become aware of my tinnitus?
I started to have spells of vertigo with just dizziness at first. Over time, the attacks became more severe as I could not walk around without hanging onto something for support. Nausea very quickly followed and if I did not lie down, the vomiting would commence.
Then one day, I suddenly lost the ability to hear on the phone with my right year. After seeing ENT specialists and audiologists, I was diagnosed with Menier’s disease.

The attacks became quite severe for a few months and that is when I became really aware of the tinnitus. During an attack, the tinnitus seemed to become very loud and quite distressing. When the attack passed it seemed to get less. Attacks were lasting for about 12 hours at that stage. Once the attack passed, I did not seem to be as aware of the tinnitus.

However, there were days when it really became a problem and I felt I could not get away from it – I experienced a trapped feeling and would walk around the house crying at first.
As time passed, I seemed to handle it better but there were still stressful times when it became very loud and my hearing would also drop.
I found that stress really did play a large role in the severity of the tinnitus.

I had to train myself not to respond to the tinnitus and try and push it away by concentrating on something else. There are still days when I do not seem to be able to push it away easily, but I just have to persevere.

Hear2day:Presentation on Tinnitus

by Hear2day on Jul 07, 2010

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Hear2day:Presentation on Tinnitus — Presentation Transcript