by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
Numbers of people find their tinnitus, or the loudness of their tinnitus, is related to stress. I hear from people all the time who tell me that when their stress increases, so does their tinnitus.
Researchers have found the same thing. Writing about people with tinnitus, one researcher recently noted, “On a stress free day, their tinnitus may be manageable and unnoticeable. In the presence of a stressor, their tinnitus returns. It is widely known that stress, even if it may not be the main cause of tinnitus, precipitates and/or perpetuates tinnitus. Thus, teaching patients how to manage their stress more effectively is an important component of a tinnitus treatment program.” (1)
Thus, one of the effective things that you can do to help bring your tinnitus under control is to learn to control your stress. There are many different techniques you can use to help reduce your stress. Discover which works the best for yourself and watch the stress-induced component of your tinnitus “melt away” as you learn how to “hang loose”.
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(1) Herzfeld, Melanie and Francis Kuk. 2011. A Clinician’s Experience with Using Fractal Music for Tinnitus Management. The Hearing Review. Vol 18, No 11, October 2011. p. 55.
I know just how you feel! My damage was done by Deep Purple many years ago! I should have sued! Well, I played in bands myself for 30 years, so that could have contributed! The specialist was actually correct, you have to train yourself not to hear it otherwise it will drive you crazy. Not sure if yours is like mine, but as well as the ringing I get a loud buzz/crash sound when I hear a loud noise. That’s worse than the ringing. I’m not sure if yours will go away, it might, with time and without further damage. I hope it does, but meantime, don’t let it get to you (easy to say, I know), but hey, you’re still very young so concentrate on living a good, full life to take your mind off the problem.