Meditation & Tinnitus

June 6, 2018 11:12 AM

Question for the good people of the shire, specifically meditators w tinnitus...

Hi Folks
I am pretty well sold on the benefits of meditation but I have severe tinnitus and mindfulness meditation makes the experience MUCH more intense. Not sure if I should soldier through, or maybe switch to some kind of guided or mantra meditation. Or maybe just forsake the whole megillah. Your thoughts? kind regards...

posted by jcworth to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

If your experience is that focusing on something interesting/enjoyable makes your brain tune out the noise, I suspect you'll reach a point where meditation has the same effect. If you always hear it, you may have better luck with other mindfulness techniques. (I've been in both places at various points in my life)
posted by wierdo at 11:32 AM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

White noise--either via a fan, a white noise machine, or a white noise app--at a volume just loud enough to counter the ringing might be helpful.
posted by bdk3clash at 11:32 AM on June 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

I have terrible tinnitus and I meditate. Initially it's basically all I hear. My method is to sit up straight and breathe and focus on what I can hear. Initially it's just ringing, but as I go I pick up on quieter things and the ringing subsides for a while and I can move into different forms of meditation.
posted by Bistyfrass at 12:38 PM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

I listened to an podcast with Sam Harris, of meditation fame, where he talked about having tinnitus and meditated with enough background noise to help him deal with the distraction of the tinnitus.
Here is a discussion including a link where Sam Harris discusses it in a blog post.
posted by RoadScholar at 12:54 PM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

A friend of mine who I haven't talked to in some years has tinnitus, and he found the teachings of Ajahn Sumedho helpful. Sumedho is a western monk in the Theravada tradition. He talks in various places about what he calls "the sound of silence" and apparently some people with tinnitus find this teaching helpful. He's also written book, I think. You can hear him talking about it here. And also try googling "Ajahn Sumedho" and "tinnitus." Good luck!
posted by swheatie at 1:07 PM on June 6, 2018 [3 favorites]

For me during meditation sometimes acknowledging things can help -- "Thank you tinnitus for reminding me that I can hear."

Then whenever you start hearing the tinnitus recognize and release it.
posted by gregr at 1:42 PM on June 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

Many people have reported that use of noise generators at various frequencies has helped their tinnitus, both while meditating and for a while after.

Go to this page and scroll down until you find the section "I suffer from tinnitus." Try the different generators offered until you find one that absorbs your ringing tone. These work best with headphones but even over cheap speakers it helps.
posted by irisclara at 1:44 PM on June 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thank you to each of you for your thoughtful responses. Kind regards.
posted by jcworth at 10:11 AM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]