Tinnitus: Relaxation Exercises

I went to a psychologist who thought perhaps relaxation deep breathing exercises would work for me. The idea is that I breath in deeply for 10 seconds, hold my breath for four seconds, and exhale for 10 seconds.

This method did help to relax me physically but didn't help the tinnitus at all. The problem is not one of relaxation. The tiny hairs that are supposed to be in my ears to help buffer noise are dying. The brain interprets their absence the same way that it interprets pain in a missing limb. It is a phantom pain or in the case of tinnitus, phantom ringing.

The sound of ringing is the brain's way of saying that something is wrong. Like a blown fuse light indicator. The indicator light (ringing) is telling me that a fuse (tiny hairs) are no longer working in my ears.

Needless to say that deep breathing didn't help me. It actually made the ringing seem louder. Like the candle in the dark analogy. The darker the room the brighter the candle. In the case of tinnitus, the quieter and more relaxed I am the louder my tinnitus becomes. But hey, it was worth trying. I'm up for almost anything as long as there is no risk that it could make the tinnitus worse.

Tinnitus sufferers need to live in balance, somewhere between totally relaxed and not too stressed.