Tinnitus

beto · August 31st, 2008, 00:49

I suffer from tinnitus, a constant ringing or buzzing in the ears. I have it in both ears. In my case the sound sometimes manifests itself as a whistling sound. There is always a constants schuss sound which also varies in intensity. I also have a high frequency loss which begins at 2000 (left) and 3000 (right) hz, at a threshold of 20 db, an then drops to anywhere from 65 to 85 db at frequencies of 3000-8000 hz. (chart available upon request)

I did not find any articles relating to this condition in any forum here.

My audiologist cousin has suggested 'Neuromonics' as a course of treatment for the tinnitus. This product seems to have a similar characteristic approach to resolving this problem as you have with LifeFlow and similar meditation listening tools. At the moment, this is not available to me as I don't reside in the US and haven't been able to locate a resource where I live, Costa Rica.

My questions are:

Does anyone have any comments regarding their use/experience of LifeFlow as it relates to their tinnitus condition?

How much of an effect does this condition effect the general meditative process as experienced by others?

Do others who suffer from tinnitus have difficulty in tuning out the 'static' or do you use this 'white noise' to assist in your meditation?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can shed some light on this for me!

Beto

MICKG · September 1st, 2008, 23:09

I also have Tinnitus and I had concerns just like you. I asked Michael a similar question and I think it was Jodie that replied. Below is what was said.
My tinnitus is also very similar to yours, it is with me all the time. I have been told by doctors that there is nothing that can be done apart from adding such as "white noise".
Regards Mickg

Hi there Michael,

Tinnitus is that "ringing" people hear in their ears. I believe the most commonly accepted medical explanation is that the person is actually hearing the movement of blood through the capillaries inside the ears, but I'm not sure if everyone in the medical community accepts that as being the complete answer. In any case, entrainment waves are not perceived as musical tones because they are so slow. The lowest frequency the human ear can interpret as having a musical pitch to it is 20Hz. The vast majority of entrainment programs target Alpha waves or below and all of these are lower than 20Hz. So Tinnitus, while it is heard as a sort of high-pitched ringing in the ears, would not be masking or competing with entrainment waves since they are not going to heard as a pitch anyway. They will just be those "beating" or "drumming" sounds if they are consciously heard at all. And no ringing in the ears will impair the beating or drumming, so Tinnitus should have no adverse affect.

beto · September 6th, 2008, 08:11

Thanks for the information you received and passed along.

My first cousin is an audiologist in Maine and the practice she works for recommends the use of a product by "Neuromonics". I checked it out on the web and you may find the product useful. Unfortunately for me, I live in Costa Rica, and it is not available here.

Thanks again and Pura Vida!

bashmaki · September 6th, 2008, 19:00

I would have to agree with Michaels claim about tinnitus and LifeFlow. I have tinnitus as a by-product of my deafness (at least that is the way I've always understood it). I am going on the second month of entrainment using the LifeFlow system and can verify the fact that tinnitus is no reason to walk away from LifeFlow. I have had some very dramatic changes occur in my life since using this system; tinnitus or no tinnitus.

Gus

Edwin · September 9th, 2008, 17:58

Just out of curiosity, is Tinnitus different from ear damage ? This can cause chronic ringing in the ear too right ?

bashmaki · September 10th, 2008, 03:57

That could be true Edwin; although I've never studied it. It is quite possible that a lack of hearing for any reason could bring on tinnitus. My lack of hearing is hereditary. I've been unable to hear certain tones since childhood. It continually gets worse with age.
You should see it when my father, my brother and myself all get together. I'ts hillarious
Huh . . .Huh . . .What did you say. Ehh . . . pardon me!!!! It gets like the Three Stooges sometimes.

My sisters laugh 'til they nearly wet their pants sometimes!!

Anyway, like the sense of hearing binaural beats in your ears; I suppose the tinnitus is caused by some kind of imbalance in ones hearing. The sound is not really there but you can hear it. Drives you batty sometimes.

Seems anyone experiencing deafness of any measurable degree also is plagued by bouts of tinnitus too. Mine is worse sometimes than others.

Gus

Edwin · September 10th, 2008, 12:34

I see...

I can imagine it being terribly annoying, especially because you can't turn it off, you are forced to experience it...

Does it help to listen to music or something? I bet it can bring your attention away from it at least, but can you still hear the Tinnitus through the music ?
And there is no cure for it ?

bashmaki · September 11th, 2008, 05:37

Originally Posted by Edwin

Does it help to listen to music or something? I bet it can bring your attention away from it at least, but can you still hear the Tinnitus through the music ?
And there is no cure for it ?

Edwin,
Anything helps; even kids screaming

BTW,
Today I read an article in the newspaper about tinnitus. I guess there is a pill you can take for it (SURPRISE) now. The Doc also said it had something to do with hair follicles in the inner ear being broken off.
Gus

beto · October 2nd, 2008, 18:00

I've been away for a bit. Thanks for all the comments so far. Edwin makes a good point and I need to clarify some facts regarding my personal situation.

I grew up on the northeast coast (US), and was an avid scuba diver. Most of my diving was in cold water. In some cases it was frigid, iced over quarries in Canada and the St. Lawrence river, the Atlantic near Glouchester Mass. (great lobster) and so on.

As a result, the bones in my ear canals have some malformations. Prolonged cold water exposure is known to do this and contributes to tinnitus.

I also was exposed to lots of high caliber gunfire as a youth and young adult. We didn't use much for protection in those days. Sometimes we'd just pop a shell casing or cigarette butt in our ears to deaden the sound.

I would have to say that my damages have root causes spanning back almost 50 years.

I've not noticed any change in my tinnitus after listening to binaural tones from various sources. Nor has it affected my body and mind's response to the tones, which has been positive.

Thanks again to all who have responded to this topic so far.

bvp663 · October 2nd, 2008, 21:58

My father suffers from Tinnitus after having a gun fired near him without wearing any hearing protection. He's learned to tune it out during daily activities and only really notices it when he focuses on it.

I have a binaural track in my folder whose documentation says that there are reports that the track helps sufferers of tinnitus. I have been unable to track down any reports or studies in which they've actually tested it, but it sounds very similar to the neuromonics that you mention. I had sent him the track to see if it helped with his hearing, but being the religious conservative that he is I don't think he even tried it. I'm not sure what would make this specific track beneficial to people with tinnitus, as it sounds like most other binaural beat tracks. From your post it looks like binaural tracks have not yet made a difference, but at least the tinnitus is not diminishing their benefits.

Best of luck!