If you regularly experience tinnitus, you know how irritating and stressful symptoms can be. Many different lifestyle factors may help to reduce your tinnitus, including yoga and meditation.
Tinnitus Basics
Tinnitus is when you experience ringing or other noises (buzzing, clicking, etc.) in one or both of your ears. Most cases of tinnitus are subjective, meaning only the person experiencing it can hear the sounds. Far less commonly, some people have objective tinnitus, where a medical provider can also hear the sounds. Objective tinnitus is usually called by blood vessel issue.
Additionally, some people with tinnitus experience acute symptoms that last from a couple of hours to a few days and then resolve on their own, while others experience chronic tinnitus that can last months or even years and significantly affect their quality of life.
Can Yoga and Meditation Help?
Stress has been known to exacerbate tinnitus symptoms, and conversely, tinnitus can cause symptoms of anxiety and worsen your stress levels.
Since both yoga and meditation have been known to help with relaxation and stress reduction, researchers have wondered whether or not they might be helpful for people who have tinnitus.
- A systematic review published in 2021 on the effects of yoga and meditation on tinnitus found that three different studies showed “positive effects of yoga on tinnitus, such as a reduction in severity, stress, anxiety and irritability associated with tinnitus and improved quality of life.”
- An additional 2017 study found that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was more effective at reducing tinnitus severity in those with chronic symptoms when compared to intensive relaxation training.
If you have tinnitus and are curious about yoga and meditation, consider watching videos online, downloading a meditation app or attending a class at Moon Drop Yoga Studio to see if a regular practice can help reduce the ringing in your ears.
See a Hearing Specialist for Tinnitus Symptoms
While yoga and meditation may be helpful in managing your symptoms, it’s still important to visit a hearing specialist if you have chronic tinnitus. They can work to identify the cause of your tinnitus to help come up with a management plan.
If no obvious cause can be found, they can still offer a variety of different management options to help make your condition more manageable, including:
- Acoustic therapy
- Tinnitus retraining therapy
- Hearing aids (if related to hearing loss)
To learn more or to have your tinnitus or other hearing issues examined by an expert, contact Kampsen Hearing today.