Tinnitus: It’s not a Disease, it’s a Symptom!

If you have Tinnitus then you are most probably familiar with some of the most common causes.
There is a whole list of them for you to choose from.

Only when you start to analyze the known facts and their probable consequences will the whole scope of Tinnitus start to unfold.

There can be a million reasons why you have Tinnitus. Let’s take a brief look at some of the most common symptoms for tinnitus.

How many of these symptoms can you apply to yourself? Add more if you have to.

Lack of concentration,
Headaches,
Fatigue,
Social retreat,
Depressive moods,
Lack of patience,
Nervousness,
Panic attacks,
Anxiety,
Apprehension,
Stress and tension,
Lack of self confidence,
Insomnia,
Exhaustion,
Devaluation,

Other than the hearing loss which is physical, all other symptoms listed here are of a subconscious nature.

Let’s get 3 important things into perspective here. I will repeat these 3 sentences until they are tattooed into your soul.

1. Tinnitus is not a disease, it is a symptom!
2. You are not sick and you are not mentally ill. You are being warned!
3. You will defeat tinnitus if you accept it as a part of you.

As soon as you are ready to accept that the tinnitus is a part of you, the sooner you can expect to make progress.

The power of the mind is extraordinary. Think about this carefully. If tinnitus succeeded in turning your life upside down
then accept the fact that all it used to achieve misery was your own mind. That’s quite an achievement isn’t it ?
That’s how powerful your mind is. If it has the capability to make your life a complete misery then surely it can be re-programmed to do the opposite.

It’s entirely up to you. The solution lies within yourself and your ability to learn.

What do we know about the causes of tinnitus?.
Where does it have its roots?

Ever heard of social sickness? Me either. It’s a phrase that I like though.
Here in Germany it’s called “Volkskrankheit “ ( has nothing to do with cars ).

I once tried to compile a list of all elements which I suspected may have contributed to MY own tinnitus. Obviously, I listed the negative aspects of my life over a 10 year period.
Some of these things could have been avoided, most of them were linked to each other. Don’t forget, this is only a list of things that I think should be mentioned.
I’ve tried not to generalize and I’ve tried my best to stay honest, even if it means confessing to some bad sins.
To be perfectly honest it’s not as dramatic as it looks. It just looks outrageous when written down!

Marital Stress,
Heavy smoking,
Drug and medication abuse, (i.e. Valium, Marijuana, Cocaine)
Relationship crisis,
unhealthy eating habits,
Loud noises,
Lack of exercise,
High cholesterol,
High blood sugar rate,
Personal loss,
Caffeine addiction ( coffee and cola )
Lack of sleep,
Financial Problems,
Overweight,
Business pressures,
Inclination to worry about everything.

So ……. there we have it.
It looks terrible I know. The worst thing is that I am one of millions who used to live like this. If you can’t identify with anything written on this list then you shouldn’t have tinnitus. Any one of these elements on their own would be harmful enough for any person.

Combine them and you’re left with a time bomb waiting to explode.

So now we have two lists. The first one above describes the symptoms and the second one describes possible causes. If you look carefully at the causes it won’t take much imagination to conjure up a "symptom list" like the one above. What else do you expect?.

I dare you…………Take a pen and paper…write down your own "bad list". Be absolutely honest and write down all the things that you aren’t proud of or maybe would rather forget. Write down all the things you would like to change if you had a magic wand. ( My bad list is there for everyone to see. You can hide yours :o)

By the way, you don’t have to have tinnitus to create a list like mine. I would be willing to bet that EVERYONE can come up with a list similar to mine. I say only similar because I know that not everyone is overweight, or smokes or tried drugs.

Think carefully about what you are reading on your list. If you are very honest, you will find that you don’t need a magic wand to shorten this list. The only person on this planet that can change this list to something to be proud of is YOU!

I consider myself to be lucky. Tinnitus gave me a chance to re-shuffle my life

Once more………Don’t forget….

1. Tinnitus is not a disease, it is a symptom.
2. You are not sick and you are not mentally ill. You are being warned!
3. You will defeat tinnitus if you accept it as a part of you.

After an "auditory crash " two years ago which left me with a temporary loss of all hearing I had no other choice than to take action.

I’ve been looking for an English Term for the German word  Hörsturz. In fact this term is made of 2 words.
Hör (to hear ) and Sturz ( to crash ). I find this a fitting term 

Anyway this "Auditory Crash" of hearing lasted almost 2 days at the most and thanks to my doctor, I was up and about a week later.
After reading many books and collecting all the information I could find, I decided to take action. I didn’t know it then, but the decision to cut out everything that was harming me probably saved my life.

Did you already write down your own list ?. If not….let’s imagine this is your list.

Where do you start?

There are some things you can change straight away and without hesitation. Other things will require great patience, lots of time and the will to change.

"Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place you start" ( Richard Rodgers 1902 – 1979 )

Once more………Don’t forget….

1. Tinnitus is not a disease, it is a symptom.
2. You are not sick and you are not mentally ill. You are being warned!
3. You will defeat tinnitus if you accept it as a part of you.

Tinnitus – Causes and Treatment

What is Tinnitus:

Tinnitus is a symptom and not a condition in itself.  Tinnitus describes the symptom of being able to hear things which nobody else can, although in a rare number of cases, this isn’t true.  Tinnitus is a very common condition with approximately 10% of the population suffering from Tinnitus to one degree or another.  It is most commonly found in elderly people although it is becoming much more widespread in the younger population.  Also, Tinnitus can be found in one or both ears or sometimes it feels like it is coming from the middle of your head.

The Symptoms of Tinnitus:

Tinnitus is most commonly found in elderly people although possibly due to the different lifestyles it is becoming much more common in younger people now.  Maybe this is due to the fact that people are living in noisier environments today.

The sounds which are heard vary from patient to patient.  Some patients hear a musical tone, although most patients hear something which sounds more like a hissing or whistling or a buzzing or a ringing noise.  For a lot of patients, it is more of an inconvenience and doesn’t affect their daily lives although for a number of patients, it is so bad that they need some kind of treatment to relieve the symptoms.

The Causes of Tinnitus:

Tinnitus is caused by damage to the nerves in the inner ear (cochlea).  These nerves transmit electrical impulses to the brain which the brain then interprets as sounds.  When these nerves are damaged, the signal becomes distorted.  When this distorted signal gets to the brain, the brain interprets it as a noise which is Tinnitus.

In elderly people, it is seen as part of growing older and is called presbyacusis.  However, in younger people medical professionals believe it is due to be exposed to loud noises.

There are other causes of Tinnitus as well which include Anemia – where the thin blood rushes around the body so quickly that it can cause a sound.  Excessive wax in the ear can also cause tinnitus.  Menieres Disease which is a condition affecting balance can also have a side effect of Tinnitus.  Some drugs both legal and illegal can cause Tinnitus as the body reacts to them.

The Treatment of Tinnitus:

For most patients, there is no cure for Tinnitus.  Most treatments simply relieve the symptoms by masking the cause of Tinnitus.

Tinnitus is sometimes strongly related to the patients level of stress.  By managing this level of stress via the use of sedatives, tranquilizers or anti-depressants, the symptoms of tinnitus can be relieved.

Some drugs which affect the conduction of electrical impulses in the affected nerves have been found to relieve the symptoms of stress.

There are a number of self help measures which patients can employ either on their own or in tandem with any assistance that a doctor can prescribe.  These include listening to soothing music on a personal stereo before the patient goes to sleep.  There are white noise generators which can mask the noise inside your head.  This means that you can’t hear the noise generated by tinnitus.