The tinnitus community has got a lot of questions about mindfulness, and how it can help tinnitus. You guys keep me busy! Every week I get questions through social media and email asking me to explain a bit more about how mindfulness can help tinnitus sufferers. I love answering these as I am more than a little bit enthusiastic about mindfulness!
Here’s a roundup of my answers to the most common questions I get asked. So if you want to know
- how mindfulness helps with tinnitus distress
- details of the research that confirms this, and
- information about the mindfulness course I created from scratch to help the tinnitus community,
then keep reading!
What has mindfulness got to do with tinnitus?
A lot actually, especially if you’re keen to stop tinnitus dictating how you sleep, how you concentrate, how you work, and how you life your life.
Says who?
Scientific research for starters. It has shown that mindfulness can make a big difference to people struggling with tinnitus:
1. A systematic review of research on mindfulness and tinnitus found that mindfulness-based interventions resulted in a decrease in tinnitus distress scores.
Read this research by Maaike M. Rademaker, Inge Stegeman, Krysten E. Ho-Kang-You, Robert J. Stokroos, and A. L. Smit here
2. Research has shown that Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Tinnitus (MBCT-t) is an effective treatment for debilitating tinnitus. This research has enabled changes in clinical practice which have led to:
- significant, long-term reductions in tinnitus severity
- improved quality of life for patients
- decreased patient re-referral rates to ENT/Audiology.
Read this research by Laurence McKenna, Elizabeth Marks and Florian Vogt here
Tinnitus sufferers agree with the scientists:
Here are just a few comments from my clients, which confirm what the scientists say:
“When I first met Lisa my Tinnitus was controlling my life and it was at the center of everything I did making my quality of life really poor. Lisa changed my outlook completely and gave me a more positive mindset to be able to cope better with my Tinnitus. I am eternally grateful for the help and support Lisa gave me from day one, I simply wouldn’t be in the position I am in now without it.”
CB, MBCT Client
“I had tried mindfulness on my own, but I hadn’t really worked out how it would help me with my struggle with tinnitus. Lisa is such a sympathetic listener, and her responses are insightful and questioning. I have started to understand that if you can get a handle on your reaction to your tinnitus, you are on the way to being yourself again, and this course has set me on my way.”
DB, Mindfulness Client
“I’m beginning to see tinnitus as a part of my life rather than as defining who I am. I am beginning to incorporate it into my life and minimize its power. I would recommend Lisa’s program to anyone struggling with tinnitus. Her program offered a compassionate, safe space to learn how to incorporate mindfulness into daily life.”
WL, Mindfulness Client
You can read more comments from my clients here
How can mindfulness help tinnitus sufferers like me?
I have been practising mindfulness since 2005, when I became very ill and ended up having two major operations in six months. 2005 is also when my tinnitus journey began. One month after my second operation I lost the hearing in my right ear overnight and gained tinnitus in its place. My hearing never returned, and the tinnitus never left.
I became certified as a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher in 2018 specifically because I was convinced that mindfulness can help people, like me, who live with tinnitus. In 2020 I studied Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for tinnitus with Dr Hashir Aazh
The mindfulness element of my course is tailored very specifically to the experience of living with tinnitus. I can still remember vividly what it was like to feel absolutely overwhelmed by tinnitus, and I combined my personal experience with my mindfulness and CBT training to create a bespoke course for all tinnitus sufferers.
There are two core elements to the course:
- using mindfulness to improve our attention regulation. If we can improve our ability to focus away from our tinnitus and towards whatever we want to pay attention to (e.g. work, a book, the TV, conversation) then tinnitus starts to fade into the background, and we habituate to it. We try lots of different exercises to practise this. And we have fun doing so!
- recognising the important role our thoughts and emotions have in prolonging our suffering with tinnitus. We practise ways to move from fear-based reactions that cause us to be hyper-vigilant about our tinnitus towards measured, informed responses that allow us to shrug off any tinnitus worries when they arise.
How do you teach?
I teach both groups and individuals. Both teaching methods have their benefits.
When you participate in a group course you get to hear other people’s experiences and tactics. It can be incredibly reassuring to realise you are not alone in struggling with tinnitus. And the opportunity to talk to a group of people who “get” life with tinnitus is such a relief.
The 1-2-1 courses are moulded around you as an individual and your personal tinnitus experience. You have the opportunity to open up in depth about all aspects of your life, should you want to, because, let’s face it, tinnitus doesn’t just affect our concentration, its tentacles can reach into every part of our life. And, of course, the sessions take place at your convenience.
What do I need?
I’ll tell you what you don’t need first! You don’t need to meditate for 30 minutes a day (I mean, who has the time?!?). You don’t need any specific equipment. You don’t need to have ever meditated before. And you definitely don’t need to be able to sit cross-legged or in the lotus pose (if you know your yoga!). I can hear your sighs of relief from here!
All you need is a desire to stop tinnitus controlling your life, the discipline to set aside short periods of time each day for the practices, and access to Zoom on your tablet, laptop or phone.
How do I get started?
If you’re intrigued by what I have described here are a few suggestions about what to do next: