The definition of tinnitus is that it’s a sound that we hear within the head or within the ears, you may hear it in one ear or two ears, but it’s a sound that nobody else can hear because it’s internally generated. So tinnitus sounds are variable. For some people, it might be a ringing tone, a buzzing tone, a roaring sound, a clicking sound, a squashing, popping. Honestly, it could be any form of sound. Tinnitus could be a mechanical sound coming from moving parts within your body around your jaw, your inner ear bones, or your eustachian tube or your sinuses, or the tinnitus sounds could be more of a neurological sound, which is like a static sound or a shh sound or a cicada sound that is coming from very active biology within your body that you’re able to hear.
Tinnitus will not hurt you, tinnitus is normal. Nine in 10 people are aware of their tinnitus and can hear it when they’re in a quiet environment. Only three to 30% of people are very bothered by their tinnitus or it’s having a very debilitating, impactful, stressful impact on their life. But the good news is it’s reversible. So if the tinnitus has become an anxiety-producing event, therefore, making it more intense, louder, more prominent, more present more often, tinnitus is reversible. And that actually is regardless of whether you have hearing loss. So people with normal hearing can experience their body sounds and have tinnitus. And people with very poor hearing and huge amounts of hearing loss can have no tinnitus. So it’s not directly related to hearing loss, although some people with hearing loss will say that they noticed new ear sounds, which makes sense when their hearing changes. So basically, they’re hearing the mechanics of their body differently when there’s hearing damage.
But again, whether you have normal hearing, or hearing impairment, hearing loss and hearing damage, tinnitus is reversible. It’s our relationship to it that really changes the intensity and the frequency with which we hear it. My book, Rock Steady, explains how to heal tinnitus in detail, it explains why we get stuck, and it explains that it really is a physical, mental, emotional, spiritual path to healing because it’s not linear, it’s not just a straightforward physical problem. There’s this whole person who’s worried and this whole person who’s needing support. So the Rock Steady process guides you through how to return to normal and build new neural pathways that feel and sound at peace and calm. So visit seekingbalance.com.au to learn more.
