Tinnitus is a difficulty which can take us by surprise if it is experienced as a result of hearing complications or trauma. Our hearing is the sense which is often taken for granted when we are young and hearing difficulties and tinnitus are often associated with old age. We might experience tinnitus caused by hearing damage, stress, trauma and ear related diseases at any stage of life. Tinnitus manifests in the ears and is closely associated with hearing loss. In order to try and fix this issue we might consult our doctor or audiologist. These interventions can assist with tinnitus difficulties and ensure that the tinnitus is not being caused by a serious underlying health condition. Taking a medical approach to tinnitus should be your first port of call but not your only approach. There are also a number of therapeutic based approaches which can assist also. These might include a more somatic or psychological approach, self-help and possible technological intervention.
Therapies which could help you with tinnitus include:
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
Tinnitus retraining therapy is an approach which involves a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy and technological intervention. Cognitive behavioural therapy works by helping you to change your psychological response to tinnitus. A technological intervention involves various levels of tinnitus masking in the form of music or sound therapy. The combination of approaches helps with tinnitus cessation and makes tinnitus symptoms less scary and intrusive.
Cranio-Sacral Therapy – (CST)
Cranio-Sacral Therapy is a somatic therapy which might be likened to a very gentle form of osteopathy. It involves holding different parts of the body in a very gentle way to assist with various somatic and psychological difficulties. Although the techniques are very gentle this therapy is very powerful. It can help with trauma, TMJ difficulties, tinnitus, the nervous system and a wide variety of other health problems. Tinnitus caused by stress, head trauma or more generic trauma might be helped with this approach.
Tinnitus Counselling
Tinnitus counselling can assist with tinnitus if you see a therapist that is experienced with helping with tinnitus. It might involve aspects of counselling and psychotherapy, practical help and cognitive-behavioural therapy. It can also be helpful to have a space to discuss your difficulties relating to tinnitus with helpful reflection and feedback from a tinnitus professional.
Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing Therapy for Tinnitus (EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) is a psycho-somatic approach to trauma. It involves bilateral stimulation to help re-process traumatic experience. If you are experiencing tinnitus caused by trauma or suffering from PTSD symptoms as a result of tinnitus EMDR might help to alleviate some of these difficulties. PTSD and tinnitus physiological mechanisms are closely related often accentuating each difficulty. Please see our article PTSD and Tinnitus.
EMDR could also help you to reprocess your experience of the tinnitus itself making it less traumatic and intrusive. If an experience feels traumatising it is not possible to habituate to it. Many of my clients who contact me for help with tinnitus have been traumatised by it or are experiencing trauma symptoms from past events related and unrelated to tinnitus symptoms.
EMDR could also help you to reprocess your experience of the tinnitus itself making it less traumatic and intrusive. If an experience feels traumatising it is not possible to habituate to it. Many of my clients who contact me for help with tinnitus have been traumatised by it or are experiencing trauma symptoms from past events related and unrelated to tinnitus symptoms.
Re-Processing related and unrelated trauma is a much firmer bedrock to enable you to habituate to tinnitus as opposed to experiencing unprocessed trauma symptoms. This is because we EMDR helps to the past, the present and the future. If we feel traumatised by something, we can be re-triggered by it because we create a fear network that acts autonomously and independently in the brain. Processing a person’s negative or traumatic experience of tinnitus can help join this fear network to other relevant parts of the brain. This makes the experience of tinnitus less traumatic because it is no longer associated with fear. It therefore helps to reduce the negative impact of tinnitus and therefore helps with tinnitus symptoms and associated psychological difficulties.
EMDR was originally designed to assist with trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. If tinnitus was first experienced as a result of trauma, processing this trauma can assist with tinnitus.
Psychotherapy
Tinnitus symptoms can cause and be caused by difficulties relating to depression, stress and anxiety. It can be helpful to engage in an in-depth psychotherapeutic process to alleviate pressures and difficulties which might be making tinnitus symptoms worse or be responsible for causing them in the first place.
Alternative therapies
There are alternative therapies which can have an indirect effect on tinnitus which might include acupuncture and hypnotherapy. These therapies can help to alleviate stress and other factors which might be making your tinnitus symptoms worse.