There is a meeting of the Jersey Shore Tinnitus Support Group scheduled for this Saturday, September 9 at 11 AM in Point Pleasant Beach in the conference room at my office.

This is an opportunity to give and receive support and coping tips. There is no fee to attend but preregistration is requested which you can do by sending me an email at james@njhypnotist.com- I will send you a set of directions when you do.

I hope all is well and hope to hear from you soon.


Best wishes,

James Malone

P.S. There are some free resource on stress relief for tinnitus you can access at
https://www.njhypno.com/tinnitus-nj-help

Traveling with Tinnitus Tips

This is the time of year where many of us have travel plans. For someone with tinnitus or chronic ringing/buzzing of the ears there are specific concerns related to travel so as to not make your situation worse.

Over the years I have been a volunteer for the American Tinnitus Association, organizing support meetings and make myself available to offer  coping tips to those in need. Generally the advice is to protect yourself without becoming prisoner to your symptoms. In other words, live your life around your life and not the tinnitus.

For example, if you enjoy rock concerts or riding motorcycles go ahead and do so but make sure you wear adequate hearing protection.

 Another potential trigger for a tinnitus flare-up is flying due to the changes in barometric pressure. Some ENT's suggest using decongestants to make sure your Eustachian tubes are open and there also pressure equalizing earplugs you may wish to consider using. (I wrote more extensively on this topic in this Tinnitus Coping Tip post) 

Recently I received a note from someone who connected with me previously for advice regarding travel and tinnitus and she agreed to let me share the contents with you. 

Hi Jim,

I wrote to you a few months ago regarding my concern about flying with Tinnitus. While I still haven't been brave enough to step on a airplane, I did decide to go on a cruise. I was really concerned about how the wind on the boat might affect my Tinnitus. Also, I have mild hyperacusis and as a result, I don't enjoy being in loud places. 

I am happy to report that I had a great time. The wind on the ship didn't bother me at all. I chose a cabin that was on a floor with cabins above it and below it, so it was very quiet. Some of the entertainment was ear piercingly loud, including the main swimming pool during the day, so I either stayed away or just kept waking thru those venues on the ship. I also carried ear plugs in my pocket, just in case. While there were things I wasn't able to attend, I didn't feel the least bit deprived. Instead, I celebrated the fact that I could go and do most things on the ship. I even went on a glass bottom boat excursion!  But, ear plugs during the muster (evacuation) drill were a must! 

I wanted to pass this on to you because I'm sure there are others with Tinnitus and hyperacusis that have wondered about cruising and how it might affect them. I really saw little to no difference in my Tinnitus during the cruise. It also probably helped that I was busy focusing on my vacation, not on my Tinnitus. I had a very successful cruise, and hope I get the opportunity to go again. 

Best regards,

JT

I believe the takeaway from this is that you got to take some calculated risks along with some prudent preparation and go out and enjoy yourself as she did, you might be pleasantly surprised. Have a great summer! 

P.S. I have some free self-help resources on my Tinnitus NJ Help page you may wish to check out. If you feel you may benefit from more intensive private sessions, they are available too. You can connect by calling (732) 714-7040 or filling out the Life Enhancement Strategy Form and I will get back to you ASAP. 

Free Tinnitus Stress Relief Class on 4/1

On Saturday, April 1 at noon, I will be hosting a free stress management class specifically for people who are learning to cope with tinnitus. It will be held in the 2nd floor conference room at my office building in Point Pleasant Beach. 

For some individuals the chronic ringing or buzzing of the ears can be a very stressful situation to deal with. Over time, it can have severe impact on your quality of life causing irritability and difficulty with concentration. 

Like with any new or upsetting symptom, it is important to first received a thorough medical examination to rule out any serious and or treatable underlying causes of the tinnitus. Often patients are referred to audiologists for evaluation and treatment as well. 

While its important to avail yourself to the best medical and audiological treatment you can access, self-care measures that include using stress management techniques can be helpful too. Stress and anxiety tend to increase the perceived volume of tinnitus and keep you focused on it. Many authorities such as the American Tinnitus Association recommend learning relaxation methods as a complementary coping tool. 

Yet it can be challenging to learn mind/body healing techniques on your own without some initial guidance. 

At the upcoming class you will have an opportunity to have firsthand experience with several intentional relaxation techniques including:

• Mindfulness meditation.
• The emotional detox technique.
• Guided self-hypnosis.

Although the class is free advanced registration is required due to limited seating. Sign up through the link below:

Tinnitus Class Registration.

Tinnitus Coping Tip #1

Tinnitus Help NJ Info

Tinnitus, a chronic ringing, buzzing or hissing in the ears, can be a challenging and stressful condition to have. The medical community has little to offer in the way of a treatment and quite frequently patients are told to, "go home and learn to live with it," without receiving any specific guidance on how to do that-which causes many people to panic.

In this and comings posts I am going to share some observations regarding effective coping tips that I have come across in my experience as both a professional hypnotist who teaches stress reduction skills as well as someone who has facilitated support groups for people learning to adjust to tinnitus.

First of all its important to note that the experience of tinnitus is comprised of two basic components: the sensory signal and your response to it.

Since tinnitus is not truly sound (a vibration carried on airwaves) logic tells us that it is generated somewhere within the sensory apparatus that processes sound: the ears, otic nerve and the brain.

At the risk of oversimplification, somewhere along that chain, a nerve is misfiring and that is being misinterpreted by your consciousness as being a sound.

At the present moment, the medical community does not have a way of mitigating those unwanted signals.

So for now it is important to focus on what you can control-your response to the signal. Which brings us to:

Tip # 1 Using sound to your advantage: its a known that the human mind can only attend to a certain amount of stimuli at one time.

For example, if you had a pounding headache and all of a sudden a hungry looking tiger walked into the room, trust me you would completely forget about the headache for the time being!

A more commonplace example is when someone is enjoying herself and forgets all about her aches and pains for the time being.

Many people with tinnitus report that the sounds seem to become louder when they have nothing to do or when they try to fall asleep. This is probably because there has been a reduction in competing stimuli-rather than an increase in the actual volume of the tinnitus. Sort of how a candle can seem very bright in a dark room, yet it would be hard to tell if that candle were even lit if it were outside on a bright day.

Experiment with a variety of background sounds you find soothing and/or interesting, having them play at around 90% of the perceived volume of the tinnitus. This can give your attention somewhere else to go.

I've heard of a DIY version of a "sound pillow" where you put the earbuds from an iPod type device between the pillow and the case to help the transition from sleep to waking.

That's it for this time. Make sure you be on the lookout for future tips in future editions of the Creative Calm Newsletter. Also please feel free to connect with your questions as I'm here to help! A free, confidential phone consultation is available, call (732) 714-7040.

Hypnosis for Tinnitus Stress Relief

I just posted a new video on how hypnosis can help alleviate the distress of tinnitus.

Tinnitus and the Brain

I don't know if you had caught this recent story from the University of Iowa regarding tinnitus.

Apparently there was a 50 year old man who had electrodes implanted in his brain to control his epileptic seizures. This gentleman also has tinnitus and agreed to allow researchers to study his tinnitus experience using sophisticated brain imaging technology.

It was discovered that his tinnitus did not only involve the parts of the brain that process sound as was previously believed, but also the areas that process emotion, memory and attention. 

Although this research involved only a single subject, it does raise some interesting questions as to what exactly goes on in the brain to produce the sensations that are perceived to be sounds, but actually aren't.

From my perspective it seems to validate the idea that decreasing your stress levels can quite possibly make having tinnitus less bothersome and easier to ignore. 

A link to the article referenced can be read by clicking here

If you have any questions regarding how hypnosis, mindfulness meditation and other stress relief techniques can help you, a free, confidential telephone consultation is available by calling (732) 714-7040.