By Keith Beasley
I have been a tinnitus sufferer for many years but have never felt happy with the various explanations that have been put forward to explain it. Whilst accepting that the condition in some people may have a purely physical cause, I remain convinced that it is nearly all 'in the mind'. Some years ago I started monitoring my condition and developed a theory as to how my tinnitus occurs. This 'model' I offered to other 'sufferers' through this web site. The feedback I received was overwhelmingly supportive of the theory which I thus continue to present on these pages . . . in the hope that others will share the benefit that I have received as a result of this understanding.
Having read these ideas I hope that you will give them due consideration and perhaps even come to see Tinnitus as a helpful friend on your path through life!
My tinnitus is not the only physical symptom that I regularly suffer from. I find that when my tinnitus is bad then so are the following:
* Dry eyes: I wake up with eyes that are nearly glued together with some form of gungy secretion. During the day my eyes will often feel uncomfortably dry.
* Catarrh: I wake up with a blocked nose which can be very difficult to clear. I'll often need a good half an hour on waking to 'clear my tubes' - e.g. a good cough and spit! The more intense the tinnitus the more easily catarrh develops and more difficult to clear it.
* Dry, flaking skin: after prolonged intense tinnitus (2 or 3 weeks) I sometimes notice that the skin on some of my fingers becomes sore.
* Jabbing kidneys often accompany the worse periods of tinnitus.
It seems reasonable that these symptoms have the same cause!
It is acknowledged that stress can make tinnitus worse. Why should this be? The indication is surely that one of the triggers or symptoms of stress is also a trigger for tinnitus. Since both relate to mental activity, one could conclude that it is the mental state of a stress sufferer than causes tinnitus.
I have been conscious of my tinnitus since I started trying to 'sort myself out' - i.e. to work hard on my personal self development. It seems to me that the more effort I put into changing my bad habits, to improving my attitude to others or otherwise developing my philosophy of life, then it is during and immediately after such effort that the tinnitus is at its most severe.
When going through a particular mental 'reprogramming' (e.g. accepting that accountants are only doing their job and are quite nice people really), there will typically be two distinct phases: First there will be an attempt to understand - a logical reasoning as to what the reality of the situation is: logical thought so the tinnitus is very much in the left-hand side. Then there will be an integration of ideas - new concepts compared with old ones. This is more getting the over-view (my model of life) into a single, self consistent picture: this involves intuitive thought so usually corresponds to tinnitus by the right ear.
I believe that tinnitus is quite literally the 'sound' of the brain working. I don't mean day-to-day working, like doing sums or working out the shopping list, but deeper thinking. The sort of brain activity that results from asking fundamental questions like "What am I doing here?", "What's the point?". Such questions or other issues to which there is no simple answer and which can, quite literally, affect how we live, will mean that all areas of the brain will probably be accessed. Questions without simple answers that often go 'round and round' in the mind.
Similarly many of us have 'mental blocks' - particular subject areas (e.g. platonic friends of the opposite sex, fear of spiders, etc.) which we cannot bear to talk about. Psychologists tell us that these often relate to bits of memory that we isolate and that the brain will go to extra-ordinary lengths to stop us experiencing that memory. These are all examples of where the brain is not working freely, of where thoughts are self perpetuating or otherwise not actually getting anyway - or doing so very slowly. It is this intense brain activity that is tinnitus.
The working brain we now know to be a complex matter involving significant electro-chemical activity. The more intense the brain activity the more intense the chemical reactions: and the louder the tinnitus.
All chemical reactions result in by-products. The reaction occurring in the brain is no exception. An 'engaged' brain will use a lot of energy and create a lot of waste - this we experience as catarrh, dry eyes, etc. Similarly the brain will be using up certain chemicals at a higher rate than usual - perhaps this includes Calcium and explains why my skin is not as healthy as it might me during excessive tinnitus periods. Likewise kidneys are related to the elimination of waste - and will often 'play up' when we're struggling to 'let go' of bad habits and old ideas . . all part of the same pattern.
I no longer regard tinnitus as something we suffer from. Like many other aches and pains it is one of our bodies ways of communicating with us. The position and intensity of the tinnitus, when taken with other signs (like extent of catarrh, whether I'm worried about a current relationship, etc.) tell me - if I listen - my state of mind. It helps me gauge my progress at becoming more self confident and aware.
Treatment of tinnitus is thus not a matter of treating the physical symptoms but, like holistic medicine generally, of finding ways of tackling the root cause - of treating mind, body (and soul) together. If tinnitus has come about because our minds have got stuck in a rut, then to reduce the effect we need to get out of the rut - to dissolve the mental blocks and get our mind working freely. I have two approaches to this:
1. Face up to facts and get your problems out into the open: read, write, pain, scream, walk - whatever you can to release the issue. My own favourites are Morris dancing and long, totally honest and open, letters to real friends. It all helps to relieve the pressure.
2. Reiki. This alternative therapy is excellent for any condition, but is particularly suitable for tinnitus and it's causes. Reiki is the 'Universal Life-force Energy' and is increasingly becoming accepted as complementary to both conventional medicine and to other alternative therapies. Working with a trained healer, this energy can work directly on your mental blocks. During my own first treatment, I felt a 'chili bean' in my brain - a very small area of intense energy: my mental block literally being zapped away by the Reiki energy. The following day at work, issues that would have got me annoyed had no effect whatever!
You can learn the basics of Reiki treatment in a weekend course and treat yourself. This is what I am now doing. My experience of applying it to the tinnitus is as follows:
Say the tinnitus is around the left ear. The Reiki healing hands would be held again the side of the head closest to the sound. Gradually this area will heat up as the energy goes in. The hot area then extends to encompass the site of the tinnitus. Gradually the mental block causing the tinnitus will be dissolved by the energy and the tinnitus will stop.
WARNING: The process does not end when the Reiki treatment itself stops. Although the mental block may have been removed, the brain now has a lot of processing to do. Tinnitus may remain whilst the related 'reprogramming' takes place. This may take hours, days or even weeks. Whatever Reiki has been used to treat it will often release toxins from the body and could result in cold type symptoms. You are normally advised to drink a lot to help flush the toxins (re-programming by-products?) out of the system. I often find I feel light-headed immediately afterwards and may not be quite 'with-it' for some days.
I see tinnitus as a sign of wrong programming (e.g. due to social or family conditioning). To eliminate it is likely to be a long job and requires considerable will power. Seen as part of finding peace and purpose to life, however, it is a very worthwhile objective. Reiki tackles the root cause of tinnitus.
Based on careful observation of the progression of my own tinnitus a theory has been developed which fits my own experiences. This theory helps me to accept the ringing in my ears and to use it as a positive tool in my personal self development. Since writing this piece I have received many messages supporting the theory. It is also becoming clear that the same ideas and treatment may also apply to allergies and addictions - the answer is not to avoid things that cause such physical problems but to face them and determine their root cause . . often a bad memory or an imposed, unrealistic, view of life. Clear these from our minds and our bodies will be cleared of their dis-ease. No quick fix, I'm afraid - decades of conditioning is likely to take months or years to clear. But freedom from the likes of tinnitus has to be worth the effort!
Thank you for your interest.
Keith
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