Take a pen and paper and write down all the negative aspects which could have contributed to your tinnitus. Be honest with yourself, even if it means owning up to some bad habits and less than ideal behaviors. Here is a possible list to start you off. Feel free to look at your own experiences and add to this. Don’t be scared! You don’t need to share it with anybody else (unless you want to!)

Relationship crisis,
Marital Stress,
Drug and prescription medication abuse
Loud noises,
Being overweight or obese,
Heavy smoking,
Lack of exercise/ sedentary lifestyle,
High cholesterol,
High blood sugar levels
High blood pressure
Lack of sleep/ insomnia,
Personal loss/ bereavement,
Unhealthy diet,
Excessive caffeine intake,
Financial pressures/ debt,
Business or work pressures,
Unhealthy levels of stress or anxiety,
Plus anything else you can think of.

The fact is, you are not alone- millions of people around the world experience these negative aspects as a part of their life. Any one of these would be harmful enough for anybody but if you can identify with three or more from the list then tinnitus may be inevitable.

So now you have your list you now have the power to take action. Take a look at your list and consider the things on it that are in your power to change. For instance, if the above list was yours, could you give up smoking, resolve to drink less coffee, lose weight and undertake an exercise regime? Chances are your blood and cholesterol levels would automatically go down. Are there measures you could put into place to reduce your stress levels at work and at home? Could you undergo some counseling for the harder aspects of your life? Once you have challenged and changed the things that are holding you back, your mind will start to look for the positives; you will enjoy radiant health and the symptoms manifested by the negative aspects of your life (including tinnitus) will disappear.

Some things can be changed immediately with a few lifestyle adjustments. Others will require time, motivation and patience to resolve. I promise you, once you start to change your ‘list’, you will notice a reduction in your tinnitus symptoms. The more you change, the more your symptoms will lessen. They could even disappear completely.

There are some things you can change straight away and without hesitation. Other things will require great patience, lots of time and the will to change. But only you have the power to change your life through changing your mind.

I have learnt to preach to the choir in my ears. I did so because there came a time a when I realized that no one and nothing was going to rid me of my tinnitus.

Here are just a small reminder of some of the therapies I have tried in order to find some peace and quiet in my life: Acupuncture, psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, infusions, Valium, Anti-depressants, orthodontic treatment, hearing aids, masking aids, “Tinnitus Re-Training” program; the list goes on. I was asked to wear a specially designed corset to strengthen my back. I was asked to wear a brace by an orthodontic specialist. I have been advised to take Botox and now I am being advised to try a new “Herbal Tinnitus Formula” which may or may not help relieve Tinnitus. To add to all this, I spent at least six weeks in a Tinnitus clinic for rehabilitation measures. I have been off work for almost 1 year and finally lost my job due to my absence.

Written down it all looks very dramatic and all in all, a pretty long story to tell.

These are the negative aspects I had to learn to accept and forget. These elements are history and must stay that way.

The most common thing that most Tinnitus victims share is the fact we will do practically anything to get rid of the ringing in our ears. We will believe anything we are told and follow any instructions. We believe because we trust what we are hearing and we all look forward to the day when our Tinnitus is gone.

Unfortunately we are often left in despair and frustration when we realize that the above therapies don’t work and in 90 % of all cases, have to admit that our Tinnitus is going to be a part of our every day lives. This is hard to accept for anyone.

If you can established and accept this fact then you will become aware that the only way out of Tinnitus oblivion is your own strength of will. The cure lies within yourself.

Without stepping on too many toes, I must admit that the medical field did absolutely nothing to ease my Tinnitus. There are of course many theories as to why we get tinnitus and how to treat it but at the end of the day there isn’t much that common medicine can do for us.

There is away out of this hell and the only person that will make it happen is you. Ask yourself what you would do to get rid of your own Tinnitus. We have already established that we would do anything to rid ourselves of this torture.

Tinnitus can be ignored. It’s a simple trick. Like most tricks it has to be learnt and practiced.

One of my biggest dreams was learning to play the Didgeridoo. I went out and brought one and tried to teach myself to play it. After much frustration and days of trying to get a sound out of it, I finally succeeded. I got a looooong good sound out of it. It sounded really good. The only problem was that the sound diminished after 10 seconds because I had to breathe IN; the only sound that comes from a didgeridoo is when you breath OUT. The trick is something known as “circular breathing”. In other words, breathing in and out at the same time. Believe it or not, it’s possible to breathe In and OUT at the same time and still live to tell the story. However, after weeks and weeks of practice, I learnt how to master “circular breathing”.

I hope you can see the point I am trying to make. Learning to ignore Tinnitus is like learning to play the didgeridoo. It needs practice and willpower in able to succeed.

Please let me repeat this phrase once more because it is very important you understand this.

You can learn to ignore Tinnitus if you know how. Anyone can learn to ignore Tinnitus.

Your mind has been finely tuned to ignore things it doesn’t want to accept. This capability is evident in everyone alive. Think carefully, how many things do you forget or ignore because you don’t like them.

Everyday we are confronted with elements we would rather forget.

Tinnitus is another one of them. Learn to reduce its importance and concentrate more on enjoying quality time.

It’s absolutely vital you start realizing that Tinnitus is NOT a disease. You are not sick and you are not suffering from a mental disorder! You must get your life back on track again and start enjoying your life.

Tinnitus is a power that can be manipulated. Haven’t you been manipulated enough already? Isn’t it time you got yourself back into the driving seat and stated taking control again.

You can’t let something as unimportant as Tinnitus control your life. This defies all logic!

I did the same and managed to change my lifestyle completely. I stopped smoking and I lost 50 pounds in weight. I started to work out and go jogging and I stopped worrying about Tinnitus. In fact…I stopped worrying about things I couldn’t change period.

All these things I did myself with no help from anyone. I used Tinnitus as a base of energy and manipulated it to meet my own needs.

You know what? I still have the choir in my ears and it is still loud at times, but there again so is life. The only difference now is that I am the preacher and I am in control.

Happy preaching!