“Reaction to tinnitus sound is connected to a personal’s emotional processing system.” So says Dr. Fatima Husain in an article included in this month’s Hearing Journal. People afflicted with tinnitus often complain of it’s disruptive effects, going so far as to say it’s presence can affect their day to day life as well as their mental health.
Fatima says, however: “In one fMRI study, we investigated the differences in emotional processing between participants with mild tinnitus and those who rated their tinnitus as being more bothersome… Notably, the participants also had different physical activity levels.”
Exercise, physical activity, might have an effect on not only tinnitus, but on a person’s ability to deal with its symptoms.
Other Types of Exercise
Though physical exercise is often helpful, certain relaxation techniques might be just as beneficial.
According to Widex, exercises ranging from deep breathing to progressive muscle relaxation to guided imagery can have a positive effect on your tinnitus symptoms and their manifestations. They outline the different approaches on their website.
Tinnitus.org.uk also has a whole self help list which includes (in addition to regular exercise) meditation, diet, and personal contact. “If your mind is occupied with something absorbing, it is easier to forget about the tinnitus.”
Retraining and Management
Tinnitus can be disruptive and hard to deal with, especially when you take into account the amount of work that can go into brain retraining, but there’s no doubt that with a few lifestyle changes, its treatment might become a little more manageable than you would initially imagine.