Tinnitus can impact all areas of life. It can be really difficult for people with tinnitus not only to manage the symptoms, but also to manage the psychological side effects. There are many ways that therapy can help people living with tinnitus find a way to live a fulfilled and quality life.

Learning and implementing mindfulness practices can improve daily management of tinnitus symptoms. 

Mindfulness skills can improve stress management, decrease anxiety, manage depression symptoms, improve sleeping difficulties, and help relationship difficulties. Tinnitus can be managed in a positive way when people learn and practice mindfulness daily.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a non-judgmental approach to life that is gradually cultivated throughout a person’s life after it is learned in therapy. The goal of mindfulness practices is to help people focus on and live in the present moment to reduce both anxiety and depression.

Over time, people who practice mindfulness learn to willfully shift their attention to better manage stress and emotions. Mindfulness has been found to be extremely helpful for many disorders, including tinnitus, by numerous research studies.

How does mindfulness help tinnitus?

People with Tinnitus who practice mindfulness report an improvement in psychological side effects as well as improved quality of daily functioning.

Mindfulness training can help to improve the overall well-being of people living with tinnitus by improving their ability to manage daily stress.

As we’ve noted before, there is a high correlation between tinnitus and stress. Through mindfulness training, people can learn to recognize the signs of stress and exacerbation taking over their ability to manage their tinnitus. It can help people to learn to live in the present with moment-to-moment awareness through inner relaxation skills.

Mindfulness can also help people accept their tinnitus diagnosis and conquer the anxiety they may feel about having the condition.

Laura Lebovitz

LLebovitz@ GROWcounseling.com