I'm a musician born with hearing issues and have used hearing devices regularly for the last 22 years. Over this time, I have been given an education I didn’t ask for, but as a musician navigating the world of hearing, an education I definitely needed.
With recent advancements I’m starting to feel less like I have a hearing disability and more like I’m ahead of the curve.
When it comes to hearing aids and devices, I have witnessed amazing technological progress over the last 20 years. The improved sound quality, the expanded settings and connection to Bluetooth makes me feel augmented. With my hearing aid, I can hear frequencies that most musicians my age can't. In some ways I can hear better with the device than I would if I could suddenly have normal hearing for my age.
As mentioned earlier, tinnitus is very often the first sign of upper register hearing loss. When we are talking about using technology to reduce tinnitus, hearing aids can be one of the most effective tools we have.
If you are a musician experiencing tinnitus, seeing an audiologist and getting a hearing test are first priority. If the tests show hearing loss and the audiologist suggests hearing aids, you should listen with an open mind.
That being said,
I'm also a certified Iyengar yoga instructor and have been studying both music and yoga for more than 35 years.
I've always felt that there was a similarity between the two. I often compare my yoga practice to music and my music practice to yoga. When it comes to my hearing issues and tinnitus in particular, I've found the practice of yoga to be not just helpful, but integral to my ability to manage the challenges of tinnitus.
You’ve likely heard of the term “phantom pain”.
It’s the sensation of feeling or pain someone gets in a part of the body that has been removed. One of the most common forms of phantom pain is the feeling of being unable to unclinch the fist on an amputated hand. Sufferers of this disease can feel tremendous discomfort and even pain, but of course, there’s no physical way to fix a hand that isn’t there. It’s obvious that this feeling is coming from the mind. It’s like that same miscommunication between the ear, brain and mind mentioned earlier, only in this case between the hand, the brain and the mind.
There’s a connection between this phenomena and the way we as tinnitus sufferers perceive and can handle our problem.
For those of us with upper register hearing loss who suffer tinnitus (this would be the majority of us) for the most part, we are hearing a phantom sound. It only really exists somewhere between the brain and the mind.
When it came to phantom pain of the missing hand, the ingenious procedure to cure this seemingly impossible issue was to use a mirror reflection of the other hand to fool the brain into believing the amputated hand was there, then the mind could unclinch the non-existent fist (by clinching and opening the existing reflected hand).
It's sometimes difficult to believe that the simple act of changing the perception of sensation can have such a direct effect on physical experience. Nothing physical has actually changed. The only real change is the mind's relationship to the body.
Going back to all of the "quick fixes", (the tapping, the cupping, the garlic, etc) for the most part, any benefit you might experience from these practices are neurological. The companies selling these products know this. They understand that if they can convince you that it helps, then it likely will.
As many of you have guessed, this is what is known as the "placebo effect".
As mentioned earlier, "placebo effect" is an archaic term describing an extremely subtle and complex process of changing patterns of the mind.
As musicians, we know the value of practice.
We know that repetition and refinement are the methods to progress. We know that practice changes the mind. We also know that our skills as musicians will suffer if we don't continue to play and practice. You can't just take a pill to become a better musician.
When it comes to reducing the effects of tinnitus it's really the same thing.
Because tinnitus is in the mind, only the mind can control tinnitus. We can't just take a pill, we need to practice. But what exactly do we practice?
We need to practice stopping the feedback loop of stress-tinnitus-anxiety-stress...
We need to practice un-clinching the "fist" of tinnitus, thus breaking this cycle by actively redirecting the focus of the mind.
Part of this practice is the simple act of acknowledging our hearing issues.
Staying quiet, keeping these concerns to yourself, trying to hide your hearing issues only increases the chance of negative effects. There are many more musicians experiencing hearing issues and tinnitus than any of us want to admit. It is the elephant in the room and it won't go away until it is acknowledged.
This is the primary goal of The Tinnitus Manifesto.
To open the conversation, to reduce the stigma, to provide hope and real life options for those of us with hearing issues.
"It's All in the Head"
