I've received some puzzled looks over the years when mentioning that I assist people in learning to cope better with having tinnitus, a chronic ringing or buzzing of the years. Sure, most people have heard of using hypnosis to stop smoking, lose weight or overcome fears, but tinnitus?
Tinnitus itself is not a disease, but rather a symptom. It is always essential that you receive a full medical workup before trying any self-help methods since in rare instances tinnitus can be a symptom of serious medical disorder. However most of the time an exact cause cannot be pinpointed and standard medical care may have little to offer.
My own interest began quite a few years back when I was in the first certification class offered by Kevin Hogan, a noted expert and author of the highly recommended book, Tinnitus: Turning Down the Volume. Kevin himself struggled mightily with the condition and set out to learn what works when it come to tinnitus.
One of things you learn is that many people who have tinnitus are scarcely bothered by it, while for others it can be quite debilitating as it becomes their sole focus of attention. So there is an element of personal perception, which hypnosis can positively alter.
Another factor is that since there often isn't a viable medical treatment, many patients are dismissed by their doctors and told nothing else can be done and to go home and learn to live with it, without being given any guidance on how to do that. Its not hard to imagine why PANIC with a capital P sets in. The patient often wonders how are they going to function?
This stress and fear can magnify the perceived volume of the tinnitus since emotion drives attention. Its not hard to see how a vicious cycle gets started where the more you focus on the tinnitus the more stressed you become. Chances are you may have noticed that the sounds seem to become more noticeable when you tired or upset.
By releasing the emotional charge attached to the symptom, you will start to naturally shift your focus elsewhere, a process known as habituation.
An adage I subscribe to is, "if stress makes your symptoms worse, hypnosis can help."
If you would like to learn more, please give me a call at (732) 714-7040 or fill out the Life Enhancement Strategy Request Form and I will get back to you ASAP. Also, you should visit the Tinnitus NJ Help page at this website, where you can try out an introductory self-hypnosis session and read my report "Calm Your Tinnitus: The less you fear it, the less you hear it"