Exercise and the Tinnitus

Exercise. ( Definition courtesy of Google )

1.
activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness.
“exercise improves your heart and lung power”
Exercise has been a key part of my life. Only in the last few months have I realised all the running that I have done has been my way of not hearing my Tinnitus.
I have made a concerted effort over the last 18 months to train consistently and this year 2019 I have been doing between 6 -10 hours a week, mixed up with running, swimming, weights, circuits and spin or cycling.
Last week I swam for 56 minutes in the sea. The drive home was 40 mins and it was only on the motorway it dawned on me I was in complete head silence. The ringing was there: yet it was not. It was really quiet.
I had the revelation that the running and the exercise masks the noise for me. I am not aware of the noise when I “exercise”
The last 2- 3 months I have really had a marked change in the Tinnitus. I have been applying 4 main rules:
Exercise daily.
Do my breathing exercise via the app called: State
Go to bed at the same time (or as close to as possible) every night
Spend some time in silence, listening to a form of relaxation cd.
The results have been marked.
The noise is there. Yet it has for 90% of the day been so much better.
Also over the last few weeks I have been doing a CBT course about living with invisible illness. There has been certain tips and tricks in this course that have really helped me such as pacing my day and time, so as not to exhaust myself, reworking my thoughts and not paying attention to the ringing.
I had my first appointment at the NHS tinnitus clinic and it was an amazing thing to sit there and say that the noise was simply not as annoying, my sleep was better and in general I feel so much better in me and my head.
The key point I took from the NHS tinnitus clinic was:
Stop paying attention to the noise. We laughed in the meeting as I track the weather, the food I eat, the coffee I drink, the exercise I do on a daily basis. Simply it was suggested to me that I am putting myself back into the “tinnitus” space every time I open up my Tinnitus tracking excel sheet.
For the last 9 days I have not opened the excel sheet once. Have I missed it – Not at all. Have I thought about it – Yes I have.
Have I felt better – – Oh yes I have.
Lessons learnt::
Exercise works for me.
The breathing “state” App works for me. I am not affiliated to the app in any way. So I am simply saying it works for me.
A routine around bed works for me.
Learning to sit in silence and meditate works for me.
Barbera as I call my tinnitus is just with me at the moment and I am accepting she is there.
One of the key things I have experienced is what I took from the Tinnitus Insomnia Research study I was lucky enough to participate in at UCL London. This project is supported by the British Tinnitus Association.  This research study helped me in so many ways.
I would recommend anyone with Tinnitus and any Insomnia related issue to the Tinnitus to apply for this and learn if you can participate.
Thanks to UCL London, the NHS Tinnitus clinic and the BTA for funding the London study.
Onwards and upwards.
#barbera

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.