Welcome to this session all about tapping into your tinnitus.
I know firsthand how disruptive tinnitus can be,
So I'm sorry you're going through this right now.
But here's the good news.
It is manageable.
This is a great meditation to help you deal with it.
And if you like it,
Then please check out my courses and other tracks dedicated to tinnitus.
The course is called Sleep Tight with Tinnitus and I think you're going to love it.
Now over to the meditation.
As always,
Get yourself into a nice comfortable seat.
I want your back straight and your shoulders relaxed.
You're not going to be lying down for this one because I want you alert.
I want you paying attention and that starts with your body.
Begin to breathe in and out through your nose if you're not doing so already.
Begin to enjoy this feeling and begin to pay attention to all the details of your breath.
Notice what muscles act first to make your breath start.
Pay attention to what parts of you move when you breathe in and out.
Where can you feel your breath internally?
Can you feel it in your nose?
Your throat?
Your lungs?
Can you feel your breath in your belly?
Can you notice the sound of your inhale and exhale?
Are these two sounds different?
Is there any difference in the feeling of your inhale and your exhale as a whole?
How does your body feel just sitting and breathing?
So we're really tapped in to our breath and all the elements of it.
Noticing the subtleties that come with our breath.
Noticing how the breath feels,
Where we feel it and how the mechanism of the breath works.
With this mindfulness muscle cultivated,
Let's turn it towards our ears.
Let's begin to tap into our tinnitus.
Start by focusing in on the sound.
You may want to notice first where you hear the sound.
Where exactly in the ear do you hear it?
You don't have to name the body part.
Just imagine you're pointing to it with your mind.
Is it at the front of the ear?
Is it towards the eardrum or is it deep inside the ear canal?
Maybe you feel it all the way in your brain.
Full disclosure,
I feel mine pretty close to my temples.
Now that you've pinpointed it in its locality,
Can you pay attention to the pitch of it?
Is it high pitched?
Is it a hum?
Is it a whoosh?
Or is it a ringing?
Maybe it's more like crickets.
Whatever it is,
I can guarantee that it's something and it's somewhere.
I can also guarantee that someone somewhere has the same sound in their ears or more specifically in their brain.
Again,
Since we're sharing,
Mine is a high pitched sound,
A ringing.
Explore what yours is.
All right,
So we have locality,
We have the pitch.
Now take note of how loud it is.
Now that's not always easy to gauge without a reference point,
So notice once again the sound of your breath and even make your breath a little bit louder just to give you a reference point.
Then notice how much louder the tinnitus is against your breath.
You can also use my voice as a reference point.
So we now have a locality,
A pitch,
A pattern and even a volume of your tinnitus and although tinnitus is common,
This is your special tinnitus.
It is your companion,
At least for a while,
So let's get to know it.
You know that your tinnitus is just your brain trying to help you out.
It's not designed to annoy you or upset you,
It's not a curse on you,
It's not a punishment for past indiscretions,
It's also not a sign of anything dangerous.
It is simply your brain trying to fill in a sound it can no longer hear.
It's a gesture from your brain.
It's just another experience in your life.
See if you can thank your brain for trying to help you,
Bringing in a sense of gratitude for what your brain is trying to do for you.
Thinking in your head or out loud,
Thank you brain,
I appreciate you.
Now I want you to focus strictly on your tinnitus.
Not my voice,
Not the ambient sounds in the room,
Just on your tinnitus.
Keep focusing on where you hear it,
The pitch,
The pattern,
The loudness.
Not what your tinnitus means,
Not the narrative that comes with it,
The very strict experience of your tinnitus,
How it occurs right here and right now.
I want you to have an honest moment with your tinnitus.
See what exactly it is,
Independent of the thoughts of your future or what it means.
Pay attention to it and nothing else.
Over to you.
Now an interesting thing will begin to happen if it hasn't already.
Your brain is beginning to get bored of your tinnitus and so your brain starts to search out other thoughts and sounds.
Pretty cool,
Right?
Now I want you to pay attention to these other sounds with the same curiosity that you pay to your tinnitus.
Begin to notice any ambient sounds in the room.
See if you can hear sounds in the foreground,
The very apparent sounds.
And now begin to pay attention to the sounds that are a little more subtle.
Can you begin to hear natural sounds,
Things made by nature itself?
That includes your breath,
Your heartbeat,
Maybe birds cheeping.
And then can you pay attention to man-made sounds?
Things like cars,
Planes,
The fridge,
Doors opening and closing.
Notice that all these things are happening at the same time as your tinnitus.
Your tinnitus is just another data point,
Another bit of input for your hearing.
Nothing more,
Nothing less.
It's nothing to be worried about,
Nothing to be angry at.
It's just another sound.
Take a deep breath in as you acknowledge your tinnitus and as you exhale out,
Accept your tinnitus.
Deep breath in,
Acknowledge your tinnitus,
Relaxing exhale as you accept your tinnitus.
Inhale in,
Acknowledge your tinnitus,
And last exhale out,
Accept your tinnitus.
You can slowly come out of that meditation now.
I hope that's helped you see that there's nothing to worry about,
There's nothing to fear,
There's nothing to be angry about.
This is just a life experience you're going through.
In many ways,
It's a gift.
Begin to treat it that way,
And ironically,
It'll start to go away.
