Author: paultobey

I have devoted my life to the study of sound. I am not a physicist, a doctor, a scientist, nor an audiologist. I am a master of sound, an accomplished concert pianist. Since the age of eight, I’ve studied the relationship between the body and the vibration of musical notes. What I couldn’t have known is that one day I would deeply yearn for the one note I would never hear again – the note of “no sound.”

Perhaps the tinnitus was caused by all of those over-the-counter decongestants I was taking for my flu, or maybe it was the stress of being at the pinnacle of my performing career, or maybe it was the news that my wife, Nancy, was giving up a good paying job, or a combination thereof. Whatever it was, one night I dreamt I was sitting on an airport tarmac between two jet engines. When I woke up, I realized this noise wasn’t just a dream. It was in my head! I rolled off the bed onto the floor in a fetal position with hands over my ears.

Over the next few weeks, I begged doctors to help me. My journey of hope began with visits to family doctors, referrals, and audiologists. Weeks turned into years with more research leading my wife and me to more doctors, shamans, and dozens of healers around the world. We live in Canada, but traveled to as far away as Japan.

What started as my journey of hope turned into a dark and painful life with bouts of deep depression. The tinnitus sabotaged my music, my marriage, and sometimes my very desire to live. The worst part was that because my injury was not visible to the world, people had no appreciation or ability to feel compassion for my suffering. I felt very alone. It suddenly occurred to me that maybe Van Gogh cut off his ear to make his suffering visible to the world – not because he thought it would stop his tinnitus.

Believing no one in the world could understand my physical pain, or my emotional burden, I turned to the Internet only to find chat groups with more stories of chronic depression and misery. It became clear I wasn’t alone in my suffering, but it didn’t make me feel better about my situation. That was when my wife became the most afraid, and ordered me to stay out of the virtual company of these sufferers, and instead to stay abreast of research through the American Tinnitus Association.

I was so busy fighting the tinnitus and struggling to make it through the day, I barely noticed my wife’s struggle with my tinnitus too. I had no energy for her personal fight to keep me alive, or to fight the Canadian Hearing Association when they told me they couldn’t measure the volume of the noise I hear (higher than their instruments could measure). I had no strength to fight the audiologist who sold me “white noise/masking hearing aids” that, despite my discipline, hope, and full cooperation, didn’t work for me. I didn’t have the energy to fight other health professionals who tried to help but whose good ideas didn’t work. They got my money; I kept the tinnitus.

My last hope, or so I thought, was an audiologist and medical doctor team who specialized in treating musician’s hearing problems. Because I’m self employed, I have no drug insurance plan. Feeling for my situation, they gave me dozen packets of antidepressants. Feeling hopeful that maybe they would work, I poured the boxes out on the kitchen table. That’s when I noticed my wife’s anger and when she gave me the ultimatum: “Paul, either you choose to live your life on antidepressants, or you choose to face your disability and conquer it. If you choose to conquer it, you will live a happy life with me and Adrian [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][our son]. If you choose the antidepressants, you will miss your music and your family. It’ll all be gone.” She stood there with hands on hips and said, “You choose now, because I’m ready to live with whatever you choose.”

With my glimmer of hope turning into profound rage, I swept the table with my arm, and all the pill boxes flew around the room. My rage turned into deep sorrow for my loss of silence, and I bawled for the longest time, curled up on the floor. Nancy never came to comfort me. Maybe she knew I needed to let go of my rage. She watched standing at a distance and repeated the words “You must choose now. It’s been four years, and you have to choose what you are going to do.” I sheepishly got up knowing that I would get no sympathy from her now. This was tough love. I picked up the packets, and began to flush the pills down the toilet.

I cried all night, mourning the fact that after four years, the tinnitus wasn’t going away. I had cried many times before, but this time was different. On this night, I began to surrender to the tinnitus. I knew the tinnitus would somehow have to become my new best friend.

But I wouldn’t be doing it alone. With Nancy and Adrian by my side, my tinnitus healthcare team at the ready, a new spiritual mentor into my life, I was introduced to books about the theory of mind, body, and spirit. I kept a journal of what I ate, how I lived, and my thought processes. Over a period of time, I learned by trial and error that I could control the volume of my tinnitus by completely eliminating wheat products, milk, caffeine, yellow vegetables, pork, salt, red wine, and citrus fruits from my diet, and introducing a high-protein diet of beef and certain types of beans, plus broccoli and other green vegetables. What I eat seems to control the volume of the tinnitus. I learned that exercise, sex, meditation, and playing the piano kept my mind off of the tinnitus for long stretches of time. I learned that my negative thought processes had kept me focused and addicted to my tinnitus, and that I could actually control my thoughts to take the focus off of my tinnitus. I learned that no one else in the world was empowered to heal me, and that I would ultimately be responsible for my own healing.

Seven years later, I am a completely new person. Tinnitus has transformed my life – in very positive ways. Because of the tinnitus, I have walked an 850km pilgrimage across Spain, produced spiritual films, composed symphony music, became a certified motivational trainer, and am currently writing my first book. I am healthier, wiser, more grounded, humbled, and very grateful for my life.

Because of the tinnitus, I now teach people how to find their inner strength and use it to conquer their mind’s attachment to illness, vulnerabilities, emotional burdens, and fears. And yet, with all of my professional credits, nothing in my life’s journey comes close to my personal accomplishment of conquering my tinnitus. No, I may never experience silence again. But tinnitus now serves as a beacon in my life. It is no longer the cruel enemy that once controlled me.

As a master of sound, I can tell you that the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard is the suspended space between two musical notes – that open space of “no sound,” of silence. It’s such a great gift. But I’ve learned that other profound gifts do come, and from the strangest forms of suffering. As my loving wife once said in one desperate attempt to save my life, “It’s your choice.” And so I’ve chosen. 

For more information about Paul Tobey and Tinnitus Click Here![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Nearly a third of the population suffers from Tinnitus; ringing in the ears. And, of that third about 25% percent have it seriously enough to seek medical attention. So, for the millions of tinnitus patients; the ones who are suffering on a daily basis, the focus of this article is on you. I’ll be sharing with you an amazing secret which will control your tinnitus volume like nothing else out there. The catch is; it may just be the hardest thing you’ve ever had to learn.

It’s hard because most people do not understand even what it is that’s making your ringing louder; let alone how to deal with it. You hear it talked about all the time. Many people know the symptoms of it but, the vast majority of people have no idea how to deal with it. And, believe me, it’s your worst enemy as a tinnitus patient. What is it? What’s this dreaded monster?

STRESS!

I can feel you getting stressed out just by reading it. But, by far the #1 way to reduce your tinnitus volume is; “Get rid of your stress.”

REDUCING STRESS = REDUCING VOLUME

Why is this so hard to do? Well for starters, most people have no concept of what stress is. Most people think it’s the symptoms ie: anxiety, anxiousness, being up-tight, feeling anger, resentment etc. The truth is the symptoms are not stress. And therefore, once you learn the real definition of stress, only then can you learn to rid yourself of it. So, here’s the definition of stress…

Stress is; “The amount of energy you put into resisting your situation.”

It’snot the situation that’s causing you stress, it’s the energy you put into resisting the situation. So, how do you not resist it? Well, there’s really only 2 non-resistant choices you can make in any stressful situation and that is to either; a) accept it or b) remove yourself from the situation. Do you know how many people misunderstand this concept? Staying and fighting only makes the stress worse because you’re acting out of fear and your ego wants to win. You cannot win, especially at the expense of others.

So, let’s talk about tinnitus and stress. Tinnitus actually causes stress because of the constant ringing in your ears. The worse part about this is; when you’re stressed out your tinnitus volume goes up and you get more stressed right? That’s why tinnitus is such a hard thing because you’re constantly caught in a vicious loop of stress and constant ringing. That’s no way to live, is it?

How do you reduce the stress? Stop hating tinnitus. That’s a very hard concept for your to accept but the fact is hating tinnitus causes more stress because you’re resisting it. Don’t! Tinnitus is your friend. It’s here to tell you something about your life that you don’t already like. It’s here to tell you that you need to be taking better care of yourself. You need to be doing what you want to do instead of what others expect of you.

Acceptance of tinnitus is the key to healing. When you accept your tinnitus you will reduce the stress and anxiety that it causes and therefore you will reduce your volume. Remember, reducing stress = reducing volume. Guaranteed!

Knowing the definition of stress will help you a lot and knowing that you need to accept tinnitus will help but, it won’t give you the weapons you need to win the battle. I can’t teach you that in one email. That’s a journey you’ll need to take over a period of time. But, there’s no better time than the “now” to start anything. When it’s 2 weeks from now it will be NOW! So, it will always be now and therefore you can only start, NOW! Are you confused now?

What I’m really trying to say is this; I know you can get a handle on this thing if you just make a clear conscious choice to learning everything you can about acceptance. If you don’t try, you’ll still be completely stressed out and going crazy with Tinnitus many years from now. You don’t really want that now… do you?

The author Paul Tobey has developed a “How-To” information kit called “A Practical Guide to Tinnitus Free Living.” It comes with a beautifully edited eBook, an accompanying audio recording and an audio meditation specifically designed for Tinnitus Patients. A must have for all Tinnitus Sufferers! Check it out…

On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your tinnitus? If you rated it higher than a five, then it’s most likely that the constant ringing in the ears is interfering with your happiness, your life, and your well being.

Occurrences of tinnitus are on the rise and noise induced tinnitus seems to be the one making the most headlines, due to the expressed concern over iPods and other music related sound systems. There still seems to be quite a lack of awareness out there about the dangers of noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus.

You don’t have to look far to find evidence of that. Just walk into your nearest movie theatre and feel the noise decibels penetrate your entire body. The audio levels are very often so unnecessarily loud that it borders on noise pollution! I actually wear ear plugs when I go see movies. Most people don’t have a problem with the volume though. Well, at least not until they wake up one day with chronic tinnitus.

Though I am a huge advocate of live music, mainly because that’s what I do for a living, I’m still dismayed to see concert goers hanging out right beside the speakers! There are no warning signs that indicate “danger, close a proximity to these devices may cause hearing loss or tinnitus.” Maybe there should be a law that obliges festivals, clubs, and venue owners to promote awareness against temporary or permanent hearing loss and tinnitus caused by exposure to loud noise.

There is no cure for tinnitus. And, most insurance companies still do not recognize tinnitus as a debilitating condition and therefore will not cover medical expenses or loss of income caused by chronic suffering. However, tinnitus is often severe enough for many sufferers to seek medical attention. And, as most tinnitus patients will tell you, it is a long road ahead for anyone looking for relief from tinnitus symptoms. Finding relief can be an expensive journey. Many are spending anywhere from $100/month on anti-depressants to $2,500.00 for tinnitus retraining therapy. In many cases, patients will spend thousands more on anyone or anything that will give them promise of relief.

There has been continuous research both in the medical and scientific fields for a cure. However, I wonder how difficult it must be to compete for funding in the face of other epidemics like bird flu, aids, and rising cancer rates. How many people must suffer from tinnitus before the pharmaceutical companies spend large budgets on research? Any search on Google will reveal that millions are already suffering from tinnitus and this is a real serious global medical problem.

But, the biggest question still remains; why are we not doing more to create awareness about noise induced tinnitus? We are a socially responsible society, are we not? We properly label cigarettes, trans fat products, age-appropriate toys, movies, games and dangerous goods. It seems to me that the next step may be to lobby manufacturers to put warning labels on their audio systems and make the event producers give clear warnings at their loud events. These notices could read something like, “loud noise exposure can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss and tinnitus.”

Exactly how long will the insurance companies, manufacturers, event producers and government officials try to ignore this growing world wide epidemic? Exactly how long will it be before this collective pool of millions of people get together to affect corporate change and ask for warning labels on loud noise producing products? How long will it be before the insurance companies recognize tinnitus as a medical issue? How long will it be before the message goes out loud and clear?

Paul Tobey is a concert pianist and motivational speaker who discovered a path to healing Tinnitus without medical intervention.

How many of you remember that high pitched ringing or buzzing in your ears as you left the concert, dance or loud club gig? Unless you live under a rock I know you’ve experienced it. For the vast majority of people this is simply a temporary sensation that wears off in a few short hours or less. But for many people, especially musicians and those with prolonged exposure to loud noises, this can be a permanent and painful ordeal. I know, because I have it. It’s called “tinnitus.” And like me, it already affects an estimated 15% of the population, with the numbers growing at an alarming rate.

The focus of today’s article is on those who already have tinnitus. Because, for those that don’t have it, all you need to do for the most part is to protect your ears with ear plugs or bunched up tissue paper. Sure, there are other ways of contracting tinnitus like; over the counter medicines, viruses, nerve damage etc. But, the overwhelming cause of tinnitus is exposure to loud noise which is thankfully 100% preventable.

So, let’s say you’ve already got tinnitus. What now? Well, judging by the dozens of emails and letters that I get from tinnitus sufferers every week, most of you are having a really hard time of it. So did I! I recall my first couple of years with tinnitus as an unbelievably dark hole that I thought I’d never be able to climb out of. I completely dropped out of life and even contemplated giving up music all together. I was incredibly depressed and if you must know; even suicidal. Oh my god, as I’m writing this, I’m painfully thinking back to what it was like just getting out of bed in the morning. That is; if I even managed to get to sleep in the first place. I dare you to try sleeping with jets taking off in your head!

Thankfully though, after 7 years, I’m back! And, I’ve got some great news for you; you can win the battle against tinnitus! How did I do it? The answer to that is something that many of you won’t expect and many more of you will find hard to believe but, the cure for my tinnitus was in my “music.” Now, I’m not talking about cranking up your music as loud as you can so that it drowns out the tinnitus. Please don’t do that, it’ll make it worse. No, what I’m really talking about is; searching the depths of your soul for what it is that you really really want and focus on that instead of the tinnitus. I focused on writing and performing my music because that is what my soul wanted to do.

The distance between knowing what you were born to do and curing yourself of tinnitus is relatively short, if you know “how” to make the connection. But, here’s the catch; to what degree are you actually prepared to take your passion?

You see, you need to know exactly what your ultimate goal is. Why does that matter? Because, if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else! Adopting a goal and doing everything you can to achieve that goal can help keep you on track while everyone else is skating through life on a broken skateboard.

So, the real purpose of this lesson, and the cure for your tinnitus, is to get you focused on what you really want. Because, if you focus on what you want, instead of what you don’t want (your tinnitus), you’ll get more of what you want! Sounds simple right? Not on your life! Focusing on what you want is impossible for most people because unfortunately most people simply don’t know what they want.

How do you find out what you really want? Let’s say I’m a genie in a bottle and I can grant you any wish you want. And, this granted wish comes without limitation, without any previous negative evidence to the contrary and I’m asking you to make your wish really, really big! This answer to this question IS what you really want.

So, what’s a big goal? Well, let’s take my goal for example; I want to play Carnegie Hall. Will I ever get there? Probably, but even if I don’t, I’ve already gotten 5,000% further than if I’d never had that goal in the first place. But, getting to Carnegie Hall, even though it’s the ultimate goal, doesn’t really matter because I’m focused everyday on what I need to do to get there. You see, it’s about the “journey,” not the destination that’s important. And, I’m enjoying every minute of it.

So, the real trick to getting what you want is to adopt a big goal and learn everything you can about how to make that a reality because, if you shoot for the stars you’re at least going to hit the moon. And that, my musician friends, is how you cure your tinnitus. Choose your big goal, focus on doing everything you can to make it so and your tinnitus will disappear! The ringing may never go away but, if you’re not focused on it and you’re not aware of it, then I say “you’re cured!”

The author is Paul Tobey a professional concert pianist who discovered relief from his Ringing Ears without any medical intervention or drug therapy.

One of the biggest challenges that I hear from tinnitus (constant ringing in the ears) patients is their inability to get a good night’s sleep. I used to have this problem as well, so I am very familiar with how frustrating that is. Imagine what it might be like to sleep on a busy airport runway with jets taking off all around you. That’s what it’s like for me. For many people who suffer from this debilitating disease, they can be kept awake by constant hissing, roaring, pulsing, whooshing, chirping, whistling and even clicking sounds that interfere with their regular sleep patterns.

Unfortunately, the less sleep you get, the more your tinnitus will bother you. Why this is I’m not sure, except to know that if you’re tired it’s much harder to keep motivated and do the things you need to do to keep your mind off tinnitus. I do know, however, that it’s very important to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night in order to avoid what often feels like an increase in the tinnitus volume.

So, how do you get a good night’s sleep? That’s really a 2 part question because first you have to get to sleep and then you have to stay asleep. I can’t tell you the number of times that tinnitus would actually wake me up in the middle of the night. Once awake, it’s virtually impossible to get back to sleep. Many patients admit that their tinnitus is much worse after awaking from sleep and I definitely agree with this based on my own experience.

First, let’s talk about how to get to sleep. After experimenting for several years I came up with a formula that works for me and I truly believe it can work for you too. And, like David Letterman I call it; the top ten ways for tinnitus patients to fall asleep. But this is no joke!

Number Ten: Make sure you’re physically tired. This seems like such a simple thing but it can really help to be just absolutely fatigued when you hit the pillow.

Number Nine: Don’t watch TV before going to bed. It fills your mind with useless nonsense and more often than not, your mind will race with useless information as a result of the subject matter.

Number Eight: Don’t exercise right before bed. This will raise your Adrenalin and give you energy. Energy is the last thing you want when trying to sleep.
Number Seven: Don’t eat after 8:00 pm. Avoid volume raising tinnitus foods like caffeine, salt, alcohol, etc.

Number Six: If you can, meditate before bed. It will help to relax you and rid your body of any stress it is carrying. Breathe Deeply. Most of us go through our lives taking short breaths. A deep breath is grounding.

Number Five: Learn to relax in bed as if it were a rewarding experience. Relax each part of your body as you focus on relaxing it. Start with the top of your head and work your mind down to the tip of your toes. Very often I would only get to my knees and I’d be asleep.

Number Four: Try not to habituate yourself to loud noise when you are falling asleep. Avoid leaving the TV and/or radio on. If you can, open the window and listen to nature. If you must listen to something, make it a natural environmentally friendly sound, so when it’s not there, you won’t miss it.

Number Three: Make sure the room is dark so your brain tells your body its time to rest.

Number Two: Don’t Think! I know that seems like an odd concept but the fact is, thinking is what keeps your mind active and that keeps you awake.

And, the Number One way to fall asleep is: If all else fails, make love!

When you make love, you are not thinking about your tinnitus and at the same time you are setting up your body to accept sleep. The magic in that is that you are NOT thinking! The mind is trained to think. Do you realize how little time you spend in your day not thinking? The trouble is that most people have never learned to not think. I saw an ad on television once for a large newspaper chain and their slogan was; Never Stop Thinking. This is utter nonsense. You need time away from thinking – especially if your thoughts are negative or stressful.

So, how do you stop thinking? If you’re familiar with meditation then you likely have a good idea how this works. It’s a simple concept but believe me it takes practice. The more you practice it the better you’ll get at it. I use this technique to cat nap during the day and it works every single time. And, here it is: Relax and let your mind wander. When your mind falls on a thought, don’t follow it. Don’t focus on that thought. Say to yourself, oh I just landed on a thought let my mind go back to wandering. Don’t fight it, just allow your mind to drift onto other thoughts. It’s when your mind lands on a thought and follows that thought through a series of mental movies that causes stress and ultimately keeps you awake. Like I said, it takes practice, but it can be done.

Now, how do you stay asleep? That’s an easy one. If you’re tired when you go to bed you have a high probability that you will stay asleep. If you happen to wake up because of a dream or a loud noise, simply go through the ten steps all over again. Have a good night’s sleep!

Paul Tobey is a professional concert pianist who uncovered a healing path for his Ringing Ears without the aid of drug therapy or medical intervention. Paul has trained thousands of people in both professional and personal development. For access to theTinitus Seminar and eBook…

In regards to breaking the tinnitus habit, I recently received an email from a reader who writes…

“I try to keep myself busy and do things that i enjoy but it seems that my mind is always locked onto the sound. Are there any tips you can give me that helps break this habit? I’m at the point where I’m truely trying to accept my tinnitus and sometimes I can and other times I can’t. I know it can’t hurt me, but I fear that I will have to suffer the rest of my life with it.”

In answer to this question, “Are there any tips you can give me that helps break this habit?” I must first say that, most definitely, it is a habit to focus on Tinnitus. In fact, I suspect you’ve gotten so used to focusing on it all the time that it’s a habit that would be incredibly hard to break. But, not impossible!

So, how do you break a bad habit?

There is only one way to do this. Add habit forming positive routines to your day that are equally habit forming. When you do this, your new habits will override your old ones.

This process is much much easier when you are fully aware of your destination. Even though life is not about the destination but about the journey, knowledge of your true destination makes it easier to focus every day on doing something that leads you to that destination. When you do this your mind will turn away from the negative tinnitus and be turned towards doing what it is you really want to do.

What do you want? I’m mean really want? ie: fame, fortune, peace, success, money, companionship etc etc…. Take some time and figure out what it is you really want and then make daily habits that lead you to that destination. Good habits. Because, good habits are just as easily formed as bad ones.

Let’s step away from tinnitus for a second and talk about another easily formed bad habit. “Lack of Exercise” which is a big problem in Western Society. You know it amazes me when I ask people at the gym, “how are you?” or “how’s it going.” Most of the time I get the response, “not bad,” or “I’ll feel better when I’m done” or “I hate the gym and I can’t get out of here fast enough.”

For those people I know that I will see them very very infrequently. Why? Because, you can’t be good at something you hate. It’s impossible. When I first started going to the gym it was hard at first but I made it into a habit. Now, everyone around me knows that from 8:15 am to 10am every Monday, Wed and Friday I’m at the gym. No one questions that. Why? Because it’s a habit and everyone respects that. As a result, it’s something I can count on to give me time away from work, from family and friends to be by myself and doing something good for my body.

That’s how to make anything a habit. Learn to love what it is you don’t necessarily like to do, because it’s good for you! And, it is leading you to the destination of healthy living.

Now, let’s take a look at life. If I have a really big goal it makes it so much easier for me to form habits that chase that goal. What is my goal? To play at Carnegie Hall! Now that’s a big goal. Will I ever get there? Who’s to say, but I believe I will. But, even if I don’t, I’ll get 5,000 percent further than if I never adopted that goal or ever learned anything about actually achieving it. And, it doesn’t matter anyway. Why? Because I’m focused on the goal and forming good habit to meet that goal that takes my mind of the negative stuff like Tinnitus.

What’s the really good news? You tinnitus will actually get better (lower in volume) by not focusing on it. Trust me, I know this works.

One final word. Avoid saying things like, “I fear that I will have to suffer the rest of my life with it.” This is the worst thing that you can do is say something like that. Why? Because you’re focusing on what you don’t want…and you’re just going to get more of it whether you like it or not.

Right now, form a new habit by putting your intention forward and adopting new phrases like…”somewhere someone has been cured from their tinnitus, tomorrow it could be me.” The universe understands what you want and what you don’t want equally. When you weight your statements on the side of what you really want you’re going to get more of it!

I noticed that you downloaded my “6 Top Ways to Reduce the Ringing” eReport. You’re only on chapter 2. Have you adopted the first 2 lessons? Can and will you make them a habit. I promise that if you make them a habit you will heal over time.

Lessons 3 through 6 are also new habits to be formed. You must do them. If you do not take the initiative because of your “fear” then there is little I can do for you. But, I have a feeling that you can and you will adopt these habits. Your sanity depends on it.

Paul Tobey is a professional concert pianist and motivational speaker who cured his Ringing Ears without drugs or medical intervention.

If you have tinnitus (ringing ears), like I do, my experience tells me that you likely have a great deal of difficulty with relationships. Why? Because not only does the tinnitus drive you crazy, it can also make you feel very much alone. You feel isolated because it often feels like no one can understand your suffering.

The doctors don’t really seem to understand. Your friends and co-workers don’t understand. And, most importantly it seems like your family doesn’t understand. You feel like no one can possibly understand and therefore you tend to lash out at the people closest to you.

You need to be aware that the ones you love are equally suffering right along side of you. You need to know that they feel just as helpless as you do because they know there is nothing they can do. They want to save you from your private torture chamber, but they can’t. All they can really do is hold the space while you try and figure out your next course of action.

And so, you are faced with a choice. You can continue on your present course and hope for a different result. That’s what many people do. The do the same things day after day and always get the same result. Or, you can actually begin to learn what works in reducing your tinnitus volume. In order for me to share what I have learned after 7 years with tinnitus, I need to tell you a little bit about my story.

I had been happily married for 8 years before I got tinnitus. When I did get the Tinnitus it almost drove my wife and I to divorce. My marriage was not simply strong enough to withstand that kind of pressure. The reason for this was that our marriage, at that time, was based mostly around romantic love. This kind of love cannot withstand serious challenges because romantic love is like a drug. Your body produces chemicals that make you to feel euphoric, energetic and great. It’s the equivalent to experiencing a natural high. But, when that drug wears off; everything bad that you felt before you took the drug returns.

So, along with my tinnitus came an opportunity to learn what real love is. And, as I gained more knowledge, our love grew into something much deeper than romantic love. It grew into a spiritual partnership. Gary Zukav (author of Seat of the Soul) defines Spiritual Partnership as “a partnership between equals for the purpose of spiritual growth”.

Unfortunately many people are addicted to romantic love. They continue to seek it with no understanding that they are addicted to an illusion. When you fall out of romantic love you think love is gone, but it’s really only the illusion that is gone. In order for any relationship to evolve beyond romantic love, both partners must evolve as human beings.

For my wife Nancy and I, Tinnitus was a beacon in our life experience to help us work towards that evolution. As we evolved as human beings, we evolved in our partnership. And, as I learned more about spiritual partnerships, the more I was able to heal the emotional, spiritual, mental parts of myself. Then my physical world, including the world of tinnitus, began to change. It was an awakening of sorts. You can learn to do this by becoming aware of your thought processes, your internal dialogue, your physical habits and your emotions. Awareness is the key.

As our marriage got stronger, my tinnitus diminished. We discovered a deeper sense of identity, a greater feeling of spiritual connectedness and purpose and a renewed commitment to both our personal growth and to service. With that said, in order for your relationship to evolve, both partners must be willing partners and commit to their own personal evolution for the partnership to grow. Remember, it takes equal partners.

You can actually choose to allow tinnitus to remind you that you need to get beyond where you are at now and align yourself with a higher purpose. You are now being compelled, by force, to find your greater self and to heal yourself. And once you do, you will notice a greater quality of life all around you. Your relationships will change, your marriage will get stronger, your kids will be drawn closer to you, and everything and everyone around you will change for the better. It all starts with the realization that tinnitus is here as a beacon in your life for you to learn to be a happier person, a better spouse and a true friend to all those you encounter.

Thousands of Chonic Tinnitus patients have downloaded Paul Tobey’s “Six Top Ways to Reduce the Ringing” free eReport. He is also author of “A Practical Guide to Tinnitus Free Living.”

Few people would argue that the New Year brings a renewed sense of direction and a clean slate for positive change. Why not make your tinnitus healing a part of that process?

How can this be done? Actually, you can do it more easily by looking backwards instead of forwards. No kidding! Take a look back over the holidays in December and remind yourself of how much fun it was getting together with friends and family. Remind yourself of all the great meals, the shopping, the skiing and other winter sports.

Now that you’re back at work and ready for a new year, it’s always a great idea to remind yourself of the good times. How does this help your tinnitus? Well, think about it for a moment. When you were engaged in these joyful activities how much did your tinnitus bother you? Most likely not as much as when you’re stressed out at work, that’s for sure.

You see, tinnitus is always worse when you’re stressed. And, when your tinnitus gets worse, so does your stress. The two are so closely intertwined and most tinnitus sufferers would agree that along with one comes the other.

This year, make it your New Year’s resolution to do more of what you love. That’s the real cure for tinnitus. Doing more of what you love reduces your stress and therefore reduces your tinnitus.

Naturally this is easier said than done. When you’re stressed you’re stressed right? Sure, but isn’t it your reaction to outside forces that causes your stress?

There are dozens of books, articles and advice on how to reduce stress. But, in my humble opinion it’s not really that difficult. Are you familiar with Achems Razor? It states that: All things being equal, the simplest explanation is probably the correct explanation.

Here’s the simplest explanation I can give to reduce stress. When you start to feel life getting out of hand, take a look inside and you’ll discover that the only one causing stress is you. Stress cannot be caused by outside forces. Only your reaction to those forces can cause stress.

Don’t react to outside forces. Enact positive change based upon the situation that’s happening around you that you don’t like. When you do this, your stress will dissipate. Taking positive action is all that is required. Blaming, justifying and denying will not work.

Tinnitus is a symptom of a greater problem. That greater problem is your resistance to your life situation of which tinnitus is only a part. Fixing your problems one by one by enacting positive change will inevitably fix your tinnitus as well.

So, put your hand on your heart and repeat the following out loud. I promise to do my best to change the parts of myself which I have control over such as; my thoughts, my feelings and my actions. I promise not to worry so much about what others are doing and saying. And, most of all; I promise to face my tinnitus with the same positive attitude that I give everything around me. How I do anything is how I do everything.

Paul Tobey is a concert pianist and motivational speaker who discovered a Tinnitus Cure and path to healing Tinnitus without medical intervention.

Do you need a self help recovery plan that will help your tinnitus to heal? As a tinnitus sufferer, I have authored a self help guide to recovery based on my own recovery. You will not find scientific evidence behind my findings because I am not a doctor and do not hold any kind of medical or scientific degree. My findings are based on my own experience after seven years of managing my own chronic Tinnitus.

While some people experience tinnitus with little to no discomfort, others experience tinnitus as an extremely painful invasive sound that affects their physical being as well as their emotional and spiritual lives. The tinnitus can cause lack of sleep, emotional distress, depression, lack of ability to concentrate, fear, anger, and other behavioural changes that will severely affect day to day life.

Like most of you who have tinnitus, I have in the past consulted doctors, shaman, healers, acupuncturists and even Shiatsu and Reiki masters. I’ve tried natural medicines, tinnitus maskers, hypnosis, tinnitus retraining therapy, ginko, and so on. After seeing very little results from these efforts and after doing hundreds of hours of research on the internet I finally came to the conclusion there was only one thing I could do. I decided to get pro active and take ownership of my own healing. Through a long and sometimes painful process I developed the following 4-step plan which had a dramatic effect on my tinnitus and my well-being.

Step 1 – Physical Healing

I went back to the gym and committed to an exercise plan. At the same time, I closely monitored my eating habits and I discovered through trial and error the foods to avoid and the foods that actually helped my tinnitus. I started drinking much larger amounts of water to eliminate as much of the bad toxins in my body as I could. I eliminated all alcohol, wheat products, salts, citrus fruits and milk products which drastically affected my tinnitus volume even as little as ten minutes after consumption. * Please consult your medical professional before making any changes to your diet.

Step 2 – Emotional Healing

I made a conscious choice to heal those parts of myself that felt victimized and harboured resentment, fear and anger. I began this process by reading self-help books, downloading online seminars, and learning from home. I eventually cured my depression by focusing on and learning everything I could about myself. I attended both personal and professional development seminars to help me through this self-evaluation process. It was the best thing I could have ever done because not only did it help my tinnitus but it made every other aspect of my life better.

Step 3 – Spiritual Healing

Before contracting tinnitus I didn’t really understand the connection between mind, body and soul. And, after exploring the relationship between them I discovered a close connection between spirituality and healing. Our belief systems control our reality. Change your beliefs and your reality will change around them. I have learned a greater understanding of my human experience with tinnitus. I feel that tinnitus was a real gift that pushed me down a quicker path to discovering the true meaning of existence.

Step 4 – Mental Healing

This is the logical mind. This is the little voice in your head that tells you what you can or cannot do. Through social conditioning, your mind dictates to you what your perceived limitations are. i.e. “I can’t cure my tinnitus because there is no cure for tinnitus.” Well, the fact is; many people have been cured from tinnitus. So, the fact that there is no proven cure does not mean that you cannot be cured. It’s just true in your own mind. Breaking down your preconditioned mental barriers can cause drastic positive changes not only in your tinnitus but in every aspect of your life.

Once you begin to understand and work at each of these four aspects of your life you will begin to see tremendous positive changes in your tinnitus and in your entire well-being.

I get a lot of email and posts to my tinnitus blog from people who don’t like my approach to tinnitus healing. They say things like, “tinnitus cannot be controlled by thought,” and “you should be ashamed of yourself for giving hope to people with tinnitus.”

Well, I must tell you that no matter how many complaints I get, I will not stop promoting what I know to be the most effective tinnitus treatment for many people. My approach is based on my own experience and has helped many more people than the ones who are angry and refuse to try it.

But, why do my teachings make people angry? Because when ego gets in the way there’s no way to reach those people. What is your ego? Your ego is your mind and your mind only knows one thing; the past. Therefore the mind searches its database for all past experiences and comes up with a reason why what I teach won’t work.

The problem is, the mind cannot think of an infinite number of ways that healing can happen. It can only think of a very finite number of ways and all of them are based on past experience.

You see, the mind wants to keep you safe. That’s its only job. And, by trying something new, such as my formula for tinnitus healing, that would require stepping outside its comfort zone and that to most people is very scary indeed.

So, when the mind gets scared, it also gets angry. Why? Because it has to prove that it is right. But, here’s my question to you; would you rather be right or would you rather get what you want? Being right, means mind driven reasoning based on the past. But, getting what you want on the other hand, means shutting your mind down and allowing only what you want to flow easily to you.

Fighting, resisting, planning against or even lashing out in anger will only make what you don’t want worse! You must understand this. Therefore, anyone who lashes out at me in anger is only hurting themselves. Why? Because they’re cutting themselves off from the one thing that could truly empower their lives; the positive flow of energy.

The simple act of letting me know that they don’t agree with me means they are cut off from learning and therefore dying emotionally and spiritually little by little. Every act of anger depletes your positive flow of energy and takes away your ability to get what you truly want.

It’s all about energy. And, when you use up what little you have fighting or resisting your present situation you have nothing left over to focus on creating what you truly want in life which is to be free from fear and worry. Tinnitus breeds fear and worry, but only if you allow it.

Simply do not allow this to happen. Do not allow yourself to get sucked into the drama and fear of the rest of the world. Live your life and do not concern yourself with the negative mind driven know-it-all advice from other people.

Here’s a good rule of thumb. Ask yourself this question when someone wants to give you their opinion or advice; “Does this person already have what I want?” If the answer is no, then you must resist the temptation to listen to them, no matter how hard that may be. This includes well meaning friends and family.

Therefore if you hear advice from someone who says, “positive thought and feeling cannot affect tinnitus volume,” ask yourself, “has this person healed their tinnitus?” If the answer is no, then do not under any circumstances listen to them. It’s just their ego talking and it’s saying, “I know best.” But that’s nonsense if they do not have what you want. That’s like taking financial advice from someone who’s broke.

Anyone who lashes out in anger, in an attempt to be right, cannot under any circumstances lead a completely happy and fulfilled life. Only when they wake up and realize that their resistance to what is, is keeping them stuck where they are. And, only then can they begin to heal the parts of themselves that is keeping them from getting what they truly want.

Here’s a link to read about this tinnitus treatment.