Somatics and Tinnitus: Bodywork and Movement

This week, a friend kindly contacted me about a youtube clip she had seen concerning the benefits of tinnitus and somatics.  The thing is, there is no medication, treatment or way of reducing or eliminating  tinnitus. I have learnt to live with it by nourishing my soul. When my spirit is uplifted, so I am better able to deal with my condition. 

Sadly, a whole business has developed of so called specialists trying to sell us 'The Cure' so I am skeptical having tried everything from flicking myself on the back of my head, to patches, to special hearing tablets, you name it and none of it comes cheap ... However, I have had somatic treatment before for my back and it was successful. Here's the video that my friend sent ...

Somatics was developed by Thomas Hann and is based on neuro-muscular education using a technique known as pandiculation to release involuntary muscle contraction. In easy speak, as far as I can tell, the body learns certain movements to protect itself and actually, over time, these can be counter productive.

According to Dr Mandell, who is the Doctor in the video clip,  tinnitus sufferers can get relief by relaxing the big muscles in the neck through movements because these have become tense. I can see that. It makes sense to me. 

So, given that my tinnitus is classified as severe and debilitating, that is, 24/7 non stop and about 5 different conflicting tones, and given that I live with hyperacusis, a sound distortion, as a complication, I decided to go to Darren Gibbs, a Somatic Educator in Haverfordwest. It is Darren that I have seen before.

It was a lovely session with Darren lasting about an hour and a half, costing £40 and I did feel calm and relaxed afterwards but truth is, it had absolutely no effect on my tinnitus. However, the session DID teach me something very important that I have not noticed about my body's reaction to hearing loss and I think this may help others, so I will share it.

During a somatic session, one becomes acutely aware of how the body is reacting and every time Darren was giving me instructions, I noticed that my stomach muscles clenched, my face frowned and I held my breath, listening so intensely in case I did not hear him. A bit like as if I was preparing to open a stiff jar. I did not need this intense effort to hear him. In fact, I was so concerned about listening to all the words to make sure I caught them all, that I didn't really hear him at all ... so once I had noticed this, I stopped clenching my stomach, dropped my frown, smiled, started to breathe, sat back and felt relaxed, likely the fist time I have felt relaxed listening to someone since my sudden hearing loss. Listening is an holistic experience and by focusing so intensely on hearing every word, I was missing something of the joy of it as an interaction. 

I started to wonder how it must be for people in conversations with me; my face frowned, stomach clenched, concentrating on their every word in case I miss any. How oddly intense it must be for people. I apologise now to all my friends  who must have wondered where the old me had gone. Well, I'm back. And that's how it feels, like I have let go of worrying about whether or not I can hear you. So, the good news is, that although I might have to ask you to repeat a few things, I will no longer be scowling at you. Instead smiling and enjoying how beautiful you are.

So, thanks Darren, that was an extremely valuable thing to learn. Oh and yesterday, Darren sent me an email with lots of tips and movements for me to maintain ... will keep you posted folks as to any other interesting finds.

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope your days are filled with moments of pure love, for love is what makes it all worthwhile.