My wife was telling me about her tinnitus and I decided to solve it. The scientific graph that follows should be self explanatory, but in the interest of fleshing out the hypothesis I will use words too.
That point in the middle of the head, where the wiggly line travels to the ear canal, is the pineal gland. It is also commonly referred to in Eastern philosophies as the Third Eye, or sixth chakra.
Beyond the energetic or spiritual level articulated through mystics, we know a lot goes on in this gland. The production of serotonin melatonin, dimethyltryptamine, and other key neurotransmitters are all centred here.
Tinnitus as a vehicle of self exploration
That vertical line of black with the black lines trailing off to the right, represents all of the possible information available to consciously process in the electromagnetic spectrum.
The tiny triangle connecting the line to the spectrum in the above diagram represents what’s typically available to our senses. Or you could refer to the diagram to the right if you must.
The tinnitus sufferer — or potentially, the fortunately gifted as we shall see — experiences a constant, or partial, state of hearing or a feeling of a frequency or tone.
We should all be familiar with the fact that we can ‘feel’ a sound. Information is information, our senses just pick it up and filter it back to our brain through various sense organs to form a map of our reality.
If the triangle were broader, or moved along the spectrum of that triangle, the flow of information into the brain’s inner most mysteries regions would change the conscious experience of that resonance.
Tinnitus sounds different to individuals and may change during ones lifetime.
My wife’s father once mentioned that he hears the tone move up and down. So perhaps, that line with the little triangle, would move up and down for him. This was not always the case, for he reported that only in recent years has his tinnitus changed from a stagnant tone to a diverse one. This serves as zero evidence within the statistical pool evaluated, but still, compelling. With her, it’s just the same tone, so it must be local and stationary within one part of the spectrum of the field.
Imagine if you could make that triangle larger, and move it up and down the spectrum, then you could perceive a greater range of experience – or at least buzzing and noise and stuff – than one whose triangle is stationary and smaller.
Now, what if one could train their mind through the consistent and disciplined use of one’s attention, to become more attuned to this brain function, and like a muscle make it stronger and more useful?
Perhaps tinnitus is a potential path to enlightenment, extra sensory powers, or simply being able to attune oneself to various aspects of the Universe beyond the reach of normal folk.
Or maybe tinnitus is just a huge pain in the ass that one has to learn to live with, and the above explanation is entirely contrived.
And then, there’s the traditional, more probable explanations of tinnitus
There are medical explanations for tinnitus, but they are many and there is no common consensus I could find. To be fair, it could be a perforated eardrum, a build up of wax, or a malfunction on virtually any level of the ear.
If you are a sufferer of tinnitus, it seems you are left with but two choices. Meditate upon it, or go see an audiologist.
Actually go see the audiologist if you’re suffering from tinnitus, as there could be a physical reason behind it that could be treated.
Although, one does not necessarily follow from the other that if it is a physical reason at play, it hasn’t allowed for the potential broadening of experience as outlined above.
I’m buying into the pseudoscience, but how do I develop the ‘muscle’, or powers you speak of?
If you’re going to take my advice about meditating on the frequency, vibration or noise — however you wish to label it — I suggest getting into a relaxed state, closing your eyes, placing your focus on the area of the tinnitus, and accepting it completely. Allow it to envelope you, observe it without judgement, let it be there.
Make it a practise. In the least, it may give you some relief from whatever suffering it’s causing. At the most you may find it a portal deeper into the dimension of your inner self.
Someone once said that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade, so why wouldn’t the same apply to tinnitus. If life gives you tinnitus, make it into a transcendental experience… and a reason to visit the audiologist.
For those interested on the topic, this guy probably actually knows what he’s talking about: