OK, I think before I carry on with the relationship between exercise and tinnitus, I first would like to discuss briefly the fundamental benefits that exercise offers to us human beings.
In a nutshell, exercise is essential because it
- Burns calories, helps us to loose weight
- Improves cardiovascular strength- Yoga, for instance improves strength balance, flexibility ,strengths heart muscle but to name a few. Our bad cholesterol, known as the LDL(Low Density Lipoprotein is lowered and HDL(good cholesterol), increases.
- Conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, our stress levels and certain cancers- improve with exercise.
- Our Mood improves – the ‘feel good’ hormones from exercise, makes you feel overall relaxed and improves psyche.
- Boost Energy Levels
- Improves Sleep
- It’s FUN!!!!!!!! –(well , once you start getting into the groove of things, that is!!!)
SO, Does Exercise help with the ringing in my ears???
Its pretty obvious from the above that there is a lot of benefit that exercise offers to us. In fact, it is recommended on a daily basis for general wellbeing. I am someone who enjoys exercise. I enjoy eating healthy foods and watching what I put in(but this is a discussion that can be found somewhere else on my site). I have chosen to do a number of different exercise modalities for my workouts.
I do the program, which incorporates a range of exercises, such as Kenpo, Cardio, Weights , Back, Biceps, Yoga, Plyometrics and Core work. YES, it is an extreme fitness program, and its something that both my wife and I are committed to do doing. Secondly, we do dancing, on alternate days, and other days we try to do a Tai Chi session. I thoroughly enjoy hiking as well and enjoy been in nature.
So there is a variety of stuff that I do and the single most obvious benefit that I found is towards my overall general well-being. My immune system is strong and ‘touch wood’ I survived the winter months, without taking any medication. But the big question here is the Tinnitus. Did the exercise aggravate it or not?
It has been said that intense aerobic exercise(say if there is a lot of jumping), displaces the calcium crystals in the ear and may bring about symptoms associated with tinnitus. Another theory is that the increased blood flow pumped out of the heart during exercise, automatically increases blood flow to the ear which increases tinnitus.
I personally find that on days I DO NOT exercise, I feel the ringing is more prominent as opposed to the days that I work out. At the pharmacy, I don’t feel confident when dealing with my customers and its does have a damper on my overall performance.
On the other hand, I do hear some customers telling me that they feel more “miserable” after doing their exercises. I recommend to them to try less strenuous exercise such as walking, dancing, hiking, yoga and tai chi. In conclusion, it boils down to what works for you and what doesn’t. I certainly would like your take on this matter. Did you find exercise works for your tinnitus or not? If so what helped, what did not? Let me know.