The brain is fantastic at blocking out unwanted noise. Place a microphone on your temporal bone and you’ll realise you are subject to a relentless bombardment of sound you’ll never consciously hear: the clicking of your temporomandibular joint, the pulsating of your carotids. Sometimes, the brain’s sound filter gets it wrong. Tinnitus is a phantom noise created when the brain perceives sound without an external source. It is common, often debilitating, and can arise from a wide range of sources. Currently, non-pharmacological interventions including mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy are the mainstays of treatment, helping patients to accept their relationship with the noise rather than silencing it entirely. Ouverney and colleagues explored a new avenue of this management approach by investigating the role of spirituality and religious belief in 313 Brazilian patients with chronic tinnitus. They assessed spiritual wellbeing (faith, meaning and peace) and religious behaviours (intrinsic, non-organisational and organisational) in participants. Their findings revealed a strong link between spiritual wellbeing and better tinnitus-related outcomes, quality of life and mental health. Religious activity showed less consistent effects and dysfunctional religious coping was associated with worse symptom burden. Our most effective treatments for tinnitus involve guiding the brain towards a state of relaxation and acceptance. This study reinforces this principle: individuals with a stronger sense of spirituality may be better equipped to cope with the symptoms of tinnitus. It is not clear whether spirituality fosters mental resilience or vice versa. Nevertheless, the results demonstrate the power of spiritual awareness in the management of chronic conditions like tinnitus.
Spirituality and tinnitus – blocking out the haters!
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