Sophrology

[Frédéric]

Since I did not find a thread specially dedicated to sophrology, I created this one.

The tinnitus center that I consulted right after the onset of my tinnitus referred me to sophrology (in other words there is no cure for tinnitus, you have to cope with it). As far as I know, it is often advised to tinnitus sufferers in France to give sophrology a try.

So I followed 14 sessions (1 hour each) during 2013 of Caycedo sophrology with a sophrologist specialized in Tinnitus (by the way, he has idiopathic tinnitus and manages to cope with it) with homework to do (customised recordings to listen to in a quiet room). Unfortunately, no change in my state of mind regarding tinnitus (always in distress).

I ranked this thread in "alternative treatments and research" because I did not find any scientific study with the words "sophrology" and "tinnitus".

Has anyone tried this therapy with (or without) any success?

 

[Ecip]

Never heard of it.

 

[Foncky]

Yeah I did it... It helps to reduce anxiety when you feel bad but that's about it.

14 sessions sounds like an awful lot. I only did 4 or 5 and then at home.

 

[Dive Master]

For me: total waste of time. Plus, as all charlatans say (I put sophrologists, hypnotists and so on in this category): if you don't get better it's YOUR fault. She told me it was related to my childhood bla bla bla. I ended more distressed than before consulting with suicidal ideation. She deserves a bullet in the head. B*tch. Only my psychiatrist and my neurologist really did saved my life.

 

[Blue28]

I haven't tried this but was advised to do so by the ENT doc I saw...I think in France this is one of the only things they suggest (along with WNG). I get the impression they don't know how to treat it so it's a case of see this person or that person and if you do this then all will be wonderful. If you don't then it's your fault you are struggling to cope as you didn't see the sophrologist blah blah blah!

 

[Frédéric]

@Dive Master , @Blue28 : This is exactly what you just said !

 

[Dive Master]

Sorry if I've been a bit harsh, but I've probably been recommended a very very very bad one (Guess what? Her specialty is "end-life support"... Yeah, good job sweetie...). Just to point out when you're said your T is related to the divorce of your parents and the fact you don't like motorbikes because of the noise they do... Plus she has no idea of the very basic anatomy of middle ear/inner ear/signal output to the brain (the basic process you learn in high school)... Well, what to say... True, ENTs, MDs send you to "therapeutists" like pieces of sh*t because they don't know how to deal with T, also a good opportunity to get rid of an intrusive T-like patient... Don't they hell know psychiatrists and neurologists do actually exist??? I noticed also the more educated you are the more likely you can fall into this... (she "heals" many IT workers for depression).

 

[goodmorning]

I love your cynicism. I just went to the top tinnitus expert at Rothschild hospital and this is exactly what he said: sophrology must work. I told him things that DID actually work for me (pounding the back of my head--my own invention) and he scoffed.

Frankly, pounding or massaging the head has a concrete effect, and I do not need a sophrologist to train me to think more positively nabout tinnitus. I am sure we all eventually try to do that on our own, as best as we can.

I have seen six ENTs and two Tinnitus experts. My gut feeling at this point: let's figure out ourselves what works for us. I do not believe in the science behind tinnitus studies (I am an academic), nor do I believe it when it is said it cannot be cured.

I did notice three things that significantly help mine: the massage on head (as mentioned above), sleeping well, and taking hot showers to relax.

I would welcome hearing your own home-remedies.

By the way, I am convinced about our own bodies/minds being able to figure it out ON OUR OWN because I was diagnosed with a chronic disease when I was 24, told I had 50% chance of losing my intestines, and managed to make it go into remission without drugs or doctors, using my intuition.

 

[Dive Master]

@goodmorning : sorry to give you my home-remedies so late, but I don't visit TT very often now.
My recipes :

- sleep, regular hours, if not possible I give myself a shot of Lorazepam (40-50mg)
- swimming, scubadiving (no eardrum problem, just noise induced T) : can't hear it underwater, physical activity in any case
- sugar-free diet (I also have Hashimoto since 25 years)
- getting busy : DIY and so on, but two outcomes : positive but exhaustivng or negative : impossible to achieve anything
- having long-terme projects, frankly not obvious (I suffer from chronic depression since my teenage years, I'm 47)
- self-massage, I have facial and teeth pain on my left side (the T one), sometimes with the help of a corticoid balm
- having rituals : ok, crappy day today but tonight I'll watch Netflix from my sofa with my dog and my blanket (T worse at wake up/nap, better at the end of the day)
- It happens I speak to my T (I gave it a new name : South Park Mr Hankey) : "F*ck You"
- I avoid as I can too much alcohol (although I enjoy peated pure malt scotch whisky, neat) : make it worse
- My T is far much better than 5 years ago, but I still can't accept it or habituate (my right ear has no T, I can compare and rarely experience loss of balance)
- I try to live on a day to day basis (this is why long-term project are hard to manage)
- DON'T talk anyone (especially wife and sibblings), don't complain, don't seek for compassion : no one can understand T until he/she has it and when so (long T sufferers), you're given shitty piece of advice, each T is different so is the response to it.
- I don't freak out when experiencing new "symptoms" : I have memory losses (e.g. hesitating on my birthdate), words are sometimes hard to come out of my mouth or I'm saying ununderstable ones, sounds like there's something more behind T (I know a few diseases). So be it.

As a conclusion, I try to find my own path (in the end there will be an exit door for everybody on this Earth - black humor).

FYI, I used to be an IT PMO owning a MBA from a high ranked BS (nowadays it's nothing but a useless piece of paper, I suspect it has always been so) : I couldn't be focused anymore, I quitted my job (when I was lucky enough to get assignments as a "disposable brain" : I realize now how meaningless it was).

By the way I'm leaving France for my home country, Switzerland, seeking for a no-brainer job (wife and kids studying - already there) and enjoy my free time (still keeping a foot in France to "AirBnB" our house managed by a services company, vacations and healthcare - I'm nasty, I know it).

Et voilà !

 

[hans01]

Sophrology is very powerful in many regards, I'm considering to do it again this year here in France. I already did a few sessions 15 years ago but not for T just handling traumas and it worked very well but as with everything you need to practice which I didn't do since. I know a few people who cured their emotional and physical problems this way, same for yoga and meditation.
I believe, and I hope I won't offense anyone saying this here, that a big part of our problem is that we are usually very sceptical and we don't have patience (including myself here too ).
I'm almost sure that if I can tame down stress, anxiety (that one is way way better then in the past) and especially emotional stress (something that has been very hard for me since I'm young due to several traumas), more sleep and more fun with friends, that I can lower or even cure the T's. I already managed to do this in some occasions, and it seems to happen more frequently then in the past using a few supplements and behaviours, (phosphatidylserine, 5htp, NAD+, vit D3, Vit K2, vit C, ...)
So anything that helps to cope with stress, make you sleep better and make you happier can potentially help if I can believe my own experiences.

 

[Frédéric]

First assessment of sophrology for the treatment of subjective tinnitus

Abstract
Objectives
To assess (without comparison versus controls) the efficacy of a sophrology protocol adapted to disabling subjective tinnitus, in diminishing the handicap induced by perception of tinnitus.

Materials and methods
One hundred and forty consecutive patients, aged 18–83 years, underwent a protocol comprising 6–8 sessions of sophrology over a 2–4 month period. Impact was assessed on pre- to post-treatment progression on the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), a validated questionnaire measuring handicap induced by tinnitus.

Results
Mean THI scores improved, by > 20 points in 59.2% of cases (i.e., clinically significant decrease). Improvement was independent of tinnitus duration (> versus < 6 months) and origin (acoustic trauma versus emotional shock), and concerned all 3 THI subscales (functional, catastrophic and emotional).

Conclusion
The present sophrology protocol, dedicated to subjective tinnitus, reduced intrusiveness. Further studies with a control group are needed to confirm efficacy as compared to waiting list or other validated treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapies.

Keywords
Subjective tinnitus
Sophrology
Relaxation
Treatment
Protocol

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1879729620300831