By Kathi Mestayer
Barry Johnson, Ph.D., a retired educational psychologist in Sheffield, England, reached out to Hearing Health Foundation to share his experiences and insights from dealing with tinnitus.
Barry describes the onset of his tinnitus as “a gradual process that started before Covid, but it was after my third Covid infection that I sensed a significant, rapid deterioration.
“It was not a big surprise. My father and mother both had it, and there were other hearing issues in the family. My tinnitus is like being on a plane—a constant sound at one frequency.”
Initially Barry tried therapy that involved listening to white noise through headphones, but it didn’t help.
Then he started learning to play the guitar.
“I joined a folk music group where we perform, sing, and engage with other musicians, sharing our experiences. As I began learning, and performing, music, there was a significant decrease in my tinnitus symptoms,” Barry says.
“When I’m actively focusing on the sounds, the tempo, and the lyrics, the tinnitus noise goes away.”
Barry also began listening to music on his cellphone using Bluetooth through his hearing aids.
“That was a revelation to me. I would just be walking down the street, and the music would really engage my attention and quiet the tinnitus.
“Part of the positive effect is that I get to choose the music I’m hearing. It’s not just music playing in a public space. It’s what I enjoy listening to.”
“In contrast,” he says, “when I’m in a very quiet setting, like going to sleep, the tinnitus can come back. I deal with it by using a behavioral approach, such as imagining myself floating away into the first stage of sleep.”
Barry’s tinnitus strategies have other benefits as well. “There’s a lot of overlap between managing tinnitus and dealing with the challenges of aging,” he says. “Socializing, paying active attention, learning new things, and physical activity are all things that can help with both.”
Learning to play music, socializing, and performing with other musicians is helping Barry manage his tinnitus and mitigate the effects of the aging process. In fact, music’s beneficial effect on tinnitus patients has been documented in this 2023 systemic review and meta-analysis in the journal Medicine.
Barry summarizes it this way: “This is my retirement plan—addressing the aging process, and kicking tinnitus out the door.”
Hearing Health magazine staff writer Kathi Mestayer is the vice chair of the Greater Richmond Hearing Loss Association, and has served on the advisory board of the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
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