If you’ve experienced tinnitus, you might wonder: does slouching cause or worsen tinnitus?
While more research into tinnitus is needed, there is some evidence that slouching can make tinnitus symptoms worse. However, it’s unlikely that slouching or bad posture can create tinnitus in the first place.
The most common causes of tinnitus include some level of hearing loss from exposure to loud noise, compact earwax and/or head and neck injuries. Bad posture is not a common cause of tinnitus or a ringing in the ears sensation.
However, evidence has indicated that poor posture, such as slouching in front of your computer, could make tinnitus more noticeable. Some experts recommend that your ears should be aligned with your shoulders and hips. This is because the muscle-nerve connections in the neck may cause tinnitus to worsen. By making sure you have correct posture, tinnitus symptoms may be reduced.
We know there is a link between tinnitus and conditions like whiplash and TMJ. With all these areas of the body connected, we can understand why poor posture could disrupt that and potentially make tinnitus symptoms worse. Some studies have also known that poor alignment of the head, neck and ears can make tinnitus worse.
Want to learn about TMJ? You can find more information in our article: How are TMJ and tinnitus connected.
On top of that, stress, depression and anxiety can greatly impact tinnitus. If you find yourself in a stressful situation, you might notice that your blood pressure is high. Your neck muscles might be tense and you might even experience overall muscle tension. This situation leads to stress and bad posture, which in turn can make tinnitus more noticeable. While slouching alone might not have an impact, it’s often paired with other elements like high blood pressure which is known to make tinnitus worse.
Yoga and tinnitus
Yoga is often a great choice for improving posture, strengething muscles and reducing stress and anxiety. Even without tinnitus, yoga can be extremely positive and beneifitcal.
A recent study showed that practicing yoga once a week for three months improved the symptoms of tinnitus. So while yoga already has many benefits, it could also help reduce tinnitus symptoms. This could simply be due to the stress-relief aspect of yoga. Or, positive results could be due to improving posture. It’s hard to say for sure, but there has been positive evidence in this research.
However, this study was only for subjective tinnitus patients, and not pulsatile. not sure what the different is? You can find more information at: What is Pulsatile Tinnitus?
So, does slouching cause or worsen tinnitus?
Does slouching cause tinnitus? It’s unlikely. If anything, poor alignment of the neck, head and ears from possible trauma (like whiplash or TMJ) can cause tinnitus, rather than just slouching.
However, it’s conceivable that slouching could make existing tinnitus worse as your overall body alignment will be off. By simply correcting forward head posture, you may experience less severe symptoms.
Looking for Tinnitus treatment? Make sure to check out our article: Tinnitus Treatment | Best Tinnitus Relief 2019
