Mindfulness-Based Tinnitus Stress Reduction

Information and Resources About Tinnitus and Mindfulness.

TINNITUS 101 - Shifting Tinnitus from Bothersome to Non-Bothersome

Emergency Response

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Journal Articles

Tinnitus Education Corner with Dr. Jennifer Gans

Articles written by Dr. Jennifer Gans at Hearing Health & Technology Matters

Tinnitus Misinformation: Separating Hope from Hype
September 14, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
People with bothersome tinnitus are particularly vulnerable to misinformation. This is not because they are gullible. It is because tinnitus can be frightening, unfamiliar, and difficult to understand—especially when it first appears. When someone suddenly hears a sound that no one else can hear, the natural response is often to search for an explanation. Why is this happening? Is something wrong with me? Will it get worse? How do I make it stop? The internet offers thousands of answers. Unfortunately, the explanations delivered with the greatest confidence are not always the ones best supported by evidence.
When the Brain Creates Sensations: Understanding Tinnitus and Other “Phantom” Perceptions
July 29, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
Understanding tinnitus teaches us a fundamental principle about how the brain works across all sensory systems. The Brain Hates Missing Information When the brain loses or receives reduced sensory input—whether through changes in vision, hearing, touch, taste, balance, or smell—it does not simply go quiet. Instead, it often fills in the gaps.
Tinnitus Explained in 60 Seconds
July 6, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
Most people think tinnitus means something is wrong with the ear. But tinnitus is actually a remarkable example of how the brain works—and the kinds of errors it can make, especially during times of stress.
Tinnitus and Traumatic Brain Injury
June 24, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
When the Brain’s Sound System Is Disrupted Tinnitus—the perception of sound without an external source—is commonly described as ringing, buzzing, or humming in the ears. While tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss from aging or noise exposure, it is also frequently reported after traumatic brain injury (TBI). In fact, tinnitus is one of the most common sensory symptoms following concussion and other forms of head injury.
From Reaction to Response: Changing Our Relationship with Tinnitus
June 10, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
When tinnitus first appears, the brain often reacts automatically. A sound is noticed—ringing, buzzing, or humming—and within seconds the mind begins to interpret it. What is that sound? Is something wrong? What if it gets worse? These thoughts are not unusual. The brain is designed to detect potential threats, and anything unfamiliar in our sensory world naturally draws attention. But over time, many people discover that the real difficulty with tinnitus is not the sound itself—it is the habitual reaction to the sound.
Tinnitus Can Co-Exist with Other Disorders, but the Signal Itself Is Always Benign
May 26, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
Reframing a Commonly Misunderstood Auditory Experience Tinnitus—the perception of sound in the absence of an external acoustic source—is one of the most common sensory experiences in humans. Millions of individuals report hearing ringing, buzzing, humming, or other internal sounds at some point in their lives. Despite its prevalence, tinnitus is frequently misunderstood by both patients and clinicians.
Tinnitus: Where Neuroscience, Perception, and Education Meet
April 19, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
Tinnitus—the perception of sound without an external source—is often described as ringing in the ears. For the millions of people who experience it, the sound can range from a faint background tone to a persistent signal that captures attention and fuels distress. Yet tinnitus is far more than an ear problem.
What Makes Tinnitus Unique in Medicine
April 5, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
Tinnitus occupies a very unusual place in medicine. Most medical complaints follow a familiar pattern: a symptom points to a specific physical problem that can be identified and treated. A broken bone is repaired, an infection is treated with antibiotics, and a tumor is removed or managed with medication. Tinnitus does not fit neatly into this traditional medical model.
Tinnitus Distress: How the Brain Turns a Benign Sound Into a Problem
March 17, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
Tinnitus is the perception of sound—often described as ringing, buzzing, or humming—without an external source. Millions of people notice tinnitus at some point in their lives, yet only a small percentage find it distressing. Why does the same sound feel irrelevant to some people but overwhelming to others? The answer lies not in the sound itself, but in how the brain processes and evaluates the signal. Understanding this process helps explain why tinnitus distress develops—and, importantly, how it can resolve.
Tinnitus, Caffeine, and Salt: Understanding What Really Changes Tinnitus
February 27, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
People with tinnitus are often told to avoid caffeine and reduce salt, as if these substances directly make tinnitus louder. Many patients give up coffee, switch to low-salt diets, and carefully monitor every bite and sip—only to discover that their tinnitus seems unchanged. This can be confusing and discouraging. The misunderstanding comes from a simple but important mistake: tinnitus distress is driven primarily by the state of the nervous system, not by caffeine or salt themselves.
Why Does Tinnitus Volume Fluctuate?
February 22, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
One of the most common questions people with tinnitus ask is: “Why does my tinnitus get louder some days and quieter on others?” Many assume that these changes must reflect something happening in the ears or auditory system. Rather, tinnitus loudness does not fluctuate because the sound itself is changing—it fluctuates because attention and context are changing. In other words, tinnitus loudness is most often a perceptual phenomenon, not a mechanical one.
Tinnitus: When Nothing Is Broken—but Everything Feels Wrong
February 4, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
Tinnitus occupies a uniquely uncomfortable place in modern medicine. Patients come into the doctor’s office with a clear, credible complaint—ringing, buzzing, hissing, or electrical noise that won’t stop—yet exam after exam often shows nothing “wrong.” The ears look healthy. The scans are normal. The hearing test may even come back within normal limits. And still, the suffering is real.
Making Tinnitus Boring to the Brain
January 23, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
Our goal for the person with bothersome tinnitus is to find a way to make tinnitus boring to the brain. When a stimulus is boring, it floats out of awareness. The following explains why this works neurologically and how to apply it in practice. Why “Boring” Works: The Neuroscience of Habituation The brain’s attention system is designed to spotlight what is novel, important, or threatening—and to fade what is predictable, safe, and unimportant.
When the Brain Turns Up the Volume: Understanding Hyperacusis and Predictive Failure
January 9, 2026 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
Most people can tune out ordinary sounds—a humming refrigerator, footsteps, or the buzz of a light. The brain’s sensory system filters these background noises automatically, allowing us to focus on what matters. But for those with hyperacusis, this natural filtering process malfunctions. Everyday sounds feel unbearably loud or even painful. At its core, hyperacusis is not a problem of the ears—it’s a problem of prediction.
The Importance of Tinnitus Education
December 27, 2025 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
When it comes to managing tinnitus, education is not just the beginning—it is the foundation. Tinnitus management exists along a broad spectrum, from 0 to 100. At zero lies education, the essential first step. Without it, relief is often variable and unlikely to produce lasting benefit. Zero: The Power of Education Understanding tinnitus—what it is, how it arises, and why it becomes bothersome—is the single most powerful tool in recovery.
Bothersome Tinnitus: When the Brain’s Natural Cancellation System Fails
December 19, 2025 by Dr. Jennifer Gans
This article is written to encourage those suffering with tinnitus to turn to their internal resources for the answer. Most people have experienced a brief ringing in the ears after a loud concert or a moment of silence. For most, this sound fades quickly—quietly canceled by the brain’s internal filters. But for millions of people, tinnitus does not fade. It becomes intrusive, persistent, and unnervingly loud, even though the sound itself poses no physical threat. What separates fleeting, ignorable tinnitus from bothersome tinnitus is not the ear—it is the brain’s failure to cancel an otherwise harmless signal.

Audio and Video

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mindfulness and Tinnitus

Dr. Jennifer Gans and the Tinnitus Trifecta.

Dr. Jennifer Gans discusses tinnitus and mindfulness in a talk and Q&A at an MBSR class weekend Zoom retreat.

All Things AuD with Mindful Tinnitus Relief interview with Dr. Gans

MBTSR Course - A New Management Tool for Bothersome Tinnitus (Part 1)

MBTSR Course - A New Management Tool for Bothersome Tinnitus (Part 2)

Sustained Benefit of MBTSR in Adults with Chronic Tinnitus

Books on Mindfulness and Meditation

Parenting From the Inside Out
by Daniel Siegel and Mary Hartzell
Dr. Siegel at UCLA calls himself an interpersonal neurobiologist. He has written extensively on mindfulness and how it can change your brain and relationships.
The Mindful Way Through Depression
by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, & Jon Kabat-Zinn
An excellent, readable book on managing emotions, not just depression, using mindfulness. Comes with a CD with guided meditations.
The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook
by Bob Stahl & Elisha Goldstein
A great book by a very experienced MBSR teacher that takes you through the MBSR class, week by week.
The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety
by John Forsyth & Georg Eifert
The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression
by Kirk Strosahl & Patricia Robinson
It's Easier Than You Think
by Sylvia Boorstein
Radical Acceptance
by Tara Brach
The Miracle of Mindfulness
by Thich Nhat Hanh
A Path with Heart
by Jack Kornfield
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness in Everyday Life
by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Arriving at Your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness
by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness
by Sharon Salzberg
The Wise Heart
by Jack Kornfield
Kornfield is one of the founders of Spirit Rock, a meditation center in Marin, and the author of many excellent books on mindfulness and Buddhism.
The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook
by Martha Davis, Elizabeth Eshelman, Patrick Fanning & Matthew McKay
This workbook is full of accessible tools for increasing wellness.
Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think by Dennis Greenberger & Christine Padesk
The techniques in this workbook are the cornerstone of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.