I am sitting listening to podcasts which I love. I learn so much. I use my Oticon Opn hearing aids to listen via bluetooth. The sound is great. It feels like the sound is originating in the middle of my head versus two separate sounds left and right. What I realize is the clarity of the voices is relaxing. Even though I am not necessarily listening to every word because I can clearly understand without struggling I think it lowers my stress level.
I digress a little. As I sit here something else is striking me. I can still hear the ringing of my tinnitus. Often when I just wear my hearing aids the tinnitus seems to fade in the background. However, as I listen to the podcasts I can distinctly still hear the ringing. Maybe this is because the clear voices are not like the background noise in repetitive patterns that masks the tinnitus patterns.
So, as I will observe the ringing now here is what I notice.
1. The ringing sensation is distinct from the podcast voices I am hearing. This could be because the voices are more idiosyncratic while the tinnitus ringing is repetitive. It feels like the tinnitus involves a different part of my brain than where I am processing and attending to the voice sounds from the podcast.
2. The ringing is not centered in my head like the podcast voices. It feels like it is originating from the right side of my head near my right ear. In a way, it is like I have one sided tinnitus which is not how I feel or sense most of the time.
I will investigate this further. Very fascinating. I will cure myself.