Does the Wim Hof Method Cause Tinnitus?

Been doing the WMH (cold showers, YT breathing exercice) since October, so that marks three months now, and felt incredible.

I've started noticing ringing in my right ear during my silent meditations after the breathing exercises and sometimes at night in bed. At first I believed it had been from all the music I've listened to over the years, the concerts and FPS games I played. After reading these comments and the WMH book (literally the suspicious last section at the end) I feel the method is to blame most.

I will completely stop with the breathing exercices and go back to my old meditation. I'll do a check-up at the doctor and do a test but I'm afraid it won't do much.

If Wim Hoff has heard numerous complaints about this and chooses to neglect them, I feel deeply disappointed in him. He always struck me as an honest man but this is very sad.

I will come back to this post in a few months or a year. Wishing you all the best online people. Stay strong. ✨🙏✨

I have some input that I haven't seen mentioned. In the absence of any true structural damage tinnitus is usually caused by TMS (look up Dr John Sarno who coined the syndrome). TMS is the cause of a lot of chronic pain and physical symptoms in the body and is caused by being in a prolonged state of fight or flight which every day stressors and also repressed emotions primarily anger/trauma from childhood cause us to be in. Our stressors exceed our coping mechanisms and the brain will create any symptom it deems fit to either alarm us or to distract us from our emotions that it deems to dangerous to express ie rage. ie back pain, shoulder pain, fibromyalgia, migraines, pins and needles, palpitations, tinnitus, Gabor Mate would debate also cancer but his views are on the extreme end of the spectrum however he does speak from many patient experiences. Physical pain and sensations are processed in the same part of the brain as emotions - doctors only ever look for disorders of the body while forgetting the mind is the driver of what happens in the body. The preoccupation and fear of the symptoms and seeking diagnoses only perpetuate them. I can only assume the shaking up of the nervous system that the WHM causes could trigger the tinnitus (the brain is a sneaky fox) however in a lot of cases tinnitus is curable but it does take work to regulate the nervous system to enable to body to enter rest and repair and to regulate and heal (in my case chronic pelvic pain, TMJ, chronic headaches, dry eye etc etc etc an endless list since I was 8 years old I have seen everything shift since I discovered the mindbody connection). A good starting point is The Mindbody Prescription by John Sarno, The Great Pain Deception by Steve Ozanich and David Hanscom is a great one, he is a orthopedic spinal surgeon who quit practicing because in most cases he found surgery didn't relieve patients of their chronic pain but he has had much success now treating them from a mindbody approach and relieving their symptoms - he was a TMS sufferer himself for 15 years with 17 simultaneous symptoms including tinnitus which he has now gotten rid of. Anyway I see a lot of stress on this comment section (understandably) so just another perspective, I've seen it at work in my own body so may be of interest to anyone suffering physical symptoms - don't always just assume there is something wrong with the body particularly in the absence of any obvious physical trauma to that area

I have had tinnitus for about 4 years now from the wim hof method, still has not gone away. Not sure what to do. 😞

Is there any chance that the Wim Hof method is just exhasterbating the symptoms of Eustachian tube dysfunction, by causing an even stronger dysregulation of the pressure system in the ear, causing (temporary) hearing loss which causes tinnitus?

I developed tinnitus during Wim Hof breathing excersises, got ear ringing just after my second session. First the ringing was very loud for about the minute, then it reduced but unfortunately never went away. It was 2 days ago, I wasn't even worried much, but when I started reading reddit, I found numerous post about it getting permanent. Gonna wait few weeks and see but it's hard to think positive after reading so many stories. I wish I never saw this metod on yt, but really, all comments were so positive, that I did not even consider fucking breathing excersises can do any permanent damage. The irony is, I tried to find relief from other bad conditions and feelings doing those excersises, and ended up developing something even worse and potentialy for life. Still can't believe it...

listening to this video gave me tinitus. we'll see how long it lasts. but it makes me wonder how much the temporary tinitus of breath work induces a more durable awareness of an existing tinitus that was previously bypassed in the brain. Signals that don't vary fade, but if they do vary over time then they can reenter awareness. i forget the biochemical mechanism but it has a name. and simply trying to notice tinitus might be enough variation to induce it (as in my case just now).

Wim Hoff changed my life, in a very bad negative way. In fact, if I was not able to habituate to this tinnitus that I now have had for 2 years, I would say he completely ruined my life. If I had known beforehand of the possible side effects and negative implications that could possibly happen, I never would have participated in his guided breath work meditation!! After three rounds, and the retention breath hold a 15 seconds,Mr eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Entered into my life. It was total mental torture at the beginning. My sympathetic nervous system was activated into fight for flight mode high red alert 24/7! And is still with me to this day. I do believe that Barotrauma plays into this as well, from the pressure build up of energy that went straight to my head. Going on 2 years of this now and I have learned how to habituate with masking sounds. At night trying to sleep is where I have the most difficult time. The quieter, the room, and the environment. The more noticeable the frequency is in my head. And you are exactly right to say that Tinnitus is not an ear problem but that it is in the brain. That is the absolute truth. Anyways, I am trying to figure out ways to activate my parasympathetic nervous system where it will be more dominant and override the sympathetic side of fight or flight. One thing I can say, and I keep telling myself this. Is that if I can get through this mental torture that I endure every day 24/7, I can conquer almost anything. So far that is what has kept me going. I have to keep myself distracted, with neuroplasticity, and tinnitus retraining therapy. That has been most helpful with this life altering situation. Wim off should be ashamed of himself for ruining people's lives, and then having the audacity to laugh about it. Retribution is inevitable for those who do evil ,and harm others. The irony here of it all is that, I was doing the Wim Hoff breath work to reduce my stress levels, and anxiety. And now I have more stress and anxiety in my life than I ever have because of this injury to my brain.

One issue with this is that Covid and the vaccine have caused this symptom. I never did Wim Hof's methoid prior to getting this ear stuff. It was a ton of symptoms. I will stay away from this breathing. I really can't handle it. The last thing I need is more issues with my ears or jaw. Thank you for letting me know, regardless. I'm already is fight or flight already. A lot of this is viral. Look up Kent Taylor (sad story so trigger warning). I don't buy that I got tinnitus overnight. It's a virus induced in a lot more of the population.. Last comment--I'm in a group where LC and vaccine-induced injuries have been worsened by Wim Hof.

I'm reluctant to use the word, "tinnitus," because I have a few things going on. Also, the whole thing can stop at once for weeks. It's weird. Covid and EBV suck. And tickborne. Sorry to keep adding, but I've heard people say things can't stop and they sometimes can.

I'm mostly deaf in my right ear and found that after doing the wim hof breathing that my right ear starts to ring loudly. It passes after a few minutes, and it doesn't bother me because it's actually nice to hear something in that ear for a change 😂 it doesn't happen in my left ear though, which has no hearing loss. Interesting stuff.

I have Menieres - so far only in my (now deaf as a result) left ear, loud constant tinnitus is one of the symptoms.. I've found doing the WHM and other styles of breath work actually alleviate it and drop the volume. I do eat healthy and keep fit though so I think my parasympathetic control is in check.. just an alternative angle for you ☺️

it's not only the heightened auditory nerves, there is also the barotrauma caused by the 15 breath-hold push to the head. I know barotrauma happened in my case and many others because we have a sensation that our ears are clogged (as if in a high altitude) and they won't un-pop. In addition to the tinnitus, I've been dealing with this barotrauma for 3 years now and it's hell. If you interview WHM tinnitus sufferers, the symptoms are nearly identical: high pitched ringing, possible balance issues, inability to un-pop the ears. And in the beginning of our tinnitus, most of us also experienced painful pressure in our ears when we bent over to tie our shoes.

Another reason I believe barotrauma is involved is if you pinch your nose and drink a glass of water, that normally unclogs the ears for most people, but not for us. Again, when I watched Wim Hof's intro video back in 2020 there was no mention that the 15 second hold was dangerous or that you could get tinnitus. I had to learn from Reddit that there were hundreds of people who were hurt by it, all after the fact, and that the symptoms are typically the same.

Ringing in ears is normal if you having spiritual shift,it is often mistaken for tinnitus.

I got tinnitus from my third day of doing Wim Hof back in 2020 and i still have it. The fact that he downplays it, jokes about it, or puts the blame on those trying his breathing method by saying they're taking it too far is reprehensible and dangerously negligent. Because in the introductory video that I remember receiving via email campaign, he said to push the breath to the head. And that's what I did and that's what resulted in the tinnitus I'm pretty sure. Many people have been hurt by his breathing method and it's not worth the risk unless you want to have tinnitus.

If Wim Hof was such a great guy he would address this tinnitus issue and how it's hurting people that try his breathing method. Instead he puts the blame on the people that are getting hurt and even jokes about it. The guy is a selfish scumbag in my opinion.

Great video! I love your channel. Please publish your book in Brazilian Portuguese, especially The Wedge!!!!!

Thank you for this. I don't want to stop Wim Hoff method but I have noticed an increase in my Tinnitus, so I will abstain from the recovery breath hold, which is where I initially noticed the ringing.

its somehow enjoyable listening to you talk

I have tinnitus too, and it started after I got acquainted with the excercises of WHM. Today I also found out that I score high on the test of hyperventilation, which means you don't have enough CO2 in your blood. Maybe that might be the cause of my tinnitus ( 'the hum' ). I drink a lot of water now and quit with the daily vodka.

I got tinnitus from listening to binaural beats. Stopped and the ringing in my ears stopped too.

I totally get what Brain is saying.
And I prefer slow breathing (longer out-breath) that brings your nervous system into parasympathetic rest and digest, and from there I get into the heart space and flow. Where Ideas come in and so on.
I therefore see no reason to stress my nervous system out, when my nervous system tends to get into fight flight rage-anxiety quickly already, to my nervous system that is not beneficial.
And what I found deeply healing and recharging was substances that activate the GABA receptor such as Amanita Muscaria or Ketamine.

I think (almost) everyone has "Tinnitus" to a degree. When i think of it there are many times ive noticed sounds in my head when there is total silence. When you dont fear it, it goes away, like you dont hear the refrigerator or the wall clock. The brain tunes it out when its not dangerous. I think fear is an important component here. I got very aware of the sound after doing some WHF, and when i got afraid of having permanent tinnitus, it got worse. Then you google it and start visiting forums and start a deadly negative feedback loop. For some days now i have barely thought about it, because i havent given it any attention. When im in a silent room and "search" for the noise its there, but it has probably always been there.

I think this is a bit like people who have permanent trouble sleeping. If you get stressed about it of course it only gets worse. Everyone has a day or periods where sleep isnt optimal, but the key is to be relaxed about it.

I have suffered from tinnitus for years, got worse the past 5 years.
High pitch sound, it alters frequency when i open my mouth.
Worse at night, probably less background noise. I would be in a relax state.

I did 9 straight months of whm every morning and i felt quiet amazing, but one day tinnitus kicked in. It lasted very evident for 2 years, not joking. Now 3 years and a half after it seems it has gone, but sometimes i ask myself if its just that now i am used too. Great video ! Thanks

Problem: my hearing is near perfect (yes, I had the test) and I still have tinnitus. Audiologists don't really understand what causes some forms of tinnitus but most of them will not admit it.

Amazing video. It gave me the necessary insight as to why my tinnitus multiplied tenfold in amplitude during and after the retention breath.

You missed what Wim said. The method is
30 breaths
1 min exhale hold
15 second inhale hold.

Wim says try without the inhale hold at the end of the exhale hold.

I have tried to time the inhale hold (15) on my own or just lost track of time because I’m so relaxed and probably over done it and that’s probably where my tinnitus comes from.

It’s like I was addicted to that intense relaxation I didn’t want that 15 seconds to end.

I will try what Wim said for 1 week and report back on my findings.

Had a strange tingling every where right under stoach for a long time doing this even afterwards did I do it wrong or should I keep doing it?

1 month ago and audiologist still wearing cable headphones not pods or Bluetooth. Love it

Any thoughts on the role of cold showers in creating these issues? I used to always have cold showers but stopped when I started getting blocked ears due to not being in a steamy shower in the morning. I wonder if the pressure from the breath hold combined with the cold showers could be creating an issue.

Hi Mr.Carney, Thank you so much for the great video! I have also done Wim Hof breathing, but I also started getting extreme pressure and a feeling of fullness in my ears which is worse than the tinnitus symptoms. Do you think the pressure in my ears is also related to energy or is it a physical condition caused by the eustachian tube?I also did Baloon dilation about a few weeks ago which cost me over 10k but there is no improvement yet, so I need clarification about the cause of the fullness, which occurred on the day I did the Wim Hof breathing about 10 months ago. Any help or suggestion is appreciated.

Excellent, i have tinnitus and it coincided with Him Hop first experience fews years ago but I never make the relationship, I am sim pathetic nerveus and anxiety caractère ! I understand now that my caractère wasn’t compatible with this sort of breath exercise, I think that a person should be prepare with a solid parasympathetic system and a healthy constitution before entering the Wim Hof method, it’s a very good tool but it’s important to practice the opposite after like the PatrickMcKeown method to reinstalling the parasympathetic system! Thank you very much it was very lighting.

Your first video about tinnitus and the WHM, got taken down by Innerfire.
They do not disclose any risks on their website or their app. It just shows financial interests are more important than, wellbeing.
There is a clear connection between parasympathetic activity and tinnitus. Many people who are looking to try this method have an overactive parasympathetic nervous system anyway. If you can not calm down your nervous system, you wil have more issues with the WHM.
There should be warning signs everywhere.

I’m 17 and I did the wim hof breathing for a couple times before the last time I attempted it, where I did hear a whooshing sound in my ears after my last set (the sound of air getting let out of something, like a leak in a balloon). I was scared it was tinnitus that developed, and even though it went away after a while I stopped and haven’t done it. Maybe now that I know that the whooshing is normal I will start up again, but if I shouldn’t please let me know.

It’s like the universe responded to me with this video, for literally 4 days ago after doing Wim Hof Breathing (up-regulating/ sympathetic ), interspersed with Pat Mckeown’s technique ( per recommendation from one of his videos), I experienced mild tinnitus that dissipated within a minute or so. This symptom really made me curious and I tuned into it and followed the sensation into fading. It initially induced mild anxiety but as I relaxed and followed through with the exercise, I returned to calm. Had it lasted any longer I may have become upset by it.

This morning I decided to do the Wim Hof technique sans the Pat Mckeown technique and noticed that it happened again, but so faintly and short that it was barely noticeable. I will say that I found that I prefer to do Wim Hof through the nose as a theory that it’s not as intensely upregulating my nervous system?? Anyone else prefer or try this way??
I’m going to try removing the inhalation after breath retention and see if I notice any difference with the tinnitus. This is a new journey for me in examining and trying other ways to manage stress and anxiety after being familiar with down-regulating (parasympathetic ) breathwork for a number of years. I can say there’s something I appreciate about both approaches. The yin to the yang so to speak.
At any rate I feel as though I’m learning so much and it’s true that one has to find what works for them. But more importantly, paying attention to the nuances experienced during these practices may help us to arrive where we need to be.
Thank you for this topic. Very interesting and assuring.

Because you learn to hear the energy of thoughts outside of its vehicle.

My ears ring but I put it down to Motorhead!
Seriously, I’m at an age where I’d get it anyway. And if it was giving me slight ear issues….I’d still do it!

I get it for a few minutes after a lengthy session, fades out relatively quickly. Similar deal with psychedelics, but lasting much longer.

I’ve had tinnitus for around 15 years from loud noise exposure. It takes about 10 years to come to terms with in my experience.

Yes temporarily the Wim Hof breathing will cause tinnitus but it’s not from any damage. Ketamine also causes tinnitus as you get teleported into space.

It’s nothing to worry about and is actually a symptom of your senses becoming much sharper.

Not.