Why Are My Ears Ringing During Meditation?

If you’ve experienced ringing in your ears you know that it’s not an enjoyable experience. However, some people experience ringing in their ears when they meditate and are confused as to why this happens.

The truth is that you may have ringing in your ears during meditation for several reasons. One reason is that you may have Tinnitus which is a medical issue that causes someone to hear ringing or buzzing in their ears. Another possibility is that you are becoming more aware and conscious leading to you perceiving a ringing sensation.

Whichever of the possibilities is true for you, none of them are of any real concern.

You may have tinnitus

Tinnitus is a medical condition that causes a high pitched ringing sound to be perceived. The experience of tinnitus is often described as annoying and unwanted.

This type of ear ringing may not be caused by your meditation session, rather it points to a medical cause.

You may have tinnitus if you recently:

  • experienced a loud noise
  • had an ear infection
  • had a head injury

Of the 15-20% of the population that experiences tinnitus, meditation may exacerbate or make your tinnitus more apparent.

Your awareness is increasing

Meditation is the practice of deepening your present experience by focusing your attention. During this process of mindful observation you are raising your level of awareness.

When you increase your awareness through meditation, you may become aware of subtle noises and sensations you usually don’t notice.

It’s possible that during meditation you become aware of a subtle ringing in your ears that’s always present. Simply, now you’re noticing it because of your mindful practice.

In fact, most people have some subtle ringing in there ears all the time, but your brain tunes it out naturally until you become hyper aware of all your senses.

It’s also entirely possible that as you increase your awareness through meditation you’re coming close to a spiritual awakening.

Ringing in the ears is a sign of spiritual awakening

Ringing in your ears is also a sign of spiritual awakening. As your awareness increases to the point where you start to notice subtle things like ears ringing, don’t be surprised if you find yourself having profound spiritual insights.

You may be becoming aware of many other things in your environment, psyche, and mind.

Some claim that ringing ears is a sign of the opening up of the third eye chakra, leading to great spiritual insight.

Dibba-Sota

Dibba-Sota is a Buddhist word meaning “divine ear” known as one of the 6 higher powers associated with spiritual practice.

What can you do about ringing ears during meditation?

You have a couple options when it comes to what to do about this annoyance during meditation.

1. Continue meditating anyways

Most likely ringing in your ears during meditation is nothing to worry about. You can instead use it to your advantage during a meditation.

Try using the ringing in your ears as a focal point for your attention. After all, focusing on a specific sound is the root of transcendental meditation.

> see my article “7 Best Types of Meditation: Which is Best For You?”

Overcoming the annoyance and frustration of your ringing ears could be the next step to having a meditation breakthrough.

2. Play white noise or music

You can always play music or white noise to cover up the ear ringing. Playing some form of white noise will allow your brain to focus on some other noise and tune out the ear ringing.

Can You Meditate With Music?

3. See a doctor

If you genuinely feel like your health is at risk or that the ear ringing is truly a sign of a health problem, you can always consult your doctor. Tinnitus could be a symptom of something else going on in your ears or brain.

This most likely this isn’t the case. But if you really are concerned, by all means reach out to a medical professional.

What does it all mean?

Well, here’s what we know for sure. You’re probably not going to die and probably nothing is wrong with you if you have ringing in your ears.

Yes, it may be annoying or possibly indicative of another health problem. But most likely you’re just noticing something that’s always been present throughout your life as you bring careful attention to your senses in meditation practice.

It could also be a sign that you’re making progress on your spiritual journey of raising your consciousness. My suggestion is to look deeper into the ringing in your ears. Become even more aware of it and see what happens.

Hi, I’m Ryan. I’m a meditation teacher, spiritual seeker, and founder of nurtureyourspirit.org. I’m glad you’re here! I founded Nurture Your Spirit because of my love of meditation, spirituality, and spiritual awakening.

1 thought on “Why Are My Ears Ringing During Meditation?”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Discover the 6 stages of awakening and find out where you are in your spiritual journey.

This quiz will take only 1 minute to complete

Discover the 6 stages of awakening and find out where you are in your spiritual journey.

This quiz will take only 1 minute to complete