Share:
Tinnitus The test in the head - the stress ringtone constantly in the ear
Whether students or teachers - more and more affected people can only cope with everyday life with great psychophysical effort. And that increases the risk of tinnitus. Because chronic stress can lead to changes in the auditory system and even to permanent damage to hearing sense cells. But how can schools and parents control it? The German Tinnitus Foundation Charité recommends: Resting even in school, stress reduction and education on the consequences of stress at a young age.
Image. tibanna79 - fotolia The pressure is high - in and out of school
High performance pressure, packed schedules and in the worst case also a bad class climate - the school life can be really stressful. But children need more rest, even at school. Among other things, this was demonstrated by the LBS Children's Barometer in January 2015, in which more than half of the children surveyed stated that the school offered too few opportunities for rest. The Kinderbund advised that parents should closely monitor alarm signals such as irritability, agitation and psychosomatic complaints of their children in order to recognize risks at an early stage and be able to counteract the stress.
Even now, a year later, this topic is up-to-date: In many states start the Abitur exams. Some of the students are under great pressure during this time - and not just at school. Because the stress does not stop at the school gate. Even outside, many children and adolescents do not find enough time to relax and are often left with their own thoughts during exams and school problems. Fear, depression and sleep disturbances can be consequences - and more and more pupils also suffer from ear noises. According to the German Center for Music Therapy Research in Heidelberg, the number of affected children and adolescents has been significantly underestimated: Tinnitus is similar in the age group of 14 years and older, as it is in adults. The main reasons for this are noise pollution and stress.
Dr. Wolfgang Steininger from the School Psychology Advisory Center of the district of Berlin-Lichtenberg reports: "Children and adolescents, who suffer from the high pressure to perform and some even show the first behavioral problems, often come to us. Most of them have been exposed to stressful situations for a long time. "The fact that this stress also continues outside of school becomes clear in his day-to-day work:" Many students do not treat themselves to rest after school. Homework, tuition, time pressure - often very ambitious parents behind it. In addition, there is the social pressure to want to survive in the class community, to be informed about news and to be well networked. So after the end of school, many catch up with smartphones and the like directly, which was "missed" in the morning. "Steininger sees the problem above all in the fact that many children and adolescents are overwhelmed with their own time management. There is not much time for relaxation.
The teaching staff is also at risk
It looks similar in many teacher's rooms. Teaching staff must fill spontaneous staff shortages and teach too many students at once. Add to that the daily noise in the reverberating school premises and unergonomic working conditions. At least 60% of school educators interviewed in a study in 2015 reported that they were well aware of these burdens and able to cope only with great mental and physical effort.5 Classic symptoms of overwork are irritability, fatigue, physical and emotional fatigue - and as a result also hearing damage. Very vividly describes the Dr. Steininger: "It's not unusual to see teachers listening to their ears because they can no longer bear the noise pollution at school. Have you ever been in a school hall when the pause bell rings and hundreds of students storm past you through the stairwell? Then you know how loud it can be in a school building. "
Tinnitus and stress
While stress alone does not trigger tinnitus directly, it may have a relevant impact on the tone in the ear but is now consensus in scientific circles.6 Medical studies, for example, show that tinnitus sufferers are more likely to be under stress than other ENT patients. In addition, it is often more difficult for sufferers with mental stress to cope with everyday life with tinnitus. Because who is under stress, directs the attention more to the ear noise. How stress can affect ear health, explains Prof. Dr. med. Mazurek, Director of the Tinnitus Center of the Berlin Charité and CEO of the German Tinnitus Foundation Charité: "Stress - and especially chronic stress - can play a major role in the development and consolidation of tinnitus. Increased release of the stress hormone cortisol can trigger changes in the auditory system, including damage to nerve and auditory sensory cells. "She therefore recommends" that treatment for tinnitus should include stress-reducing methods and therapies. "
The German Tinnitus Foundation Charité demands: Create and explain relaxation breaks
In order to prevent stress and consequences such as tinnitus, it is also advisable to take frequent rest breaks. Retreats for pupils and teachers on the school grounds and moments of deceleration are especially recommended. It is crucial "to shut down the level of arousal of children with pedagogical means". Steininger together. Stress-reducing methods, relaxation procedures and information on hearing protection should be on the timetable. Although noise prevention is already to be found in the curricula of the 4th and 9th grade, the subject is much too rarely actually taught. In addition, psychological support is still crucial to identifying the risk of congestion and intervening in good time. Above all, awareness of the health risk of too much stress has to be created - even at a young age. Information material on hearing protection, tinnitus and stress can be requested from the German Tinnitus Foundation Charité. (Pm)