Are you being kept awake by ringing in your ears? You don’t need to just live with it. If you would like to get a better nights sleep, think about these guidelines to tone down this annoying unrelenting sound.
Moderate to severe tinnitus can really throw a monkey wrench in your sleeping habits. In the middle of the day, you’re distracted by noise and activity so your tinnitus might seem less noticeable. But during the night, when there’s less noise, tinnitus can get louder and more stressful.
The good news is, if you want to have an easier time falling asleep, there are some techniques you can use.
Below are 5 techniques to falling asleep despite your tinnitus.
1. Quit Fighting Against The Noise
Though this might sound impossible, if you focus on it, it becomes worse. If you begin to get irritated, your blood pressure rises and this makes tinnitus symptoms worse. You will feel worse the more you think about it and your aggravation will increase. You can make the sound fade away a little by thinking about something else and employing the following techniques.
2. Follow a Nighttime Routine
Condition your body to feel sleepy at the right time by creating healthy sleep habits such as dimming the lights, winding down at least a 30 minutes before bed, and going to bed at the same time every night. This will make it much easier to fall asleep when you’re ready.
Tinnitus has also been related to stress. Establishing habits to lower your stress level before you go to bed can also be helpful, like:
- Avoiding alcohol
- Concentrating on thoughts that make you happy and calm
- At least an hour before bed time, dim the lights
- Taking a bath
- Listening to quiet sounds or relaxing music
- Stay away from eating a few hours before going to bed
- Making your bedroom slightly cooler
- Sitting in a quiet room and reading a book
- Doing deep breathing or a short meditation
- Doing yoga and stretching
Getting into a predictable schedule before bed helps you shift from the stresses of the day into night and trains your body to transition into sleep.
3. Watch What You Eat
There are known triggers to tinnitus like alcohol and artificial sweeteners. If you discover, after monitoring your diet and symptoms, that certain foods trigger or worsen your tinnitus, make it a practice to stay away from them. You might feel like you still have to have your morning coffee, but avoid caffeine in the afternoon or at nights.
4. The Common Causes of Tinnitus Should be Avoided
Ringing or other noises in your ears can be caused by many things. Dealing with the cause can help prevent tinnitus or make it better. Here are several things you can do to help:
- To find out if one of your medications is triggering tinnitus symptoms check with your doctor
- Assess your lifestyle to determine whether you’re exposed to loud noises (and how to limit exposure)
- Get help for underlying conditions such as high blood pressure
- Get treated for anxiety or depression
- Don’t use earbuds…use headphones instead and keep the volume low
- Protect your ears
- Go for your yearly examination
You may be able to better deal with it if you can discover what’s causing the ringing.
5. Get Examined by a Hearing Care Specialist
A professional hearing exam can help you discover what’s causing your tinnitus and suggest possible solutions. There are many ways hearing professionals can help you manage your tinnitus including:
- Scheduling a noise canceling hearing aid fitting
- Suggesting cognitive behavioral therapy to deal with thought patterns revealed to make tinnitus worse
- Enrolling in treatment to train your brain to not hear the tinnitus
Professional help can hasten healing and help you sleep better at night. To find out if you can get some help with your tinnitus, schedule your appointment with a hearing care expert.