Ringing in your ears keeping you awake? You don’t have to just live with it. If you want to sleep better, consider these tips to tone down this annoying unrelenting sound.
Your sleep cycles can be significantly affected by moderate to severe tinnitus. In the middle of the day, you’re preoccupied with noise and activity so your tinnitus might seem less noticeable. But tinnitus can seem louder and more disturbing at night when it’s quiet.
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 in spite of your tinnitus.
1. Don’t Resist The Noise
While this may appear difficult to impossible, focusing on the noise actually makes it worse. This is to some extent because for many people a rise in blood pressure can worsen tinnitus symptoms. So the more frustrated you get dwelling on it, the worse you are likely to feel. Focusing on something else and making use of the strategies below can help make the noise seem softer.
2. Establish a Nighttime Routine
Condition your body to feel sleepy at the correct time by developing healthy sleep habits such as dimming the lights, winding down at least a 30 minutes before you go to bed, and going to bed at the same time each night. This will make it easier to fall asleep when you’re ready.
Tinnitus has also been linked to stress. Developing habits to lower your stress level before bed can also help, like:
- Staying away from alcohol
- Making your bedroom a little cooler
- Doing yoga and stretching
- At least an hour before going to bed, dim the lights
- Concentrating on thoughts that make you feel happy and relaxed
- Listening to soft music or gentle sounds
- Stay away from eating a few hours before you go to bed
- Reading a book in a quiet room
- Going into a bath
- Doing deep breathing or a quick meditation
Teaching your body to transition into sleep by getting into a predictable regimen before bed helps you shift away from the stresses of the day.
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 specific foods trigger or worsen your tinnitus, make it a practice to avoid them. Caffeine is also a trigger so at least avoid having any in the afternoon and evening.
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 causing tinnitus symptoms ask your doctor
- If you suffer from anxiety or depression, get it treated
- Safeguard your ears
- Don’t use earbuds…use headphones instead and keep the sound level low
- Go for your yearly checkup
- Assess your lifestyle to identify whether you’re subjected to loud noises (and how to limit exposure)
- If you have underlying conditions such as high blood pressure, get help for it
You might be able to better manage it if you can discover what’s causing the ringing.
5. Get Examined by a Hearing Care Specialist
A professional hearing test can help you find possible solutions as well as identify what might be causing your tinnitus. Professionals can help you manage your tinnitus in many ways such as:
- Help you train your brain to not hear tinnitus by enrolling you in therapy
- Suggesting cognitive behavioral therapy to deal with thought patterns shown to make tinnitus worse
- Fitting you for hearing aids created to cancel out the noise
To speed up recovery and sleep better at night, seek professional help. To find out if you can get some help with your tinnitus, schedule your appointment with a hearing care specialist.