Are you being kept awake by ringing in your ears? It’s not necessary. If you would like to get a better nights sleep, consider these tricks to tone down this aggravating unrelenting noise.
Your sleep cycles can be drastically impacted by moderate to severe tinnitus. During the day, you’re preoccupied with noise and activity so your tinnitus might seem less noticeable. But at night, when there’s less noise, tinnitus can get louder and more disturbing.
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 Fight The Noise
Although this might sound impossible, if you pay attention to it, it becomes worse. This is to some extent because for many people a rise in blood pressure can worsen tinnitus symptoms. You will feel worse the more you think about it and your irritation will get worse. Focusing on something else and making use of the strategies below can help make the noise seem softer.
2. Follow a Nighttime Schedule
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 you go to bed, and going to bed at the same time each night. This will make it less difficult to fall asleep when you’re ready.
Stress has also been linked to tinnitus. It also helps to build habits to lessen stress before bed.
- Doing a quick meditation or a deep breathing exercise
- Stay away from eating a few hours before going to bed
- Turn down the heat in your bedroom
- Bathing
- Focusing on thoughts that make you calm and happy
- Avoiding alcohol
- Listening to soft music or gentle sounds
- At least one hour before going to bed, dim the lights
- Stretching or doing yoga
- Reading a book in a quiet room
Training your body to transition into sleep by getting into a predictable regimen before bed helps you transition away from the stresses of the day.
3. Pay Attention to What You Eat
Artificial sweeteners and alcohol are known triggers for tinnitus. Avoid certain foods if you find, after monitoring your diet and symptoms, that they trigger or worsen your tinnitus. You may feel like you still need 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. You can do several things to help:
- Get treatment for anxiety or depression
- If you have inherent conditions like high blood pressure, get help for it
- Evaluate your lifestyle to determine whether you’re exposed to loud noises (and how to limit exposure)
- Review your medications with your doctor to see if one may be causing tinnitus symptoms
- Make an appointment for your yearly examination
- Protect your ears
- Don’t use earbuds…use headphones instead and keep the sound level low
If you can identify what’s causing the ringing in your ears, you might be able to deal with it better.
5. Get Examined by a Hearing Care Specialist
A professional hearing exam can help you identify what’s causing your tinnitus and suggest possible solutions. There are several ways hearing professionals can help you control your tinnitus including:
- Enrolling in therapy to train your brain to not hear the tinnitus
- Fitting you for hearing aids made to cancel out the noise
- Suggesting cognitive behavioral treatment to deal with thought patterns shown to make tinnitus worse
Professional help can speed up 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.