Are you being kept up by ringing in your ears? You don’t have to just live with it. Here are a few tricks for quieting that annoying, persistent sound so you can sleep better.
Your sleep habits can be significantly affected by moderate to severe tinnitus. During the daytime, tinnitus can be less noticeable because you’re distracted by noise and activity. But tinnitus can seem louder and more stressful at night when it’s not as loud.
Luckily, there are a variety of techniques you can use to get to sleep more easily.
Five tips for falling asleep when you have tinnitus are presented below.
1. Don’t Resist The Noise
Even though this may sound impossible, if you pay attention to it, it gets worse. If you start to get frustrated, your blood pressure rises and this causes tinnitus symptoms to get worse. You will feel worse the more you dwell on it and your aggravation will increase. You can make the sound quieter by thinking about something else and employing the following techniques.
2. Follow a Nighttime Routine
Condition your body to get sleepy at the correct time by creating good sleep habits like 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. When you’re ready to fall asleep it will be less difficult.
Tinnitus has also been linked to stress. Creating habits to lower your stress level before you go to bed can also help, such as:
- Bathing
- Reading a book in a peaceful room
- Concentrating on thoughts that make you happy and relaxed
- Avoiding drinking alcohol
- At least one hour before going to bed, dim the lights
- Stay away from eating a few hours before going to bed
- Doing deep breathing or a short meditation
- Listening to soft music or relaxing sounds
- Stretching or doing yoga
- Making your bedroom slightly cooler
Getting into a predictable routine before bed helps you shift away from the stresses of the day into night and teaches your body to transition into sleep.
3. Pay Attention to What You Eat
Artificial sweeteners and alcohol are well-known triggers for tinnitus. Stay away from certain foods if you discover, after monitoring your diet and symptoms, that they trigger or worsen your tinnitus. You may feel like you still have to have your morning coffee, but avoid caffeine in the afternoon or at nights.
4. Avoid Common Causes of Tinnitus
Ringing or other noises in your ears can be caused by many things. Dealing with the cause of tinnitus can help it improve or even prevent it altogether. You can do a few things to help:
- Get treatment for anxiety or depression
- In order to identify whether your exposed to loud noises, and how to reduce that exposure, you need to assess your lifestyle
- Don’t use earbuds…use headphones instead and keep the sound level low
- Protect your ears
- Get help for inherent conditions like high blood pressure
- Make an appointment for your annual examination
- To find out if one of your medications is triggering tinnitus symptoms consult your doctor
You may be able to better deal with it if you can determine what’s causing the ringing.
5. Get Examined by a Hearing Care Specialist
A professional hearing test can help you identify what’s causing your tinnitus and suggest possible solutions. There are several ways hearing professionals can help you manage your tinnitus including:
- Fitting you for hearing aids designed to cancel out the noise
- Help you train your brain to not hear tinnitus by signing you up for therapy
- Help you handle thought patterns shown to make tinnitus worse by suggesting cognitive behavior therapy
Expert help can speed up recovery and help you sleep better at night. To see if you can get some help with your tinnitus, schedule your appointment with a hearing care specialist.