Are you being kept awake by ringing in your ears? You don’t have to just live with it. If you would like to get a better nights sleep, consider these guidelines to quiet this annoying persistent sound.
Moderate to severe tinnitus can really cause a problem with your sleep cycle. During the daytime, tinnitus can be less evident because you’re distracted by noise and activity. But at night, when it’s quiet, tinnitus can get louder and more disturbing.
Fortunately, there are a few techniques you can use to fall asleep easier.
Five tips for falling asleep when you have tinnitus are presented below.
1. Stop Resisting The Noise
Although this might sound difficult, if you pay attention to it, it gets worse. This is partly because for most people a rise in blood pressure can make tinnitus symptoms worse. You will feel worse the more you dwell on it and your aggravation will get worse. Focusing on something else and making use of the strategies below can help make the noise seem quieter.
2. Follow a Nighttime Schedule
Formulating healthy sleep habits like winding down at least 30 minutes before bed, dimming the lights and going to bed at the same time every night helps condition your body to be sleepy at the right time. When you’re ready to fall asleep it will be less difficult.
Tinnitus has also been related to stress. It’s also helpful to create habits to de-stress before bed.
- Listening to soft music or gentle sounds
- Avoiding alcohol
- Taking a bath
- reduce the heat in your bedroom
- Doing yoga and stretching
- Doing deep breathing or a quick meditation
- Dimming the lights at least an hour before you go to bed
- Focusing on thoughts that make you calm and happy
- Sitting in a quiet room and reading a book
- At least a few hours before you go to bed, avoid eating
Getting into a predictable schedule before going to bed helps you shift away from the stresses of the day into night and trains your body to transition into sleep.
3. Pay Attention to What You Eat
There are known triggers to tinnitus like alcohol and artificial sweeteners. Steer clear of certain foods if you find, after monitoring your diet and symptoms, that they trigger or worsen your tinnitus. You may feel that 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 of tinnitus can help it get better or even stop it altogether. You can do several things to help:
- Go over your medications with your doctor to see if one may be causing tinnitus symptoms
- Don’t use earbuds…use headphones instead and keep the volume low
- Get help for underlying conditions like high blood pressure
- Protect your ears
- Go for your yearly exam
- Evaluate your lifestyle to identify whether you’re subjected to loud noises (and how to limit exposure)
- If you suffer from anxiety or depression, get it treated
If you can determine what’s causing the ringing in your ears, you may be able to deal with it better.
5. Make an Appointment to See a Hearing Specialist
A professional hearing exam can help you discover what’s causing your tinnitus and suggest possible treatments. Professionals can help you handle your tinnitus in many ways such as:
- Suggesting cognitive behavioral therapy to deal with thought patterns revealed to make tinnitus worse
- Fitting you for hearing aids made to cancel out the noise
- Enrolling in treatment to train your brain to not hear the tinnitus
Professional help can hasten healing and help you sleep better at night. Schedule an appointment with your hearing care professional to see if you can get some help with your tinnitus.