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 tips to tone down this annoying unrelenting sound.
Moderate to severe tinnitus can really cause a problem with your sleep cycle. During the day, you’re preoccupied with noise and activity so your tinnitus might seem less noticeable. But tinnitus can seem louder and more stressful at night when it’s quiet.
Fortunately, there are several techniques you can use to fall asleep easier.
Five tips for falling asleep with tinnitus are presented below.
1. Don’t Fight The Noise
While this may seem difficult to impossible, paying attention to the noise actually makes it worse. If you begin to become aggravated, your blood pressure rises and this makes tinnitus symptoms worse. You will feel worse the more you dwell on it and your aggravation will get worse. You can make the sound fade away a little by thinking about something else and utilizing the following techniques.
2. Follow a Nighttime Routine
Developing healthy sleep habits like winding down at least a half hour before bed, dimming the lights and going to bed at the same time each night helps condition your body to feel sleepy at the right time. When you’re ready to fall asleep it will be less difficult.
Stress has also been connected to tinnitus. It also helps to develop habits to de-stress before bed.
- Listening to gentle sounds or relaxing music
- Focusing on thoughts that make you relaxed and happy
- At least a few hours before you go to bed, avoid eating
- reduce the heat in your bedroom
- At least an hour before bed time, dim the lights
- Doing deep breathing or a quick meditation
- Doing yoga and stretching
- Avoiding drinking alcohol
- Bathing
- Sitting in a quiet room and reading a book
Getting into a predictable schedule before bed helps you shift away from the stresses of the day into night and trains your body to transition into sleep.
3. Watch What You Eat
Artificial sweeteners and alcohol are well-known triggers for tinnitus. 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 drinking it 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 of tinnitus can help it get better or even prevent it altogether. Here are several things you can do to help:
- If you have underlying conditions such as high blood pressure, get help for it
- To determine whether one of your medications is triggering tinnitus symptoms ask your doctor
- If you suffer from anxiety or depression, get it treated
- Use ear protection
- Assess your lifestyle to identify whether you’re subjected to loud noises (and how to limit exposure)
- Don’t use earbuds…use headphones instead and keep the sound level low
- Schedule an appointment for your annual examination
If you can identify what’s causing the ringing in your ears, you may be able to manage it better.
5. Make an Appointment to See a Hearing Specialist
A professional hearing examination can help you find possible solutions as well as identify what might be causing your tinnitus. There are many ways hearing professionals can help you manage your tinnitus including:
- Scheduling a noise canceling hearing aid fitting
- Help you train your brain not to hear tinnitus by signing you up for therapy
- Suggesting cognitive behavioral therapy to deal with thought patterns revealed to make tinnitus worse
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 expert.