Are you being kept awake by ringing in your ears? It’s not necessary. Here are a few tricks for quieting that irritating, persistent noise so you can sleep better.
Your sleep cycles can be significantly impacted by moderate to severe tinnitus. During the daytime, tinnitus can be less obvious because you’re preoccupied with noise and activity. But during the night, when it’s quiet, tinnitus can get louder and more stressful.
Luckily, there are a few techniques you can use to fall asleep more easily.
Five tips for falling asleep when you have tinnitus are shown below.
1. Quit Fighting Against The Noise
Even though this might sound difficult, if you focus on it, it gets worse. This is partly because for many people a rise in blood pressure can make tinnitus symptoms worse. So the more aggravated you become dwelling on it, the worse you are probably going to feel. Focusing on something else and using the strategies below can help make the noise seem softer.
2. Establish a Nighttime Schedule
Developing good 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 correct time. This will make it less difficult to fall asleep when you’re ready.
Stress has also been connected to tinnitus. It also helps to develop habits to de-stress before bed.
- Concentrating on thoughts that make you happy and calm
- At least a few hours before you go to bed, steer clear of eating
- Going into a bath
- Doing a short meditation or a deep breathing exercise
- Listening to quiet sounds or relaxing music
- Stretching or doing yoga
- Reading a book in a peaceful room
- At least one hour before bed time, dim the lights
- Turn down the temperature in your bedroom
- Staying away from drinking alcohol
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
There are known triggers to tinnitus such as alcohol and artificial sweeteners. If you discover, after tracking your diet and symptoms, that certain foods trigger or worsen your tinnitus, make it a habit to steer clear of them. Caffeine is also a trigger so at least avoid drinking it in the afternoon and evening.
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 get better or even stop it altogether. You can do a few things to help:
- Get treatment for anxiety or depression
- To determine whether one of your medications is triggering tinnitus symptoms ask your doctor
- Get help for underlying conditions such as high blood pressure
- Use headphones at a lower volume instead of earbuds
- Go for your yearly exam
- Safeguard your ears
- Assess your lifestyle to determine whether you’re subjected to loud noises (and how to limit exposure)
If you can discover 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 examination can help you find potential solutions as well as identify what might be causing your tinnitus. Professionals can help you manage your tinnitus in several ways such as:
- Enrolling in treatment to train your brain to not hear the tinnitus
- Fitting you for hearing aids designed to cancel out the noise
- Help you handle thought patterns shown to make tinnitus worse by suggesting cognitive behavior treatment
To speed up healing and sleep better at night, seek professional help. To see if you can get some help with your tinnitus, schedule your appointment with a hearing care expert.
