Are you being kept up by ringing in your ears? It’s not necessary. If you would like to get a better nights sleep, consider these tricks to quiet this aggravating persistent sound.
Your sleep cycles can be dramatically affected by moderate to severe tinnitus. During the daytime, tinnitus can be less evident because you’re distracted by noise and activity. But tinnitus can seem louder and more disturbing at night when it’s not as loud.
Luckily, there are several strategies you can use to fall asleep more easily.
Below are 5 tips to falling asleep in spite of your tinnitus.
1. Don’t Fight The Noise
While this might appear difficult to impossible, paying attention to the noise actually makes it worse. If you start to become frustrated, your blood pressure increases and this makes tinnitus symptoms worse. So the more irritated you get thinking about it, the worse you are likely to feel. You can make the sound quieter by thinking about something else and utilizing the following techniques.
2. Establish a Nighttime Routine
Condition your body to get sleepy at the right time by creating good sleep habits such as dimming the lights, winding down at least a half an hour before bed, and going to bed at the same time every night. When you’re ready to fall asleep it will be less difficult.
Tinnitus has also been related to stress. Developing habits to lessen your stress level before you go to bed can also help, like:
- Going into a bath
- Stretching or doing yoga
- Reading a book in a peaceful room
- Concentrating on thoughts that make you happy and relaxed
- Listening to quiet sounds or relaxing music
- Doing deep breathing or a short meditation
- Avoiding drinking alcohol
- Stay away from eating a few hours before you go to bed
- reduce the temperature in your bedroom
- Dimming the lights at least one hour before you go to bed
Getting into a predictable routine 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. Watch What You Eat
There are known triggers to tinnitus such as 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. Caffeine is also a trigger so at least avoid having any in the afternoon and at night.
4. The Common Causes of Tinnitus Should be Avoided
Ringing or other noises in your ears can be caused by many things. Addressing the cause can help prevent tinnitus or make it better. Here are a few things you can do to help:
- Get treated for anxiety or depression
- Safeguard your ears
- Assess your lifestyle to determine whether you’re subjected to loud noises (and how to limit exposure)
- If you have underlying conditions like high blood pressure, get help for it
- Go for your yearly examination
- To determine whether one of your medications is triggering tinnitus symptoms consult your doctor
- Don’t use earbuds…use headphones instead and keep the volume low
You may be able to better manage it if you can identify what’s causing the ringing.
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 solutions. Professionals can help you manage your tinnitus in many ways such as:
- Scheduling a noise canceling hearing aid fitting
- Enrolling in therapy to train your brain to not hear the tinnitus
- Help you deal with thought patterns revealed to make tinnitus worse by suggesting cognitive behavior therapy
Expert help can hasten healing and help you sleep better at night. Schedule an appointment with your hearing care professional to find out if you can get some help with your tinnitus.