Is the ringing in your ears stopping you from sleeping? It’s not necessary. If you would like to sleep better, consider these tips to tone down this annoying unrelenting noise.
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.
The good news is, if you would like to fall asleep easier, there are some techniques you can use.
Five tricks for falling asleep with tinnitus are presented below.
1. Stop Resisting The Noise
While this might seem difficult to impossible, focusing on the noise actually makes it worse. If you start to become frustrated, your blood pressure increases and this causes tinnitus symptoms to get worse. So the more frustrated you become thinking about it, the worse you are probably going to feel. You can make the sound quieter by thinking about something else and using the following techniques.
2. Follow a Nighttime Routine
Condition your body to feel sleepy at the correct time by creating healthy sleep habits like dimming the lights, winding down at least a half an hour before bed, and going to bed at the same time each night. This will make it much easier to fall asleep when you’re ready.
Stress has also been linked to tinnitus. Developing habits to lower your stress level before bed can also help, such as:
- Concentrating on thoughts that make you relaxed and happy
- Taking a bath
- At least one hour before going to bed, dim the lights
- Avoiding eating a few hours before you go to bed
- Reading a book in a peaceful room
- Doing a short meditation or a deep breathing exercise
- Doing yoga and stretching
- Making your bedroom slightly cooler
- Staying away from alcohol
- Listening to soft music or gentle sounds
Training your body to transition into sleep by getting into a predictable routine before bed helps you shift away from the stresses of the day.
3. Watch What You Eat
Artificial sweeteners and alcohol are well-known triggers for tinnitus. If you find, after tracking your diet and symptoms, that certain foods trigger or worsen your tinnitus, make it a habit to steer clear of them. You may feel like you still need your morning coffee, but avoid caffeine in the afternoon or 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 several things to help:
- so that you can identify whether your exposed to loud noises, and how to reduce that exposure, you need to evaluate your lifestyle
- Get treatment for anxiety or depression
- Get help for underlying conditions like high blood pressure
- Don’t use earbuds…use headphones instead and keep the sound level low
- Protect your ears
- Go for your yearly exam
- To determine whether one of your medications is triggering tinnitus symptoms ask your doctor
If you can identify what’s causing the ringing in your ears, you might be able to deal with it better.
5. Make an Appointment to See a Hearing Specialist
A professional hearing test can help you find possible solutions as well as identify what might be causing your tinnitus. There are several ways hearing professionals can help you manage your tinnitus including:
- Help you deal with thought patterns shown to make tinnitus worse by recommending cognitive behavior therapy
- Enrolling in treatment to train your brain to not hear the tinnitus
- Scheduling a noise canceling hearing aid fitting
Professional help can hasten healing and assist you to sleep better at night. Schedule an appointment with your hearing care professional to find out if you can get some help with your tinnitus.