Is the ringing in your ears keeping you awake? You don’t need to just live with it. If you would like to get a better nights sleep, think about these tricks to quiet this annoying unrelenting noise.
Your sleep cycles can be significantly impacted by moderate to severe tinnitus. 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.
Luckily, there are a few strategies you can use to fall asleep easier.
Five tricks for falling asleep when you have tinnitus are shown below.
1. Stop Fighting Against The Noise
Even though this may sound difficult, if you focus on it, it gets worse. This is partly because for most people a rise in blood pressure can make tinnitus symptoms worse. So the more frustrated you become thinking about it, the worse you are probably going to feel. Focusing on something else and utilizing the techniques below can help make the noise seem softer.
2. Establish a Nighttime Routine
Formulating healthy sleep habits like winding down at least 30 minutes before bed, dimming the lights and going to bed at the same time each night helps condition your body to be sleepy at the correct 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 lessen stress before bed.
- Bathing
- Avoiding alcohol
- Stretching or doing yoga
- Concentrating on thoughts that make you calm and happy
- Doing deep breathing or a quick meditation
- At least a few hours before you go to bed, steer clear of eating
- Listening to gentle sounds or relaxing music
- At least an hour before going to bed, dim the lights
- Making your bedroom a little cooler
- Sitting in a quiet room and reading a book
Getting into a predictable schedule before bed helps you shift from the stresses of the day into night and teaches your body to transition into sleep.
3. Watch What You Eat
There are known triggers to tinnitus such as alcohol and artificial sweeteners. Stay away from certain foods if you discover, 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 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 improve or even stop it altogether. You can do several things to help:
- Get help for underlying conditions such as high blood pressure
- In order to identify whether your subjected to loud noises, and how to limit that exposure, you need to assess your lifestyle
- Schedule an appointment for your annual examination
- Don’t use earbuds…use headphones instead and keep the volume low
- Get treated for depression or anxiety
- Use ear protection
- Go over your medications with your doctor to see if one may be causing tinnitus symptoms
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 examination can help you find possible solutions as well as identify what may be causing your tinnitus. There are many ways hearing professionals can help you control your tinnitus including:
- Help you manage thought patterns shown to make tinnitus worse by recommending cognitive behavior treatment
- Scheduling a noise canceling hearing aid fitting
- Enrolling in therapy to train your brain not to hear the tinnitus
Expert help can hasten recovery and assist you to sleep better at night. To see if you can get some help with your tinnitus, schedule your appointment with a hearing care specialist.