Are you being kept up by ringing in your ears? You don’t need to just live with it. If you would like to sleep better, consider these guidelines to quiet this aggravating unrelenting noise.
Your sleep habits can be significantly affected by moderate to severe tinnitus. During the daytime, tinnitus can be less noticeable because you’re preoccupied with noise and activity. But during the night, when there’s less noise, tinnitus can get louder and more stressful.
Fortunately, there are a few strategies you can use to get to sleep more easily.
Below are 5 techniques to falling asleep despite your tinnitus.
1. Don’t Fight The Noise
Though this may sound difficult, if you pay attention to it, it gets worse. This is in part because for most people higher blood pressure can make tinnitus symptoms worse. You will feel worse the more you dwell on it and your frustration will increase. You can make the sound fade away a little by thinking about something else and employing the following techniques.
2. Follow a Nighttime Routine
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 feel sleepy at the right time. This will make it much easier to fall asleep when you’re ready.
Tinnitus has also been associated with stress. It also helps to create habits to de-stress before bed.
- Listening to quiet sounds or relaxing music
- Staying away from alcohol
- Doing deep breathing or a short meditation
- At least a few hours before you go to bed, avoid eating
- Stretching or doing yoga
- Bathing
- Dimming the lights at least an hour before bedtime
- Making your bedroom a little cooler
- Reading a book in a peaceful room
- Concentrating on thoughts that make you feel happy and relaxed
Training your body to transition into sleep by getting into a predictable regimen before bed helps you shift away from the stresses of the day.
3. Watch What You Eat
There are known triggers to tinnitus like alcohol and artificial sweeteners. Stay away from certain foods if you find, after tracking your diet and symptoms, that they trigger or worsen your tinnitus. You might feel like you still have to have your morning coffee, but avoid caffeine in the afternoon or 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:
- Go for your annual checkup
- Get treated for depression or anxiety
- To find out if one of your medications is triggering tinnitus symptoms consult your doctor
- Use headphones at a lower volume instead of earbuds
- If you have underlying conditions such as high blood pressure, get help for it
- Evaluate your lifestyle to identify whether you’re subjected to loud noises (and how to limit exposure)
- Safeguard your ears
If you can determine what’s causing the ringing in your ears, you may be able to deal with it better.
5. Make an Appointment to See a Hearing 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 handle your tinnitus in many ways such as:
- Recommending cognitive behavioral therapy to deal with thought patterns shown to make tinnitus worse
- Enrolling in treatment to train your brain to not hear the tinnitus
- Fitting you for hearing aids designed to cancel out the noise
To speed up healing 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.