Is the ringing in your ears keeping you awake? You don’t need to just live with it. If you want to sleep better, think about these guidelines to tone down this irritating unrelenting sound.
Moderate to severe tinnitus can definitely 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 at night, when there’s less noise, tinnitus can seem louder and more disturbing.
The good news is, if you would like to fall asleep easier, there are some things you can do.
Five tricks for falling asleep when you have tinnitus are presented below.
1. Quit Fighting Against The Noise
Even though this might sound impossible, if you focus on 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 irritation will increase. You can make the sound fade away a little by thinking about something else and employing the following techniques.
2. Establish a Nighttime Schedule
Establishing 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. When you’re ready to fall asleep it will be easier.
Tinnitus has also been linked to stress. Establishing habits to lower your stress level before you go to bed can also help, such as:
- Avoiding drinking alcohol
- Taking a bath
- Making your bedroom slightly cooler
- Avoiding eating a few hours before going to bed
- Dimming the lights at least an hour before you go to bed
- Focusing on thoughts that make you feel happy and relaxed
- Listening to mellow music or relaxing sounds
- Doing a short meditation or deep breathing
- Doing yoga and stretching
- Reading a book in a peaceful room
Teaching 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. Pay Attention to What You Eat
There are known triggers to tinnitus such as alcohol and artificial sweeteners. If you discover, after monitoring your diet and symptoms, that specific foods trigger or worsen your tinnitus, make it a practice to steer clear of them. You might feel like you still have to have 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. Addressing the cause can help avoid tinnitus or make it better. You can do several things to help:
- Protect your ears
- Use headphones at a lower volume instead of earbuds
- so that you can identify whether your subjected to loud noises, and how to reduce that exposure, you need to evaluate your lifestyle
- If you suffer from anxiety or depression, get it taken care of
- Get help for underlying conditions such as high blood pressure
- Go for your annual exam
- To find out if one of your medications is causing tinnitus symptoms consult your doctor
You may be able to better deal with 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 identify what’s causing your tinnitus and indicate possible treatments. Professionals can help you control your tinnitus in several ways such as:
- Recommending cognitive behavioral treatment to deal with thought patterns shown to make tinnitus worse
- Scheduling a noise canceling hearing aid fitting
- Help you train your brain to not hear tinnitus by signing you up for therapy
To speed up recovery 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 specialist.