You Have Ringing in Your Ears But You Can Still Sleep

Are you being kept up by ringing in your ears? You don’t have to just live with it. Here are a few tips for quieting that irritating, persistent sound so you can sleep better.

Your sleep habits can be dramatically affected by moderate to severe tinnitus. In the middle of the day, you’re distracted by noise and activity so your tinnitus may seem less noticeable. But tinnitus can seem louder and more stressful at night when it’s quiet.

Fortunately, there are a variety of strategies you can use to get to sleep more easily.

Five tips for falling asleep when you have tinnitus are shown below.

1. Stop Resisting The Noise

While this may seem difficult to impossible, focusing on the noise actually makes it worse. If you start to become frustrated, your blood pressure goes up and this makes tinnitus symptoms worse. You will feel worse the more you think about it and your irritation will get worse. Focusing on something else and using the techniques below can help make the noise seem softer.

2. Establish a Nighttime Routine

Developing good sleep habits such as winding down at least a half hour before bed, dimming the lights and going to bed at the same time each night helps condition your body to feel sleepy at the correct time. When you’re ready to fall asleep it will be easier.

Stress has also been related to tinnitus. Establishing habits to lessen your stress level before bed can also help, such as:

• Concentrating on thoughts that make you calm and happy
• Making your bedroom a little cooler
• At least a few hours before you go to bed, steer clear of eating
• Listening to soft music or relaxing sounds
• Bathing
• Staying away from alcohol
• Dimming the lights at least an hour before you go to bed
• Doing deep breathing or a quick meditation
• Reading a book in a quiet room
• Stretching or doing yoga

Getting into a predictable routine before going to bed helps you shift from the stresses of the day into night and trains your body to transition into sleep.

3. Pay Attention to What You Eat

Artificial sweeteners and alcohol are well-known triggers for tinnitus. Steer clear of certain foods if you discover, after monitoring your diet and symptoms, that they trigger or worsen your tinnitus. You might feel that 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 can help avoid tinnitus or make it better. You can do a few things to help:

• If you have underlying conditions such as high blood pressure, get help for it
• Use headphones at a lower volume instead of earbuds
• Safeguard your ears
• so that you can determine whether your exposed to loud noises, and how to reduce that exposure, you need to evaluate your lifestyle
• Go for your yearly checkup
• If you have depression or anxiety, get it taken care of
• Go over your medications with your doctor to see if one may be causing tinnitus symptoms

You may be able to better deal with it if you can identify what’s causing the ringing.

5. Get Examined by a Hearing Care Specialist

A professional hearing examination can help you find possible solutions as well as identify what may be causing your tinnitus. There are several ways hearing professionals can help you take care of your tinnitus including:

• Scheduling a noise canceling hearing aid fitting
• Suggesting cognitive behavioral therapy to deal with thought patterns revealed to make tinnitus worse
• Enrolling in treatment to train your brain not to hear the tinnitus

To speed up healing 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 expert.