You Have Ringing in Your Ears But You Can Still Sleep

Are you being kept awake by ringing in your ears? It’s not necessary. Here are a few tricks for quieting that irritating, constant sound so you can get some sleep.

Moderate to severe tinnitus can really throw a monkey wrench in your sleeping habits. 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 not as loud.

Luckily, there are several strategies you can use to get to sleep more easily.

Five tricks for falling asleep when you have tinnitus are presented below.

1. Don’t Resist The Noise

Though this may sound difficult, if you pay attention to it, it becomes worse. If you start to become irritated, your blood pressure rises and this makes tinnitus symptoms worse. So the more frustrated you become dwelling on it, the worse you are probably going to feel. You can make the sound quieter by thinking about something else and employing the following techniques.

2. Establish a Nighttime Schedule

Condition your body to feel sleepy at the correct time by developing good sleep habits such as dimming the lights, winding down at least a 30 minutes before bed, and going to bed at the same time every night. This will make it less difficult to fall asleep when you’re ready.

Tinnitus has also been linked to stress. Creating habits to lessen your stress level before bed can also help, such as:

• Going into a bath
• Doing yoga and stretching
• Making your bedroom a little cooler
• Doing a quick meditation or a deep breathing exercise
• At least an hour before bed time, dim the lights
• Avoiding alcohol
• At least a few hours before you go to bed, avoid eating
• Listening to soft music or gentle sounds
• Focusing on thoughts that make you feel happy and calm
• Reading a book in a peaceful room

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

3. Pay Attention to What You Eat

There are known triggers to tinnitus such as alcohol and artificial sweeteners. Steer clear of certain foods if you find, after tracking your diet and symptoms, that they trigger or worsen your tinnitus. Caffeine is also a trigger so at least avoid drinking it in the afternoon and 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. Here are several things you can do to help:

• Go for your yearly exam
• Don’t use earbuds…use headphones instead and keep the sound level low
• If you suffer from anxiety or depression, get it treated
• Use ear protection
• If you have underlying conditions such as high blood pressure, get help for it
• Go over your medications with your doctor to see if one may be causing tinnitus symptoms
• so that you can determine whether your subjected to loud noises, and how to limit that exposure, you have to assess your lifestyle

You may be able to better manage it if you can discover what’s causing the ringing.

5. Get Examined by a Hearing Care Specialist

A professional hearing exam 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 manage your tinnitus including:

• Help you train your brain not to hear tinnitus by enrolling you in therapy
• Help you handle thought patterns shown to make tinnitus worse by recommending cognitive behavior treatment
• Fitting you for hearing aids made 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 specialist.