The actual problem with chronic tinnitus isn’t just that you have a ringing in your ears. The real problem is that the ringing doesn’t stop.
At first, this might be a moderate noise that’s not much more than a little irritating. But the ringing can become aggravating and even incapacitating if it continues for days or months or more.
That’s why it’s critical that if you are coping with tinnitus you adhere to some tips to make life easier. It can make a big difference if you have a plan when you’re lying in bed unable to fall asleep because of the ringing or buzzing in your ear.
Your Tinnitus Can be Exacerbated
It’s important to remember that tinnitus is often not static. There are spikes and valleys in the presentation of symptoms. There are times when your tinnitus is mild and practically lost in the background. At other times the sounds will be screaming in your ears so loudly it’s impossible to ignore.
This can be a very uncertain and scary situation. Perhaps you even experience panic attacks while driving to work because you’re worried about your tinnitus flaring up during a meeting. That panic attack, in and of itself, can cause the very situation you’re concerned about.
Tips For Living With Tinnitus
You will be in a greater position to prepare for and control tinnitus the more you know about it. And, because there’s no known cure for tinnitus, management of symptoms is essential. With the appropriate treatment, there’s no reason that chronic tinnitus has to negatively impact your quality of life.
Think About Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) is a common approach to tinnitus management. The sound of rain on a roof is a common analogy: it’s very loud and noticeable when it first begins but by the end of the storm you stop paying attention to it and recedes into the background. TRT uses the same concept to teach your brain to move the tinnitus symptoms into the background of your thoughts so you will have an easier time ignoring them.
Mastering this strategy can take a bit of practice.
Distract Your Brain
One of the reasons that tinnitus can be so frustrating is because your brain is continuously searching for the source of that sound, trying to signal you to its presence. So supplying your brain with a variety of different sounds to concentrate on can be quite helpful. Try these:
- Take a bubble bath and read a book.
- Have music playing while painting a picture.
- Enjoy some time outside listening to the sounds of nature.
You get the point: Your tinnitus might be able to be reduced by engaging your brain.
Alternately, many individuals have discovered that meditation helps because it focuses your attention on something else, your breathing, a mantra, and so on. Some individuals have found that meditation reduces their blood pressure, which can also be helpful with tinnitus.
Manage Tinnitus With a Hearing Aid
Numerous hearing aid companies have developed hearing aids that help minimize the ringing in your ear. Hearing aids are a great solution because you put them in and can forget about it the entire day, you won’t need to carry around a white noise machine or constantly use an app. You can relax and let a discreet hearing aid manage the ringing for you.
Make a Plan (And Stick to it)
Making a plan for unexpected surges can help you handle your stress-out reaction, and that can help you reduce certain tinnitus episodes (or at least keep from worsening them). Plan on having a “go bag” full of stuff you might need. Anything that will help you be more prepared and keep you from having a panic attack, like making a list of practical exercises, will go a long way toward management.
Management is Key
Chronic tinnitus is a condition that has no known cure. But that doesn’t mean that people cannot regulate and treat their tinnitus. These everyday tips (and more like them) can help make certain you are living with tinnitus, and not suffering from tinnitus.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3303565/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5050200/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17956798/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4447068/
https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008664
