The actual issue with chronic tinnitus isn’t only 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 bit irritating. But after a day or a week or a month, that buzzing or ringing can become aggravating, frustrating, even debilitating.
That’s why it’s crucial that if you are living with tinnitus you follow some tips to make life easier. When you’re lying in bed, having difficulty falling asleep because you keep hearing ringing from your left ear, having a plan is going to do you a world of good.
How You Can Exacerbate Your Tinnitus
Chronic tinnitus, after all, is frequently not a static condition. There are increases and decreases in the presentation of symptoms. There are times when your tinnitus is minimal and practically lost in the background. At other times the sounds will be shrieking in your ears so loudly it’s impossible to ignore.
That can leave you in a rather scary place of uncertainty. Perhaps you even get panic attacks while driving to work because you’re worried about your tinnitus flaring up while you’re in a meeting. That panic attack, in and of itself, can cause the very situation you’re concerned about.
Tips For Coping With Tinnitus
The more you know about tinnitus, the better you can plan for and control the effects. And, because there’s no known cure for tinnitus, management of symptoms is vital. There’s no reason that your quality of life has to suffer if you put in place the proper treatment.
Think About Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) is a standard approach to tinnitus management. The analogy that gets floated around frequently is the sound of rain on your rooftops: very apparent at the start of a storm, but you stop paying attention to it after a while and that rain-on-rooftops sound goes into the background. It’s the same basic concept with TRT, teaching your brain to move that ringing into the background of your thoughts where it’s easier to ignore.
It can take training to get this technique down.
Get Your Brain Distracted
One reason tinnitus can be so frustrating is because your brain is constantly looking for the source of that noise, trying to signal you to its presence. So giving your brain more (and varied) stimulation to focus on can be helpful. Try these:
- Enjoy some time outside listening to the sounds of nature.
- Enjoy a book while soaking in a bubble bath.
- Have music playing while painting a picture.
You get the gist: Your tinnitus might be able to be decreased by engaging your brain.
Meditation, as an alternate approach, helps you focus your attention on a mantra, or your breathing which helps take your attention away from your tinnitus. Another advantage of meditation, at least for some, is that it can decrease blood pressure which is a common cause of tinnitus symptoms.
Manage Tinnitus With a Hearing Aid
Hearing aids that help reduce tinnitus symptoms are already being developed by numerous hearing aid companies. Hearing aids are a great option because you put them in and can forget about them the entire day, you won’t need to carry around a white noise generator or constantly listen to an app. You can relax and let a discreet hearing aid take care of the ringing for you.
Have a Plan (And Stick to it)
The impact of some tinnitus episodes can be lessened, and your stress reaction can be controlled if you have a good plan for any spikes in your symptoms. Plan on having a “go bag” containing stuff you may 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.
The Key is Management
There is no cure for tinnitus which is usually chronic. But that doesn’t mean that people cannot manage and treat their tinnitus. Make sure you are dealing with your tinnitus not suffering from it by utilizing these tips and any others that you find helpful.
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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