With chronic tinnitus, it’s not the ringing in your ears that’s the actual issue. It’s the continuous never ending ringing, that’s the real problem.
Initially, 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 irritating, frustrating, even debilitating.
That’s why it’s essential that if you are coping with tinnitus you follow some tips to make life easier. It can make a huge 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 Made Worse
Chronic tinnitus, in fact, is commonly not a static problem. Symptoms manifest themselves in spikes and valleys. There are times when your tinnitus is minimal and virtually lost in the background. In other moments, that ringing could be as hard to ignore as a full-blown, personalized symphony.
This can be a really uncertain and frightening situation. You might be so concerned about your tinnitus flaring up while you’re in a meeting that you get a panic attack while you’re driving to work. And the very panic attack brought on by this worry can itself cause the tinnitus.
Tips For Coping With Tinnitus
You will be in a better position to plan for and manage tinnitus the more you understand about it. And management is critical since tinnitus doesn’t have a known cure. With the proper treatment, there’s no reason that chronic tinnitus has to negatively affect your quality of life.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy is One Approach
Many treatments for tinnitus include some form of tinnitus retraining therapy (or TRT). The analogy that gets used frequently is the sound of rain on your rooftops: very apparent at the beginning of a storm, but you stop focusing on it after a while and that rain-on-rooftops sound goes into the background. It’s the same basic strategy with TRT, teaching your brain to move that ringing into the background of your attention where it’s easier to ignore.
Perfecting this method can take a bit of practice.
Distract Your Brain
One of the reasons that tinnitus can be so frustrating is because your brain is constantly searching for the source of that sound, attempting to alert you to its presence. So giving your brain a variety of different sounds to concentrate on can be really helpful. You could:
- Read a book while taking a bubble bath.
- Do some drawing or painting while playing music.
- Bring a book to the park and listen to the birds while reading.
You get the gist: engaging your brain can help you manage your tinnitus.
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 reduce blood pressure which is a known cause of tinnitus symptoms.
Consider a Hearing Aid For Tinnitus Management
Many hearing aid companies have manufactured hearing aids that help minimize the ringing in your ear. This option is very convenient because they are small and out of your way compared to other strategies. You can relax and let a discreet hearing aid manage the ringing for you.
Have a Plan (And Stick to it)
The impact of some tinnitus episodes can be lessened, and your stress response can be controlled if you have a good plan for any surges in your symptoms. Pack a bag of useful items to take with you. Anything that will help you be more ready and keep you from panicking, like making a list of helpful exercises, will go a long way toward management.
The Key is Management
Chronic tinnitus is a condition that has no known cure. But that doesn’t mean that individuals can’t manage and treat their tinnitus. These daily tips (and more like them) can help make certain you are living with tinnitus, and not suffering from tinnitus.
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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