The real issue with chronic tinnitus isn’t simply that you have a ringing in your ears. It’s the continual never ending ringing, that’s the real issue.
The constant noise, possibly rather moderate in volume, might begin as little more than an annoyance. But the ringing can become frustrating and even debilitating if it persists for days or months or more.
That’s why it’s vital to have some tips to fall back on, tips that make living with tinnitus easier. When you’re lying in bed, having trouble falling asleep because you keep hearing buzzing from your right ear, having a plan is going to do you a world of good.
Your Tinnitus Can be Exacerbated
It’s beneficial to remember that tinnitus is often not static. There are spikes and valleys in the manifestation of symptoms. There are times when your tinnitus is mild and practically lost in the background. At other times, that ringing could be as difficult to ignore as a full-blown, individualized symphony.
That can leave you in a pretty frightening place of anxiety. Maybe you even get 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 episode you’re worried about.
Tips For Coping With Tinnitus
The more you understand about tinnitus, the better you can prepare for and manage the effects. And, because there’s no known cure for tinnitus, control of symptoms is essential. 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 strategy for tinnitus management. The analogy that gets floated around frequently is the sound of rain on your rooftops: very apparent at the beginning of a storm, but you stop paying attention to it after a while and that rain-on-rooftops sound goes 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.
It can take practice to get this technique down.
Distract Your Brain
One reason tinnitus can be so frustrating is because your brain is continuously looking for the source of that sound, trying to alert you to its presence. So supplying your brain with a variety of different sounds to focus on can be very helpful. Try these:
- Take a bubble bath while reading a book.
- Do some drawing or painting while playing music.
- Enjoy some time outdoors listening to the sounds of nature.
You get the idea: Your tinnitus may be able to be reduced by engaging your brain.
Meditation, as an alternate approach, helps you concentrate your attention on a mantra, or your breathing which helps take your focus away from your tinnitus. Another advantage of meditation, at least for some people, is that it can decrease blood pressure which is a known cause of tinnitus symptoms.
Manage Tinnitus With a Hearing Aid
Several hearing aid companies have manufactured hearing aids that help minimize the ringing in your ear. Hearing aids are an ideal solution 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 deal with the ringing for you.
Have a Plan (And Follow-Through)
Having a plan for unexpected spikes can help you control your stress-out response, and that can help you decrease certain tinnitus episodes (or at least keep from worsening them). Pack a bag of useful items to bring with you. 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
Chronic tinnitus is a condition that has no known cure. But that doesn’t mean that individuals can’t regulate and treat their tinnitus. Make certain you are dealing with your tinnitus not suffering from it by utilizing these tips and any others that you find helpful.
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