With chronic tinnitus, it isn’t the ringing in your ears that’s the real issue. The real issue is that the ringing doesn’t stop.
Initially, this might be a mild noise that’s not much more than a little irritating. But the ringing can become frustrating and even incapacitating if it persists for days or months or more.
That’s why it’s crucial that if you are coping with tinnitus you follow some tips to make life easier. When you’re lying in bed, having trouble falling asleep because you keep hearing buzzing from your left ear, having a plan is going to do you a world of good.
How You Can Worsen Your Tinnitus
Chronic tinnitus, after all, is often not a static condition. There are spikes and valleys in the manifestation of symptoms. There are times when your tinnitus is minor and virtually lost in the background. At other times the sounds will be shrieking in your ears so loudly it’s impossible to dismiss.
That can leave you in a very scary place of uncertainty. You might be so worried about your tinnitus flaring up while you’re in a meeting that you have a panic attack while you’re driving to work. And the very panic attack caused by this worry can itself trigger the tinnitus.
Tips For Coping With Tinnitus
The more you understand about tinnitus, the better you can plan for and manage the effects. And management is critical since tinnitus has no known cure. There’s no reason that your quality of life needs to suffer if you put in place the right treatment.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy is One Approach
Many treatment options for tinnitus involve some kind of tinnitus retraining therapy (or TRT). The sound of rain on a rooftop is a common analogy: very obvious at the start of a storm, but you stop paying attention to it after a while and that rain-on-rooftops sound fades into the background. TRT uses the same principle to teach your brain to move the tinnitus symptoms into the background of your thoughts so you will have an easier time tuning it out.
Mastering this strategy can take some practice.
Distract Your Brain
One of the reasons that tinnitus can be so infuriating is because your brain is constantly searching for the source of that sound, attempting to alert you to its presence. So giving your brain more (and varied) stimuli to focus on can be helpful. You could:
- Enjoy a book while taking a bubble bath.
- Play music while you paint a picture.
- Take a book to the park and listen to the birds while you read.
You get the gist: engaging your brain can help you manage your tinnitus.
Meditation, as an alternate path, helps you focus your attention on a mantra, or your breathing which helps take your focus away from your tinnitus. Another benefit of meditation, at least for some, is that it can reduce blood pressure which is a common cause of tinnitus symptoms.
Think about a Hearing Aid For Tinnitus Management
Many hearing aid companies have manufactured hearing aids that help decrease the ringing in your ear. Hearing aids are an ideal 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 deal with the ringing for you.
Make a Plan (And Stick to it)
The effect of some tinnitus episodes can be lessened, and your stress response can be managed if you have a good plan for any spikes in your symptoms. 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 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 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.
Call Today to Set Up an Appointment
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