With chronic tinnitus, it isn’t the ringing in your ears that’s the real problem. The real problem is that the ringing doesn’t stop.
The continuous noise, perhaps rather moderate in volume, may begin as little more than a nuisance. But the ringing can become aggravating and even incapacitating if it continues for days or months or more.
That’s why it’s crucial that if you are coping with tinnitus you adhere to some tips to make life 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 help you a lot.
How You Can Exacerbate Your Tinnitus
Chronic tinnitus, in fact, is commonly not a static problem. Symptoms manifest themselves in spikes and valleys. There are times when your tinnitus is mild and practically lost in the background. At other times the noises will be screaming in your ears so loudly it’s impossible to disregard.
This can be a very uncertain and frightening situation. Perhaps you even get panic attacks while driving to work because you’re concerned about your tinnitus flaring up during a meeting. That panic attack, in and of itself, can trigger the very situation you’re worried about.
Tips For Living With Tinnitus
The more you know about tinnitus, the better you can prepare for and control the effects. And, because there’s no known cure for tinnitus, control of symptoms is essential. With the right treatment, there’s no reason that chronic tinnitus has to negatively impact your quality of life.
Consider Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
Several treatments for tinnitus incorporate some kind of tinnitus retraining therapy (or TRT). The sound of rain on a rooftop is a common analogy: it’s very loud and obvious when it first starts but by the end of the storm you stop focusing on it and fades into the background. TRT uses the same concept to train your brain to push the tinnitus symptoms into the background of your thoughts so you will have an easier time tuning it out.
It can take training to master this technique.
Distract Your Brain
One reason tinnitus can be so infuriating is because your brain is continuously looking 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 really helpful. Try these:
- Enjoy some time outdoors listening to the sounds of nature.
- Read a book while taking a bubble bath.
- Do some drawing or painting while listening to music.
You get the point: engaging your brain can help you control your tinnitus.
Alternately, many people have discovered that meditation helps because it concentrates your attention on something else, your breathing, a mantra, and so on. Some individuals have discovered that meditation lowers their blood pressure, which can also be helpful with tinnitus.
Consider a Hearing Aid For Tinnitus Management
Several hearing aid companies have manufactured hearing aids that help decrease the ringing in your ear. This solution is very convenient because they are small and out of your way compared to other strategies. The ringing will be handled by the hearing aid and you can relax and enjoy your life.
Have a Plan (And Follow-Through)
Having a plan for unexpected spikes can help you control your stress-out reaction, and that can help you minimize certain tinnitus episodes (or at least keep from exacerbating them). Pack a bag of practical items to take 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.
Management is Key
Chronic tinnitus is a condition that has no known cure. But management and treatment of tinnitus is a very real possibility. These daily 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