HEARING TIPS

Woman with her eyes closed trying to get relief from tinnitus with retraining therapy.

The actual issue with chronic tinnitus is not just that you have a ringing in your ears. It’s the continual never ending ringing, that’s the real problem.

At first, this may be a moderate noise that’s not much more than a bit annoying. But after a day or a week or a month, that buzzing or ringing can become irritating, frustrating, even incapacitating.

That’s why it’s essential to have some tips you can rely on, tips that make living with tinnitus simpler. It can make a huge difference if you have a plan when you’re lying in bed unable to fall asleep because of the buzzing or ringing in your ear.

Your Tinnitus Can be Exacerbated

Chronic tinnitus, in fact, is frequently not a static condition. Symptoms manifest themselves in spikes and valleys. There are times when your tinnitus is minor and practically lost in the background. At other times the noises will be screeching in your ears so loudly it’s impossible to disregard.

This can be a really uncertain and scary situation. Perhaps you even experience 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 lead to the very episode you’re concerned about.

Tips For Living With Tinnitus

You will be in a greater 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. There’s no reason that your quality of life has to suffer if you establish the proper treatment.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy is One Option

Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) is a common strategy for tinnitus management. 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. It’s the same basic strategy with TRT, training your brain to move that ringing into the background of your attention where it’s easier to disregard.

Mastering this strategy can take some practice.

Get Your Brain Distracted

One reason tinnitus can be so frustrating is because your brain is continuously searching for the source of that sound, trying to alert you to its presence. So supplying your brain with more (and varied) stimuli to focus on can help. You could:

  • Play music while painting a picture.
  • Enjoy some time outside listening to the sounds of nature.
  • Take a bubble bath and read a book.

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 benefit of meditation, at least for some, is that it can reduce blood pressure which is a common cause of tinnitus symptoms.

Manage Tinnitus With a Hearing Aid

Hearing aids that help decrease tinnitus symptoms are already being developed by several hearing aid companies. This solution is really 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 Follow-Through)

The effect of some tinnitus episodes can be minimized, and your stress reaction can be controlled if you have a practical plan for any spikes in your symptoms. Pack a bag of useful items to bring with you. Anything that can help you be prepared for a tinnitus surge, even generating a list of useful exercises will be good because it will keep you from having a panic attack!

Management is Key

Chronic tinnitus is an affliction that has no known cure. But management and treatment of tinnitus is a very real possibility. These daily tips (and more similar to them) can help make certain you are living with tinnitus, and not suffering from tinnitus.

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

The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. To receive personalized advice or treatment, schedule an appointment.
Why wait? You don't have to live with hearing loss. Call Us Today