The actual problem with chronic tinnitus is not only that you have a ringing in your ears. It’s the constant non-stop ringing, that’s the real problem.
The continuous noise, possibly somewhat moderate in volume, may start as little more than an annoyance. 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 crucial that if you are coping with tinnitus you adhere to some tips to make life easier. When you’re lying in bed, having difficulty falling asleep because you keep hearing buzzing from your left ear, having a plan is going to help you a lot.
How You Can Exacerbate Your Tinnitus
It’s important to remember that tinnitus is often not static. There are spikes and valleys in the presentation of symptoms. Sometimes, your tinnitus might be an afterthought, lost in the background of everyday life. At other times, that ringing could be as difficult to dismiss as a full-blown, individualized symphony.
That can leave you in a rather scary place of anxiety. Perhaps you even get panic attacks while driving to work because you’re worried about your tinnitus flaring up during a meeting. And the very panic attack brought on by this worry can itself cause the tinnitus.
Tips For Coping With Tinnitus
The more you know 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 vital. With the correct treatment, there’s no reason that chronic tinnitus has to negatively impact your quality of life.
Think About Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
Several treatment options for tinnitus include some form of tinnitus retraining therapy (or TRT). The sound of rain on a rooftop is a common analogy: it’s very loud and noticeable when it first starts but by the end of the storm you stop focusing on it and recedes into the background. TRT uses the same principle to train your brain to push the tinnitus symptoms into the background of your thoughts so you will have an easier time ignoring them.
Mastering this technique can take a bit of practice.
Get Your Brain Distracted
One of the reasons that tinnitus can be so infuriating is because your brain is continuously searching 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. You could:
- Read a book while soaking in a bubble bath.
- Bring a book to the park and listen to the birds while reading.
- Do some drawing or painting while listening to music.
You get the idea: Your tinnitus might be able to be decreased by engaging your brain.
Alternately, many individuals have found that meditation helps because it focuses your attention on something else, your breathing, a mantra, and etc. Another advantage of meditation, at least for some people, is that it can reduce blood pressure which is a known cause of tinnitus symptoms.
Manage Tinnitus With a Hearing Aid
Several hearing aid companies have developed hearing aids that help minimize the ringing in your ear. Hearing aids are an ideal option because you put them in and can forget about it the whole day, you won’t need to carry around a white noise machine or constantly listen to an app. You can relax and let a discreet hearing aid manage the ringing for you.
Make a Plan (And Stick to it)
Making a plan for unforeseen surges can help you control your stress-out response, and that can help you reduce certain tinnitus episodes (or at least keep from worsening them). Plan on having a “go bag” containing stuff you may need. Anything that can help you be prepared for a tinnitus spike, even generating a list of helpful exercises will be good because it will keep you from panicking!
Management is Key
Chronic tinnitus is an affliction that has no known cure. But management and treatment of tinnitus is a very real potential. Make certain you are dealing with your tinnitus not suffering from it by using these tips and any others that you find helpful.
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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