The actual issue with chronic tinnitus isn’t only that you have a ringing in your ears. The real problem is that the ringing won’t stop.
The constant noise, possibly rather modest in volume, may begin as little more than a nuisance. But after a day or a week or a month, that ringing or buzzing can become irritating, frustrating, even incapacitating.
That’s why it’s essential that if you are coping with tinnitus you follow some tips to make life easier. When you’re lying in bed, having difficulty falling asleep because you keep hearing ringing from your right ear, having a plan is going to do you a world of good.
Your Tinnitus Can be Exacerbated
Chronic tinnitus, after all, is often not a static condition. Symptoms present themselves in spikes and valleys. Sometimes, your tinnitus might be an afterthought, lost in the background of everyday life. At other times the noises will be screeching in your ears so loudly it’s impossible to dismiss.
That can leave you in a very frightening place of anxiety. You may be so concerned about your tinnitus flaring up during a meeting that you have a panic attack while you’re driving to work. And the very panic attack brought on by this worry can itself trigger the tinnitus.
Tips For Coping With Tinnitus
The more you understand about tinnitus, the better you can prepare for and manage the effects. And management is crucial since tinnitus doesn’t have a known cure. With the proper treatment, there’s no reason that chronic tinnitus needs to negatively impact your quality of life.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy is One Option
Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) is a common approach to tinnitus management. The sound of rain on a rooftop is a common analogy: very noticeable at the beginning of a storm, but you stop focusing on it after a while and that rain-on-rooftops sound goes 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.
Perfecting this technique can take some practice.
Get Your Brain Distracted
One of the reasons that tinnitus can be so frustrating is because your brain is continuously searching for the source of that noise, trying to signal you to its presence. So supplying your brain with more (and varied) stimulation to focus on can help. You could:
- Do some drawing or painting while listening to music.
- Enjoy some time outside listening to the sounds of nature.
- Take a bubble bath and read a book.
You get the gist: Your tinnitus may be able to be decreased by engaging your brain.
Meditation, as an alternate path, helps you focus your attention on a mantra, or your breathing which helps take your attention away from your tinnitus. Some individuals have discovered that meditation decreases their blood pressure, which can also help with tinnitus.
Manage Tinnitus With a Hearing Aid
Several hearing aid companies have developed hearing aids that help minimize the ringing in your ear. This solution is really convenient because they are small and out of your way compared to other strategies. The ringing will be managed by the hearing aid and you can relax and enjoy your life.
Make a Plan (And Stick to it)
Having a plan for unexpected surges can help you handle your stress-out reaction, and that can help you decrease certain tinnitus episodes (or at least keep from worsening 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.
The Key is Management
Chronic tinnitus is an affliction that has no known cure. But management and treatment of tinnitus is a very real potential. These daily tips (and more like them) can help make certain you are living with tinnitus, and not suffering from tinnitus.
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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