The real issue with chronic tinnitus isn’t only that you have a ringing in your ears. It’s the continuous never ending ringing, that’s the real problem.

The continuous noise, perhaps somewhat moderate in volume, might start as little more than a nuisance. 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 vital to have some tips to fall back on, tips that make living with tinnitus less difficult. It can make a huge difference if you have a plan when you’re lying in bed struggling to fall asleep because of the buzzing or ringing in your ear.

Your Tinnitus Can be Exacerbated

Chronic tinnitus, in fact, is often not a static condition. There are spikes and valleys in the presentation of symptoms. There are times when your tinnitus is mild and practically lost in the background. At other times the sounds will be screeching in your ears so loudly it’s impossible to dismiss.

That can leave you in a pretty scary place of anxiety. Maybe 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 lead to the very episode you’re concerned about.

Tips For Living With Tinnitus

The more you understand about tinnitus, the better you can plan for and control the effects. And management is crucial since tinnitus has no known cure. With the correct management, there’s no reason that chronic tinnitus has to negatively impact your quality of life.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy is One Approach

Several treatments 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 obvious when it first begins but by the end of the storm you stop focusing on it and recedes into the background. It’s the same basic concept with TRT, teaching your brain to move that ringing into the background of your attention where it’s easier to dismiss.

It can take training to master this technique.

Distract Your Brain

Your brain is continuously searching for the source of the sound and that’s one of the reasons why tinnitus can be so frustrating. So giving your brain a range of different sounds to concentrate on can be really helpful. Try these:

• Enjoy some time outside listening to the sounds of nature.
• Read a book while taking a bubble bath.
• Do some drawing or painting while playing music.

You get the gist: 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 etc. Some individuals have discovered that meditation decreases their blood pressure, which can also be helpful with tinnitus.

Think about a Hearing Aid For Tinnitus Management

Hearing aids that help minimize tinnitus symptoms are already being developed by numerous hearing aid companies. This option 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 Stick to it)

Making a plan for unexpected surges can help you handle your stress-out reaction, and that can help you reduce certain tinnitus episodes (or at least keep from worsening them). Think about having a “go bag” full of things you may need. Anything that will help you be more ready and keep you from panicking, like making a list of practical exercises, will go a long way toward management.

The Key is Management

Chronic tinnitus is an affliction that has no known cure. But that doesn’t mean that people cannot regulate and treat their tinnitus. These everyday tips (and more similar to them) can help make sure 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