Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is hearing sounds of ringing, buzzing, whistling, hissing or many different other sounds.
There is no clear cure or cause for tinnitus. However, it is affecting millions of people in the world. It can be very challenging to cope with it and its symptoms.
The sounds you hear are impossible to ignore and they can make everyday activities more difficult.
Thankfully though, it is very possible to live and lead a normal life with tinnitus.
There are exercises and relaxation techniques that can help manage the stress released to the body in response to tinnitus. If you are wondering how to get relieved from it, the following recommendations and tinnitus treatments can be a great help.
Finding the reason or the cause of tinnitus is the first step in treating it. It could be because of age-related hearing loss, ear injuries or problems with the circulatory system.
The health care provider or the audiologist can figure out which treatment suits you more based on certain criteria:
Your age
Your sickness
Your medical history and general health
Your ability on handling certain medications, therapies or procedures
Your opinion
Your preference on the techniques suggested
Your condition and how much it is expected to last
Here are the following techniques and remedies that help to manage tinnitus and improve your daily life.
Habituation
Tinnitus can get better with time, either by gradually disappearing over time or by getting used to it. This is what we call “habituation”.
It is simply when you learn how to ignore it. You change the way you react and respond to the sounds you hear psychologically, emotionally and physiologically. When tinnitus stops bothering you, you will unconsciously stop paying attention to the sounds without doing any effort.
Habituation occurs in stages that require hard work, discipline and effective strategies.
Talk about it
Tinnitus’ effect on your life is huge and sometimes dramatic. It can drastically impact your mental health and your social relationships. That is why it is very important for you to admit it and talk freely about it.
Protect your ears
Protect your hearing from loud noises helps in lessening the symptoms of tinnitus.
Wear headphones or ear plugs if:
you use noise-generating equipment such as lawn mower, jackhammers, dump trucks, electric saws, tamping machines and others
you are in a loud environment such as rock concerts, loud restaurants or other events
Relaxation and meditation
Calming your body and mind when experiencing tinnitus is a key tool to prevent it from affecting your whole life.
What you can basically do is refocus all your attention on different things, other than the sounds you are hearing. This can be done by regularly practicing some meditation techniques.
1. Biofeedback
It is an effective method for patients suffering from severe tinnitus. It is a relaxation technique that helps to control certain body functions such as muscle tension, skin temperature and pulses. You learn to manage your stress and anxiety by letting all the negative influences out of the body.
2. Hypnotherapy
It promotes relaxation and limits anxiety. It aids to alter the neural connections between the different areas of the brain.
3. Socializing with friends
4. Engaging in favorite hobbies and sports
If your mind is occupied with something else, it becomes easier to forget about tinnitus. If you don’t have a hobby already, try to find something you like or enjoy doing and start it.
Use a sound therapy app
Using sound therapy helps retrain your brain to be less aware of the tinnitus. The sound therapy apps for tinnitus are available on all sorts of platforms. You can listen to anything you enjoy.
Talk to your doctor
Discuss with your doctor any medications that might make tinnitus worse such as antidepressants, antibiotics and ototoxic drugs.
Exercise
Tinnitus results from not getting enough blood to reach the ear, often because of inflammation. Exercise is a great way to manage tinnitus and its stress, to help improve the circulation and to prevent inflammation. It is good for the body and for the brain as well. It can lower stress, improve sleep patterns, and fight depression.
Yoga
Yoga can be helpful because it integrates meditative breathing and relaxation techniques with a healthy workout.
Add soothing sounds to the silence
Sometimes background sounds can help manage tinnitus. To distract yourself from the ringing in the ears, you can:
Play soft, gentle and calm music in the background
Try to turn on a fan
Listen to radio
Evaluate your diet
Some people can reduce their tinnitus when they reduce the amount of salt they put in their food. Incorporating a healthy diet full of vitamins and minerals can be very effective.
For people who suffer from Meniere’s disease, lowering the amount of salt can be very helpful.
Anti-tinnitus diet should include a high protein and nutrient dense diet. This contains lots of fresh raw vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, olive oil, grass-fed meat and healthy fats.
What about the food you need to avoid? You need to avoid and stop coffee, alcohol and all the too much processed food and dairy. That is you need to avoid all the stimulants from caffeine to nicotine. You can accomplish this through referring to nutritional counseling.
Acupuncture
This traditional Chinese medicine has been used to diagnose and treat the ringing of the ears for centuries. It improves tinnitus severity, volume and hearing in patients.
Consider herbs and supplements
Boosting antioxidants through supplementation is a must. This includes Vitamin A, Vitamin C, melatonin, Vitamin E, Zinc, Omega-3 and others. All these nutrients have shown that they are so beneficial to tinnitus.
Herbs which are considered good for their anti-inflammatory properties include garlic, green tea, oregano, ginger, turmeric and dandelion.
Get enough amount of sleep
Fatigue and tiredness make tinnitus symptoms worse. A soft hum can turn into a loud roar. You can get used to getting good sleeping habits such as:
Create your own sleepy space, making your room perfect for sleeping.
Use a white-noise machine or a fan if the bedroom is too quiet.
Try to go to bed and wake up at the same exact time each day.
Avoid daytime naps because they interfere with your own sleep patterns.
Develop your own bedtime routine and apply it daily. An example could be a relaxing warm bath.
Avoid food, alcohol or exercise 2 to 3 hours before sleeping, especially big meals.
Sleep from 7 to 9 hours approximately each night.
Quit smoking
Smoking harms the blood flow that reaches the sensitive nerve cells that control hearing. This creates many problems to the ears, especially that it acts as a stimulant and this causes the ringing in the ears louder. Stopping this habit can reduce the effects of tinnitus.
Psychotherapy
1. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
It emphasizes the urge to reduce avoidance of tinnitus. Patients become accustomed to the negative thoughts and feelings that arise from tinnitus. They find themselves with a greater control over their reactions and thoughts.
2. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
In this therapy, you learn how to accept tinnitus rather than reduce its sounds. It simply prevents tinnitus from being your prime focus.
You usually work with a therapist or counselor to identify the negative thoughts about tinnitus and change them. It addresses the affected individual’s response to tinnitus.
3. Tinnitus activities treatment (TAT)
This treatment focuses on four aspects, which are hearing and communication, sleep, concentration, and thoughts and emotions.
Join a support group.
Talking to other people with tinnitus helps you cope with your situation and better accept it. Knowing that you are not the only one suffering from this condition makes you feel way better. Most people running these groups have or suffer from tinnitus themselves. That is why you can make use of their experience to reassure your anxieties and misunderstandings.
Tinnitus can become a frustrating condition. As the world of health care changes and develops, health care providers look towards new ways to improve the quality of life. New treatment options nowadays reduce the intensity of the symptoms and help you get relieved.
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