Coping with Tinnitus

Living with tinnitus can be difficult, but there are some things that you can do to help relieve the symptoms of this hearing difficulty. There are certain points where it might be time to see a hearing instrument specialist and we will cover these a little further down. So, what are some of the things that you can be doing to cope with the symptoms of tinnitus?

Know your triggers

The first thing that you should do is find out if you have any triggers and if you do, what they are. Sometimes, certain food or drink can cause their symptoms to worsen. This is not going to be the case for everyone and this is why you need to watch out for if anything is impacting you. Some of the typical ones include fizzy drinks, alcohol and drinks with caffeine in them.

It is not going to be possible to avoid all of your triggers, but if you can identify and eliminate some of them, you might find it easier to cope with your tinnitus.

Yoga

You might think that because you have to be silent for yoga to work properly, that this will just amplify your symptoms. This is likely not going to be the case. Yoga helps to relax you and if you manage to do it properly, should transport you away from all the worldly things such as noise. You may find this helpful when trying to alleviate your symptoms.

For some people, quiet background noise might help when it comes to this. It could help to mask the sound of the tinnitus so that you don’t notice it as much as you would otherwise. When your body is relaxed, this could be when you are aware that your symptoms are less prevalent than when you are tense and that is why yoga might be able to help you.

Sort your sleeping pattern

If you are not sleeping enough, you might become fatigued. This is only going to make your symptoms worse. What could have started out as a quiet sound, could be amplified into a horrible roar and this can cause you other problems such as stress and even insomnia. If you are finding that you can’t sleep because of your tinnitus, it is going to lead to a vicious cycle.

For this reason, you should head to a hearing instrument specialist if this is happening to you. They might be able to help you here. However, it is important to remember that there is nothing that can be done to stop tinnitus, only make it more bearable and easier to cope with.

Stop smoking

You might not see how smoking can impact your symptoms, but it can. Smoking restricts the blood flow to the nerve cells around your hearing and this can make everything worse. As well as this, smoking acts a stimulant and this can make that sound in your ears all the louder. So, if you can, quitting smoking could be one of the best ways to help out with your tinnitus symptoms.

When to see a specialist

If your tinnitus is impairing or impacting your life in a significant way, you should think about seeing a specialist. While you should have been to see one when you first started to hear the ringing, it is especially important that you go now.

They might be able to help you by suggesting some other ways to alleviate these symptoms, however, not everything works for certain people and this is something that you need to be prepared for.

There are some medications that are available that are said to help the effects of tinnitus such as anti-anxiety drugs. These might be able to help you and they are at least worth a shot if you are finding coping with tinnitus extremely difficult.

Finally, you should see a specialist if you are experiencing depression, anxiety or any other mental health issue as a result of your tinnitus. It is important for you to realize that there is help available to you and you should see a specialist before any of these conditions get worse.

Get in touch with The Hearing House today at (715) 384-4700 if you want to learn more about the support that is going to be available to you when you have tinnitus. Get in contact if you want to know more about coping with tinnitus or if you are experiencing any of the issues that we mentioned under the ‘when to see a specialist’ subheading of this post.