Coping Strategies for Tinnitus

If you struggle with hearing loss then you’re no stranger to tinnitus, that annoying ringing or buzzing you hear in the middle of the night, or when everything is quiet. Sadly, there is no cure for tinnitus, despite any information you’ve seen that promises a miracle. If you have severe tinnitus, you need coping strategies to help you make it through each day. Here are some of the best ways to manage tinnitus, and keep doing what you love without annoyance, discomfort, or pain.

Tinnitus is the experience of hearing sounds that aren’t actually there. This can be a ringing, buzzing, hissing, roaring or whistling sound that keeps you awake at night, breaks your concentration during meetings, interferes with conversations, and causes great distress. Each person experiences tinnitus differently, so there are many different therapies and ways of coping. While treating hearing loss is as simple as investing in a pair of quality hearing aids, tinnitus can be a bit more complicated.

Tinnitus and hearing loss go hand in hand, and research shows that those with tinnitus have at least some form of hearing loss. You may not notice the hearing loss at first, since it may only be affecting a few frequencies and causing tinnitus. But if you have moderate or severe hearing loss, treating hearing loss is the first step in treating tinnitus, and hearing aids have been proven to reduce your tinnitus.

Tinnitus is affected by your overall health, as well as by your stress levels. There’s a strong connection between how you handle stress and an increase in the symptoms of tinnitus. Stress and tinnitus are part of a vicious cycle, where the more stressed you are, the worse your tinnitus gets. This in turn stresses you out even more. The more stress you experience, the worse your tinnitus will be, and this only escalates.

Managing stress is the best ways to break the cycle, and for this you’ll need to learn to relax. You could try progressive muscle relaxation, focusing on the muscles in a small area, like the muscles in your hand, and relaxing them for a few seconds. Relax your entire body, from head to toe, and feel the release of stress. Deep breathing exercises, such as breathing slowly and evening from your diaphragm, are also great for relaxation.

While it would be nice if you could just snap your fingers and make tinnitus go away, the reality is that you need to learn to live with it. An important step in this process is accepting the things you can’t change. Many people find that attending a counseling session is a good first step in learning to live with tinnitus and overcome negative and stressful thoughts.

After you’ve accepted that fact that you have tinnitus and aren’t so stressed, it’s time to turn to technology. Sound therapy is a highly effective treatment method for those suffering from tinnitus. Whether it’s mild or severe, your anxiety over tinnitus will soon be a thing of the past. Have you noticed that when you’re in a noisy place your tinnitus seems to stop? Sound therapy works on this principle by playing music or sounds in the background. Your tinnitus will fade into this background sound, and you’ll stop noticing it all together. Sound therapy increases your concentration and frees up your energy for other things by providing relief from that endless ringing in your ears.

If you think sound therapy is right for you, visit our nearest My Hearing Centers location and tell us about the tinnitus that’s interfering with your life. We have a wide selection of hearing devices that provide built-in sound therapy programs, easily controlled from your phone by an app. You can choose to play pre-programed sounds like water or nature sounds, or even pick from your music library to provide customized relief for your tinnitus how you want it and when you want it. Trouble falling to sleep at night? Not anymore! These tinnitus management programs will help you sleep easily, and keep you sleeping peacefully all night.

We know that tinnitus can range from bothersome to uncomfortable to downright unmanageable. If you suffer from tinnitus, don’t let it get the better of you, but try these coping strategies to overcome tinnitus and get your life back.