HI all,like most of us I find I can only get 4-5 hours uninterrupted sleep each night afterwhich it is fragments of sleep with some strange dreams interspersed with awake periods trying to recover more sleep. During the day I am inevitably tired. How do others cope/ deal with this?
Sleep: HI all,like most of us I find I can... - Tinnitus UK
Sleep
Written by
Peejayache
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
33 Replies
•
Hi Peejayache
I have to use medication as my tinnitus is so loud. Had it for 23 yrs and is at its worst for the last 3 months, not going down. I get 5 hrs then I am wide awake no dozing.
hi Pete - can i ask which medication you use -my tinnitus is loud as well , hissing fizzing, high pitch , its a nightmare . It is quite debilitating for me as i have had to stop travel, restaurants , shops etc etc
Hi Suz26
It is a prescription drug and you may find your g p will be reluctant to prescribe it. I can't name as I am not medically trained to recommend prescription drugs.So please see your gp and ask.
thnx Pete - i think i hv an idea of what it could be and its for short term only - yes u are right , its a bit difficult to mention or recommend prescrptn meds on here - I hv mentioned certain supplements in the past on this forum and you hv to be very careful with those as well , due to interactions and side effects.
I take a 5HTP capsule an hour before bed, and I stay up till I’m tired and falling asleep. I use sound generators in the bedroom, and generally I’m fine.
Agree with Philip6 Serotone 5HTP works wonders for me. I take 1 x 50mg capsule every night with half a small banana. My sleep pattern is back to normal.
Hi yes im same as you how do i cope well 4 to 5 or 3to 5 hours of interrupted sleep is just enough sleep for me as long as i also keep dropping off any less and iv been there too is a nightmare sleep is massive its the difference between coping and not coping i listen to rain falling on my laptop at night and that sends me to sleep also going to bed later is best for me and yes i have strange dreams but iv always had them.
Hi,
Sorry to hear you are struggling, I can totally empathise as I just couldn't sleep for months when I first had T. I can now say I can sleep well and in fact I am managing my T so well I am back to sleeping with ear plugs so the only sound I can hear is my T (I am at point in my management journey that my T no longer invokes a flight/flight emotional reaction, I habituate and can live well with my T).
• I used a sound generator app (I used ReSound Relief (but plenty of others out there). I mixed sounds that (1) I found pleasant and (2) mapped well to my T. Audiologists tell us to map the volume of the sound to just below the volume of your T. As time went on and I felt more 'positive' towards my T I slowly reduced volume until I no longer needed the sound generator
• I tried to use positive reinforcement in relation to the sound from the generator app. The sound I had chosen was beach, waves, and rain, when I would go to sleep, I would listen to the sound and think of lovely holidays I have had walking on the beach. As T creates such a negative emotional reaction, these types of thoughts allowed me to calm down and think about something other than my T
• When I was lying in bed if I felt stressed and my mind was focused on my T I would follow a mindfulness body scan or progressive muscle relation exercise. I found this very calming and did take my mind off my T
• I used BTA support group to help me learn more about T and techniques to move towards living well with T. As I learnt more and managed to reduce the negative emotional reaction to my T I would even say 'hello' to my T when I first settled down to sleep. The reason I did this is I found when I was stressed by my T it was always at the forefront of my mind so I found that if I said hello to it then (1) I had acknowledged it and my mind could move on to something else (2) by saying hello I was reducing my fight/flight reaction to it and this helped me to 'normalise' it for me.
• I tried to follow a good sleep hygiene pattern (maintain a regular sleep routine, avoid daytime naps, don't watch TV or use the computer in bed, no caffeine after 18:00 and as I am a clock watcher I put the alarm clock out of sight so I wasn’t constantly looking at it.
• Exercise was also important as this allowed me to be physically tired
It took me quite a while to get into a better sleep pattern but as I said I can now sleep with my new sound of silence. The BTA has some excellent resources on sleep tinnitus.org.uk/tinnitus-an... and has good links to products such as sound pillows, headbands, etc. In the above link the vicious cycle graphic really highlights how the fight/flight reaction to our T inhibits our sleep. I found by practicing other distraction and behavioural techniques in the day I slowly shifted how I thought about my T (I saw it as less of a threat which took its power away) and in combination with the things I did at night I slowly got back to normal sleep patterns.
I hope the above may help in some small way. Take care
Thanks everyone for your responses. As we all know, there is not one answer to the problems caused by T.
and the older you get the worse it gets! What I do is get up and have a drink of water and a pee, then go back to bed and if I’m still awake after twenty minutes or so I know I’m not going to fall asleep again straight away - so I get up and read a nice book. I find after an hour I get sleepy so I fall into my nice warm bed then and drift off.
Also, I don’t go to bed until I’m really tired.
That is really,really, good advice…..With or without Tinnitus putting a time on how long you should sleep is encouraging anxiety…which keeps you awake!It’s not an exact science…..9 times out of 10 you sleep as long as you need.
Hi Peejayache
i was going to write a similar post last night but never got to complete it as was busy with baby . I was upset as I have been struggling to settle at night knowing I have to listen to T, previously I was ok got on with it and fell asleep firstly with music then nothing but few days T is bothering me again and emotions everywhere. My baby is up hourly to 2 hourly breastfeeding so sleep is interrupted / non existent. I just wish I wasn't here at times.
i have no words of advice as I am still finding my way too, you are not alone 💜 should you need to talk I am here.
Love and hugs to you
Hi Ravks sorry I might be repeating this message but got interrupted when typing it previously. The emotions thing I suffer from as well - experiencing emotions that are totally unfamiliar. I understand your feeling about not being here, but the condition is a physical one and your baby needs you so you have to ride above it, as difficult as that is.
It is a very solitary experience and there is no quick or easy solution. You just have to grit your teeth in the knowledge that it is just "a pain".
Good luck and happy to respond to any other messages - we all have to hang together in dealing with T.
thank you for reply
yes feels like an isolating experience. I get on with it act normal deal with the demands of baby needing me 2 4/7 whilst all this madness is going on in my head, motions peak where I feel like I want to run or just be gone. Few days before I was fine with sleeping learnt to stop sleeping with music on and to just ignore T get to sleep but I seemed to have lapsed and running on nothing. Just too much at times.
I hope we all find some peace within ourselves and to find a way of coping. I'm sorry I am no help and just outlet my own emotions
I don't know your previous experience with T. Have you had your hearing checked? Even being young (I am 74) doesn't mean you might not have an issue.
You will gradually come more to terms with it and "cope", though at times you do despair of any relief, particularly at night when you might be tending to your baby.
Do you use any sleeping aids like background sound?
T started a month ago for me.
In April this year I got the flu quite bad really congested /mucous, and in May my ears felt full of pressure, reduced hearing GP said I had eustacian tube blockage from mucous in middle ear, I had hearing test which showed moderate hearing loss. I feel hearing has improved however still have full feeling, ears popping etc I see ENT in two weeks.
i have been listening to frequency music or sound of flowing streams or guided meditation it helps, just yesterday my emotions got to me.
Yes Ravks, that happens. You will have those events but the next day they will be gone. Hard to believe I know at the time, but I have been dealing with it for four years now and I'm still here. It is certainly not easy, but life is often like that. Many people struggle with different, awful conditions too.
yes I agree must be fortunate for what we have. My husband always says pretend it's (T) your music playing I always used to have something on in the background when falling asleep. Be greatful I wake up each day to my girls and husband. Just those emotional days come over and find it hard to cope.
how have you been coping over 4 years
sorry to have bored you with my issues
Don 't worry about bothering me. We need the support of other "victims" of this condition to help us all to cope. It's great your husband understands. Just try to focus on the good things in your life and recognise that the emotional "horrors" are not real.
Good luck - let me know how you get on. It helps me too!
thank you Peejayache for listening and advice 💜 yes definitely nice to come together for each other in need of support brilliant community here 😌☺️.
Yes I will keep in touch and message you to see how we are getting on. I will message Thursday / Friday.
i wish you goodnight, thank you once again 🙏🏽💜
hi Peejayache how are you? Getting on ok I hope sorry for delayed contact
HI Ravks I'm surviving I guess. I hope you are too. I find I have to seek out things that take my mind of it and lifts the spirit. T drags you down so easily when it is with you 24 hrs. Unfortunately it then dominates your life .
You have to remind yourself that it's not "real" in the sense that it is not in itself threatening. But that isn't always easy. That's the "battle" we all fight.
Onwards and upwards.
hey Peejayache
best thing is to keep busy. At night is harder the new silence with what feels like a TV has been left on that's what I hear. Baby wakes up couple of times so I have to try and sleep again.
keep busy and I tell myself it's just sound nothing more harder said then done.
should you need to talk or vent please do not hesitate to message we all are in this together 💜☺️
thanks Ravks I don't know how you cope having to get up for the baby. I find getting back to sleep during the night is the hardest thing. Your mind is almost looking for the T.
It certainly is a huge daily/nightly challenge that we could all do without. Someone said that they find screaming often helps!
Hey Peejayache
scream would feel good, today I just had to let it out to my husband how I was feeling i said I wanted to hit the fast forward button and get to the end of my life. However I want to enjoy my baby and kids see them grow up. Just have up and down days. I have to prepare to go back to work in January too. Im just finding it hard to focus.
i have ENT appt tomorrow afternoon anxiety is little there🤞🏽
you are very welcome to speak to me anytime should you feel the need to vent, or want someone to listen, it's hard to get through some days. We all in this together 💜
Rasks I understand your feeling, I sometimes feel the same but we both know we don't really mean it. For you, of course, nurturing your children and seeing them grow up is the main priority, they will need you and you will get so much pleasure doing that.
T is just a sensation in the head - nothing more. Your ENT appointment might discover something causing it that can be remedied. But, if not, just got to struggle with it and live with it.
I sometimes wonder what my family and friends would think if I died from tinnitus!
Hi PeeJayache hope your ok today.
Yes looking at it now I wonder how family would react and would I rather be around and see my children grow up.i think it's dealing with the day when not coping so well. We need to move past it and habituate read alot of people have.
i have a walk each day of at least 30 mins , usually a bit longer - this makes me tired enough to sleep through the T at bedtime
I think you will find allot of us have similar issues. I have AF alongside Tinnitus and really struggle with poor sleep. A wife that snores and 2 dogs that are prone to barking at night don’t help. I’ve tried CBT and the NHS have agreed to give me hearing aids. I’m also going to start seeing a psychotherapist for help with stress. I’m going through a challenging time and worry about my overall health.
i don't sleep much, seem to wake up an hour after I have dropped off. I don't take anything except a couple of paracetamol, they are for back pain. Not sure if it's the back pain or tinnitus is the problem. Had tinnitus for 11 years now and while I don't like it I have got used to it, do find it worse if I am stressed. I do meditation regular to help me relax. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for everyone.
T is such a debilitating condition, particularly mentally. Having the "sound" apparently and constantly in the head takes a huge toll. As we all know, there is no cure for it and most "remedies" don't work for all. For me, the worst time is in the early hours of the morning, 4.00 a.m., it's dark and a ringing in the ear which makes sleep impossible. A daily battle which just adds to the mental challenge. Reading many of the experiences on this forum though makes me realise that there are many who suffer much worse.
yes unfortunately I don't think doctors and the like understand what it's like to have tinnitus . I was told to get some headphones and listen to music, that was the consultant audiologist. I was a carer so I could hardly go to my clients listening to music. Most of us just want someone to understand what it's like. My cousin's next door neighbour committed suicide due to tinnitus and whilst I wouldn't do that, I do understand the despair that some go through. I wish you all the best
Best way is to be kind to yourself if you need to have a lie down in the and relax don’t feel guilty. Better days will come
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
sleep
haven't had a decent night sleep in years, I begged the Dr please just 1 or 2 sleeping pills just...
sleep
effect on my sleeping, when ever I wake from sleep be it a five minute nap, a few
hours at night,...
Sleeping
it hard to get more than a couple of hours sleep at a time. I seem to have a bad dream and then...
Sleep
your opinions on this. Do you agree that the more sleep you get the better your tinnitus symptoms...
Sleeping
early hours it is very difficult dealing with the psychological effects and the induced night...
Can't sleep at night
Pulsatile tinnitus, headaches and sleep!
Pain and sleep problems 
irony in rest or sleep
Sleep help with Tinnitus
