Top tips / treatment

[Cityfan1]

Can anybody share what has worked for them when suffering with T. Web site searches throw up a number of possibilities so any suggestions of what has helped would be appreciated, particularly when trying to get to sleep. Had T for a while but recently got worse and sleep is difficult to say the least!

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

Hello Cityfan1

I think the issue with tinnitus is that it's different for everyone, so methods of managing tinnitus will inevitably differ and it is an unfortunate case of trying different techniques until you find a combination which work for you.

Some of that will depend on what underlying condition is felt to be causing your tinnitus - sometimes that isn't even clear.

Focussing on sleep at the moment is certainly worthwhile, and that can be a case of looking at your bedroom to see if it is conducive to rest, rather than doing anything specifically related to tinnitus.

The Sleep Foundation is a good one stop hub for advice on sleep, disrupted sleep and how to manage specific aspects of getting better rest: sleepfoundation.org/

Our guide on tinnitus and sleep disturbance is here: tinnitus.org.uk/understandi....

[Darren6]

Hi Cityfan1,

I will reiterate what TinnitusUKPat has said around sleep. If you are able to get the sleep needed, managing T and the world around you is a much easier place. With lack of sleep comes stress which in turn can raise the level of perception of T and the cycle continues. Sound people have found having music or ambient sound to go to sleep helps them drift off, played via a speaker, headband or sound pillow.

As Pat said, there are many different versions of peoples T so what works for some may not work for others. Over the course of approx two years I used CBT, hearing aids and sound therapy to habituate to my T and sound sensitivity (hyperacusis).

I would say the most common theme amongst managing T would be lowering stress and acceptance of the situation.

I hope that helps in some way.

Darren

[YellowFiesta]

Hello Cityfan1

I developed tinitus in January this year (no idea what caused it) and to begin with it was a real struggle at night which was then making me feel very down during the day. I tried listening to music or late night radio and I think it wasn't really working for me. I then tried setting up a routine of reading to a certain time then going to bed and aiming to get up at the same time each day irrespective of how I had slept. When lying in bed I'm a football fan so I'd try to remember the weekends football results, or team line-ups to take my mind off the 'T'. This gradually began to work and I've now got to the point where I no longer need to read but I still aim to be in bed around the same time and still get up around the same time. I think that having a routine helps. It then becomes a bit of a circle in that if I sleep OK I then think less about the tinitus so I don't notice it as much during the day which then helps with the next sleep. I wouldn't say I have cracked it as I still get periods where I may struggle for a few days but I try to not let that get to me and just remind myself that I can sleep and I can cope with this.

I hope you find what works for you.

[Cityfan1]

Thanks for comments and tips, I realise it can be a bit of vicious cycle and I sense myself tensing up before bed which of course leads to stress and bad feelings...I did exactly the same in regard to focusing on other things like football bits and pieces which worked well up until recently when I had more episodes with labyrinthitis (or meniere's) which exasperated my tinnitus to the point when I can't really focus on external things, guess I need to give it a bit more time...appreciate ,,the posts, it helps to feel there are people out their battling and achieving a few small sucess moments along the way....anyone tried any of the 'treatments ' that seem to be suggested might help with T?

[Kellythecat-74]

I like voices, LBC on radio and earphones , works for me . low level.

[Hidden]

Hi as a newbie to T i am finding my way...i have a sleep meditation app which i use every night - just involves deep breathing, the voice is quite soothing and am usually asleep quickly, although some nights awake in the early hours, i also have another app which plays sounds of nature and even a steam train chugging through the mountains, do wish you all the best on your T journey 🤗

[surreycccfan]

Hi, I really struggled with my sleep at the start of my T journey, I now have my sleep pattern back to 'normal' with my T. These are the things I did (I have posted these previously) to help with my sleep:

• 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 progressive muscle relaxation. I found this very calming and did take my mind off my T

• I used Tinnitus UK 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 understood I was in a heightened emotional state (fight/flight) due to my T. Therefore, I put in place some management techniques in the day to shift how I thought/felt about my T (I used the evidence based techniques I learnt on the BTA website and webinars) and this helped me feel a little calmer at night.

• I tried to make sure I was physically tired, so I ensured I did some exercise in the day to healthy tire myself out to help aid sleep.

• 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.

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. Tinnitus UK 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

[Cityfan1 in reply to surreycccfan]

Incredibly helpful, thank you so much for taking the time to reply, a few things to try!

[Hidden]

Hi I've had tinnitus since 12 years old and over the years it has varied in severity. I now cope with my "usual" sounds but when there's a spike I look for a reason- usually it's physical health or stress related. Things I do to help include - wearing aids all night to hear other noises, reduced caffeine intake, none after 6pm, no alcohol, healthy sleep hygiene/routine, relaxation and stress management, distraction. It doesn't go away, but it becomes more bearable and manageable in my experience. Also don't focus on it all the time as it only makes it louder. Good luck.🙂

[RONf]

I use a simple white noise machine when I go to bed, This cheap one suits me best - wellcare-global.com/product... . The low volume white noise helps distract from the T. As I have a hearing loss on a higher frequency, I use NHS hearing aids when watching TV or listening to music. I don't wear them all the time as they irritate me after a while. Good luck.

[Cityfan1 in reply to RONf]

Thank you, looking to get hearing aid in a couple of weeks time which I hope may be of some help although for some reason they have booked my appointment in Camberley which is miles from where I live near Cambridge!...they can't work it out either !

[RONf in reply to Cityfan1]

Good luck with your appointment. Hearing aids will bring in a wealth of sounds on the frequencies you are missing and certainly help diminish the T.

[Fridays_Child_62]

I'll throw in my two pennies' worth as I've been in a similar position and can still find my T bothersome at bed-time or during the night. Many people use sound therapy to mask or distract them from their T while trying to get to sleep. This is a viable method and one that I use, but it is generally a last resort for me.

Of course, it's important to be relaxed when trying to get to sleep, so I have used relaxation techniques in bed in which I try to relax different parts of my body in turn from feet to head. You can get instructional audio downloads to help you do this, but I find it works as well if I tell myself what to do. I then move on to distractional techniques. I find that distracting the mind pushes the T towards the background - a trivial and repetitive mental task helps me do this and also makes me sleepy. Counting sheep is a well-known method but I simply count down from 100 (more than once, if necessary) - when I begin to lose track of my counting, I know that I'm near to sleep.

Otherwise, I use sound therapy and have a sound machine stationed permanently on my bedside cabinet - a Homecube that I got from Amazon that wasn't expensive but is very good with lots of sounds to choose from. My favoured sounds for going to sleep are waves on the shore and distant thunder (but I personally don't like the white noise and fan sounds).

You should probably concentrate on winding down before going to bed, as well as relaxation techniques in bed. Also, I was told to get a lavander spray for my pillow to make me sleepy - it didn't really work for me but it might for you.

[Cityfan1]

Thank you, along with other replies lots to think about and try which is encouraging and helpful. Appreciated.