How to Manage Tinnitus: Coping Strategies and Lifestyle Changes

Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of any external source. People who experience tinnitus often hear sounds like ringing, buzzing, or hissing that originate within their own ears or head. It can be persistent or intermittent and is not a standalone condition, but rather a symptom of an underlying issue. An audiologist can play a crucial role in helping individuals manage tinnitus. They can assess the severity of tinnitus, identify any potential underlying causes and provide various management techniques and strategies to alleviate its impact on daily life. Through counseling, sound therapy, and personalized coping strategies, audiologists assist individuals in effectively managing and minimizing the impact of tinnitus on their overall wellbeing.

Hearing Aids

Hearing aids can offer relief for individuals experiencing bothersome internal sounds. These sounds, often perceived as ringing or buzzing, can be managed by using hearing aids with built-in sound masking or sound enrichment features. These features introduce external sounds that help divert attention away from the internal noises, reducing their prominence. By amplifying external sounds and improving overall hearing, hearing aids can make internal sounds less noticeable and provide individuals with a more balanced auditory experience. Consulting an audiologist can help determine the best hearing aid settings and features to alleviate the impact of these internal sounds on daily life.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, is a therapeutic approach aimed at reshaping negative thought patterns. For individuals grappling with the persistent noise in their heads, often referred to as tinnitus, maintaining focus or concentration can become a challenge. The overwhelming nature of this issue can disrupt daily life. CBT offers strategies to rewire the brain’s response to tinnitus, alleviating its emotional impact. Through techniques like relaxation exercises and cognitive restructuring, individuals can regain control over their attention, minimizing its intrusion on their life. Over time, as the noise gains dominance, it’s crucial to retrain the brain, not only to manage the issue but also to alleviate anxieties associated with it.

Manage Stress and Anxiety

Stress and feelings of anxiety can worsen tinnitus symptoms, and it should be a key part of an individual’s life that they learn how to relax and minimize the distress about the issue. There are many benefits to incorporating well-being techniques like deep breathing or relaxation and mindfulness in everybody’s lives, and those that experience tinnitus symptoms can easily feel overwhelmed due to the extra noise vying for attention in their head.

Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

There are certain lifestyle factors that can influence tinnitus, such as drinking alcohol, smoking, as well as specific health problems like high blood pressure, arthritis and obesity, which can all increase the risk of tinnitus. Studies have also found that high intakes of fat, iron and calcium are associated with an increased likelihood of tinnitus. Paying close attention to diet and lifestyle factors by adhering to regular exercise, as well as increasing intake of meat and vitamin B12, has been associated with a reduced likelihood of tinnitus. Additionally, getting good quality sleep should be priority number one for anybody who is looking to improve their health and well-being, not just if they’re experiencing tinnitus symptoms.

Sound Therapy

The numerous sound therapy practices, such as white noise machines or playing calming sounds, can distract from the tinnitus noises and make them less noticeable. Sound therapy works by reducing the perception of tinnitus, and there’s a variety of apps and specialized hearing devices that can reduce the overall perception of tinnitus. Audiologists can guide you toward the best methods to suit your individual preferences if you have tinnitus-related hearing loss.

Avoiding Loud Noises

Exposure to loud noises can bring about the onset of tinnitus, but it can also exacerbate symptoms. Protecting your ears with earplugs in noisy environments and limiting exposure to loud noise can prevent any further damage and therefore minimize any additional symptoms.

Professional Support

If you are experiencing persistent tinnitus and you’ve attempted some or all of the above methods to no avail, it is important to go to a professional for an evaluation in the form of a hearing test. An audiologist can gain a complete picture of your overall auditory health, determine the severity of tinnitus or hearing loss and recommend the best strategies to meet your needs. Many audiologists will recommend a hearing aid as it can restore normal communication between the ear and the brain by amplifying natural background noises to reduce the prominence of tinnitus and increase concentration, and therefore improve mood and lifestyle.

There are a number of different coping mechanisms people can use if they are experiencing tinnitus, but if you have any additional concerns, it is essential to speak to an audiologist or any hearing professional so you can gain a complete picture of how you can deal with the tinnitus, as well as improve your quality of life. Here, we can help you get to the bottom of any tinnitus-related issues, so if you would like to book a consultation, you can contact the Texas Professional Hearing Center at (281) 420-8033.