Do you suffer from tinnitus? Is the constant ringing or buzzing in your ear driving you crazy? Tinnitus can be a frustrating condition. For many people, it can lead to other serious conditions like anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Tinnitus is often accompanied by hearing loss and is usually caused by long-term, consistent exposure to loud noises.
If you have a constant ringing or buzzing in your ears, you should probably get your hearing check to see if you're losing some of your ability. While there is no cure for tinnitus, there are ways to manage it. Here are three effective tinnitus management options:
Focus on background noise. Tinnitus is often caused by the brain overcompensating for a lack of surrounding noise. That's one of the reasons why it can get worse with hearing loss. The less you hear, the more that void is filled by ringing or buzzing. One way to stop the ringing and buzzing is to focus on noises that you may otherwise not pay attention to, like background conversations or birds and crickets outside.
You may even want to purchase CDs of background noise that you can listen to while you're at home. Find something that is soothing and comfortable. Listening to the background noise may also help if your tinnitus is preventing you from sleeping.
Learn some relaxation techniques. For many tinnitus sufferers, the emotional reaction to tinnitus can be worse than the actual sounds. The onset of ringing or buzzing can cause stress, anxiety, and even anger for some sufferers. As a result, they focus on the ringing, which then makes their perception of it even worse. Relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises may be effective. Reducing the stress surrounding the sounds could prevent you from focusing all of your attention on it.
You can search for relaxation exercises online or you may even want to see a therapist about the issue. The therapist may be able to put you through a variety of exercises to see what helps you relax the most. Then you can implement those exercises when you sense that the ringing or buzzing is about to begin.
Get a hearing aid. For many people, the tinnitus is a direct result of hearing loss. Managing and reducing the tinnitus may be as simple as improving your hearing ability. Once you're better able to pick up the sounds around you, there won't be as much of a hearing void for your brain to fill with noise. That could cut down on the ringing and buzzing and improve all of your other tinnitus-related symptoms.
For more information, visit an audiologist in your area. He or she can give you a hearing test and advise on whether a hearing aid is right for you. Contact a company like Widex Hearing Aids for more help and information.
Share20 May 2015
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