Any Tips on How to Get a Better Sleep...

My tinnitus has gotten worse lately and its been hard to sleep since i hear my T over the tv.. Ive been sleeping at 4 ish every morning for the past 2 weeks .. And i have to make my self try to sleep for at least 1-2 hours.. Is there any tips anyone uses that are helpful .. I tried music and fans but just irritates me and my ear.. Maybe because my H has been really bad lately... Does nyquil work or sleeping pills or will that affect my T any help will work thanks..

 

I had an increase in tinnitus allmost 2 months ago and had huge trouble getting to sleep. Currently I have regained normal amounts of sleeping time. My anxiety focused so much on the tinnitus that depressing feelings blocked me from getting to sleep... Eventually I would sleep for short periods.
Somehow I turned this around by letting it all go, not fighting against the sound of T and just dwell in normal thoughts and happy memories. You cannot win from T yet. Just let it become an imaginary friend and you will be able to ignore it faster than you might think. Anxiety and depression is something you can overcome and that is what your focus should be. But first just surrender to your new friend, get sleep and get strong from that point onwards! Give it plenty of time and you will feel much better.

 

I would steer clear of any further medication. Try a sleeper pillow or radio on sleep mode.

 

Im all ears when it comes to advice on sleep, when my t spikes my sleep gets way worse than it normally is, which is bad anyway. I think it does really come down to being relaxed about the t, letting your mind just wander lying in bed like it used to do pre t sleep time, no focus on t = better sleep, easier said than done of course with a louder than normal t

 

Hugow ive had t for a little over 2 years... My has spiked so many times as to why im in this current state sadly i cant really escape my t as i hear it over everything.. Its hard to sleep but when i do i wake up countless of times... I dint really like resting my ears in pillows since my t gets a little louder when i cover my ears.. I leave my tv on low volume and have my laptop playing something low to try to not think of T but it still over powers it... I had no problems sleeping with my older t but this is really strong since its high pitch...

 

The sudden increase of my T just destroyed the way I dealed with T before. I lived with the increased T for about 1,5 weeks until my consciousness started to realize the new volume and pitch was here to stay. That was also the moment when anxiety kicked in and I started to focus on the T. Sleeping was very troublesome until I started to accept the 'new' situation. Bit by bit I regained sleep and eventually I had such a boost in self esteem after sleeping 5 hours. I knew I could sleep again, push the T to the background with dreaming thoughts and stop worrying/checking/doom thinking about the T.
In my case it was the anxiety keeping me from sleeping. The T is loud, both ears and head. I never mask, dont use meds. I life regulated, take life slowly, exercise, eat healthy and meditate. This is working out for me and it got me back to sleeping, which helps me getting back on track.
I hope you can find enough mental strength and inner peace to start accepting your 'improved' T as a background noise and sleep once again!

 

HugoW thats great man how you can just accept it like that.. In the past two years my t spikes pretty soon every other 4 months but i also believe its my fault , i dont go to bars, parties or movies but somehow other things spike it..i have only in my left ear but im scared that i am starting to get it on the right but not sure if its juts my head messing with me.. It recently spiked due to hiking when i was on top of s trail i found out someone broke a leg and a helicopter cane to airlift himout the helicopter has hoovering over us trying to get down and i out my earplug in my left ear and covered my ears with my hands i almsot had a panic attack from the helicopter being there as i finished the trail i felt my t spike...and its been really sensitive after that its been 3 weeks since then.. I am getting depressed since i havent left my house becasue my t is too sensitive to noise and just aggrevates it and havent worked out since i lift snd exercise snd feeling down since that was my stress releiver and also i am grtting out of shape since i havr always been in shape and that is also making me feel down and sad..

 

@Geo The posts are good recommendations. You should try thinking of good thoughts at bedtime. At first I was able to deal with my 'T' with no medication. I do have relapses and eventually tried the medicals and it worked for me. When my 'T' is under control I stop taking the medicals and sleep on my own. Practice thinking about 'happy memories', an old girl friend. etc.
If you are sleep deprived and I was I took Ambien 10mg and .5m xanax to sleep.

 

OK, this is the first chance I've had to report on my sleep improvement since I started a new technique. Why in the world it would make me sleep better, I don't know, but it does.
I didn't want to mention this improvement in my posts because I do get challenged a little on this, and I'm only stating what works. But since you brought up sleeping problems, I have to throw this in ...
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/

 

Can those meds spike your tinnitus.. I dont want to take meds that can make it worse because when i slightly tore my elbow last year i was taking ibuprofen for the pain and i think that spiked my ear since inwas taking it for 3 weeks..

 

I just added binaural beats to my evening routine. I got an app for my iPhone that allows you to layer them in music or nature sounds. It might just be a placebo but I feel that they help me relax and Zen me out. Also love the pillow speakers mentioned by Matt01.

 

Geo ibuprofen side effect is Tinnitus .....I take Remeron it helps my anxiety and depression that T brings me and it's also a very good sleep Med....it's also not toxic to your ears.
Stay strong man

 

Kevin08 carlos1 Thanks guys i really appreciate your help my ents suckd couldnt tell me nothing but live with it.. I just really want to start going outside and go hike and start lifting weights again but its hard since i dont want to expose my ears right now since my t and h are acting up.. I feel down when i cant exersice since i am a fit freak lol what exactly is a speaker pillow

 

Have you tried melatonin? Its natural and in some cases brings t down could even try some chamomile tea to help you chill before bed it's a very mild sedative.
I would also recommend breathing exercises when your settling down for bed,get comfortable and deep breaths...until you drop off.
exercise if you can wear your body out so you just want to sleep I know that might be hard at the moment but try.
if that doesn't work and your really struggling get some meds but only short term just to get your sleep pattern back Remeron is very good and more sedating is very low doses 7.5 mg should be fine.(but only short term)

 

Geo, I hate putting crap into my body (other than food) so I am somewhat embarrassed to say this, but yeah, there are nights when I use Nyquil, and it does help me get to sleep. I always sleep with specific white noise, but if that causes you pain then that is not an option. I also supplement with a glass of wine before bed at times. Wine is a high calorie item, so not recommended before bedtime for those looking at weight issues, but I have to choose my battles, and when I cannot sleep, it affects so many other areas of my life.

What this comes down to is looking on these forums for ideas - new possibilities to try. What works for one may or may not for another, but if it is something I have never considered and never tried, then it is worth investigating in my book.

- damon

 

My ENT Recommended melatonin.
I don't take meds to sleep.

Just White noise app on my phone for those nights.

 

Geo accept it and give it time and you will ignore it.Don't be to hard on yourself take it easy .You have got the rest of you life this will be over within a year You will habituate hyperacusis will go away 85% of people it does.Let your brain work it out .You just manage your stress .Exersise lift weights don't let this T stop you.Believe me mine rings I hear it and just go right on with my life.It ain't easy but it will get easier .You will see. Mike K

 

uncle vikin .. how loud is your T i see that u just contract it at first for me it was ok even the first year but after it starts spiking its harder to keep grounded... ive had mine for 2 years.. and it has gotten really bad lately which i blame my old job and myslef in certain situations. T has permanently spiked so many times in the past 2 months eveything seems to trigger it especially with this bad H im suffering from.. but lately is has been hard its really so loud on the left i hear it over everything and i fear that i am starting to hear it on my right also

 

I'm not an advocate of sleeping pills, but when I've gone a few nights without much sleep, I sometimes resort to taking CVS brand Nighttime Sleep-Aid and I do get a good night's sleep. I limit myself to taking them no more than once a week as I don't want to get dependent on sleeping pills.

 

Geo My T varies alot .I can't tell when it's gonna spike.Something in the past couple of weeks has changed for the better I may be habituating but I don't know.I am sure I had H but it seems to have gotten a little better but I have been off from work for 2 months I am under the care of a psychiatrist I got a script for klonipin and A-D but I have weened off after just 6 weeks on them.I started eating really healthy Vitamins ect. but what I think helped me is an adrenal support herb extract.I also take holy basil,and melatonin 3 mg sr .alot of omega 3 just juicing ect wheatgrass ect. something seems to be working.I see that you have had T for 2 years .To answer you on how loud my T is.It's pretty loud I had 2 ER panic attacks and alot of anxiety the first 3 months .Now I can function and sleep alot better.
I like alot of people on here have researched T to death but my ENT said I had hearing loss .I have known I had loss of high freq. in my left ear since I was 14 due to a firework mishap but my R ear is the one ringing and I hear fine in my right ear so why ain't it ringing in the left.T is way more complicated than simple hearing loss it has to do alot with the brain .It is just triggered by hearing loss but then the brain starts to re-wire itself .I found a study (susan shore university of michigan) google it and read her reaserch and you will realize how complex tinnitus is.
Geo thats why I suggested you keep busy ,Try to not stress, and just push through it it's hard man I know but I take it day by day and I truly believe it is our minds (what we think) and nutrition,exercise,and sleep the basics that will help us get through this the brain will do the rest.Geo that's all we can do man.I may get over it for a while and it may spike again but hopefully I will be able to controll it.Geo I think your T will habituate and you may then just need to watch out for loud noises that might spike it again.You have had it longer than I so mabe after this spike you will be alright.I hope so .For sleep malatonin 3mg sr really helps me but you need to take it on reg. basis it takes a while to really start working like mabe 5 or 6 days 20 min before bed.It also has been known to help H and T they have done double blind studies on it so you might give it a try. Hope you get better soon Geo MIKE K (uncle vikin)

 

Hi,

This worked for me....

Alcohol - Pros's - Relaxes you, cons - obviously not good long term solution. Sore head in the morning etc.

Zoplicone - Sleeping tablet from the doctors. Knocks you out, great nights sleep, make sure you give yourself enough time to sleep though. If you take one then go to sleep for only six hours, you will wake up drowsy. Also you cannot take alcohol with these at all it sends you wacky. Not a good long term solution but good to have to make sure you get some good nights sleep when things are getting you down.

Sleep Pillow for Ipad - You can tune the sounds in different ways. EG crackling fire, bird tweeting, water babbling. I found the crackling fire was a real relief.

Relaxation - Trying to chill out before you go to bed and prepare for what may be a bad night.... its tough, but getting angry, frustrated, panicking about being tired the next day etc just compounds the problem and makes sleep less likely.

Some hope.... it drove me mental for a long time, but now I deal with it better, am able to sleep, notice my tinnitus less (even though its still there). Still play with my band, using earplugs etc. Generally feel like it has improved much more. First few months were really tough but things got better over time.

 

This is a good thread, I'll tack on a couple more things to try.

-stick to strict sleep routine, for me it's 10 to 7, no naps
-breathing for relaxation, meditation before bed
-exercise during the day, for me it's often an hour long walk in the evening
-I tried many of the things listed above, the sleep pillow made huge difference. I like rain on a tarp

I had several months of terrible sleep but something has changed in the last month or so. I still wake up more that I used to but I'm have way more dreams so I guess I'm having the REM sleep.

 

Yea ,Kevin we have had this the same amount of time I am sleeping better now .But I still hate my T but it don't bother me nearly as much, hard to explain I guess we are habituating I don't know and it seems the doctors don't know so what can we do but try stuff and talk to one another .This TT site has helped more than the doctors I've seen.I dream mabe one to three dreams sometimes a night and that is what I was thinking.I must be getting my REM sleep.THis is the key I believe to habituation REM gives the brain time to sort it out .By the way I use to travel all over Canada 20 years ago when I was playing in a band.We booked all over canada .I still have a canadian SS card.

 

from reading your posts i feel like your guys T isnt as strong as mine..not saying it isnt..believe it or not i would sleep pretty easy a couple of months ago with T and that was like a 6 spike T..but now This new T has spiked alot since then cant explain why it spikes so often but it does..i use to sleep with my tv on..i still do now but i hear my screaching t over the tv and i would sometimes sleep with a movie on laptop with the tv before also and now thats worthless as i hear it over everything..i only go to sleep after i cant hold my eyes open anymore and sometimes takes me hours to sleep been sleeping around 3-4 am every night for the past 2 months.. and wake up at least 4-5 times during my sleep. and too scared to take any drugs dont want to risk it.

 

I am looking for a masking solution for sleep. What works for you? Insomnia due to tinnitus is very tough for me.

 

Howmedics makes a good white noise machine with various sounds for about $25. I got mine at bed, bath & beyond.

 

Try an Indian herb called ashwagandha. Its very very famous for calming the mind and promoting sleep and it works! I take it regularly and sleep like a baby. Its available on amazon. Shatavari herb is also good. Both these can be taken long term with zero side effects

 

Kava Kava is good for sleep. Valerian root also and melatonin

 

Remember that T is psychosomatic, it's a symptom, not the problem. When your brain is fully relaxed, the neurons stop firing and the sound goes away. I recommend zero sound masking, it just excites the already exhausted brain which is counterproductive for sleep.

So do this: Get nice and comfy in your bed. Take several long, deep breaths. Focus on your breathing and the rise and fall of your chest. Let your mind and head just go slack. Release all of the built up tension in your face. Just let go of it. Your T may still be screaming, but continue to focus on your breathing. Relief and silence will find you with each diliberate breath. You'll notice that your T will dimish into nothing if you strive to achieve total relaxation.

I'm laying in bed right now and I just used this technique. No masks and no T. Give it a try and let me know you think. Hope you get some sleep!

 

You are saying that if you are relaxed your T will go away? I can be totally relaxed or completely stressed out, this makes absolutely no difference in the volume of my T. If it were as easy as getting relaxed to reduce or eliminate T, I don't think there would be very many members here. Sorry I think your post is mostly bs, you obviously have very minor (purely phycoligical) T with no ear injuries if all you have to do is some relaxation breathing exercises to make your T go away.

I think that sometimes some of the advise given here by the minor T crowd comes off as a little condescending to those that have major ear problems/ damage. Some people (me included) have painful tinnitus, the pitch hurts the head (nothing to do with not being relaxed) and therefore at certain times need to use a external sound for the ears to feel less pain and fullness, nothing to do with masking the T, more to do with giving the ears/brain a distraction and reducing the pain/ pressure of screaming T sounds.