Poll: Sleeping Position and Your Morning Tinnitus

There's gotta be a reason that 2/3rds of tinnitus sufferers feel their tinnitus is lowest when they wake, and 1/3rd of tinnitus sufferers feel their tinnitus is highest when they wake.

Maybe it's sleeping position? Let's find out!

 

Hi Matt,
Couldn't really respond to your poll because for me its a bit more complex.

When I nap, I do so on my back typically. My tinnitus can spike after a brief nap.
When I go to bed, I typically sleep on my side...both sides...virtually never on my back. My tinnitus can spike sleeping on my sides too.

I don't want to say that dreams are biggest underlying reason for tinnitus spiking but seems to be the theme for me.

Bad dreams spike my tinnitus. Now, I don't think I enter the dream state in my short naps. Tinnitus can spike after a brief nap too.

So hard to find a correlation and reason why only 2/3 of respondents...their tinnitus is calmer in the morning. I am a member of the 1/3. Occasionally, my tinnitus is quieter in the morning. Generally not however.

Maybe best to put a larger take on my tinnitus in particular. Sleep spikes my tinnitus...or can and often the case.
Its complicated.

 

You're probably right that it's more complicated. But I was actually curious about teeth grinding - and about whether certain sleeping positions may out enters pressure on the jaw bones (ie. stomach). This poll may or may not be the right way to get at that.

 

I mean that sleeping position needs more explanation than back, side, stomach. I myself have a considerable hissing when the head is stretched sideways, and I think that the continuous tinnitus is only a part of this phenomenon.
But I am not sure...

 

Maybe some people notice it more because they are very self aware types, that is, the first thing they do in the morning is check themselves. And what's the first thing they notice? Their Tinnitus. Others may be more outward focused and their brain scans for external noises immediately on awakening - noises from their children, bacon frying, or whatever.

Perhaps "externals" only notice the Tinnitus later when their unconscious is tired of scanning for external noises and there's nothing going on.

Others, of course, may vary. This morning I didn't notice my Tinnitus until I was shaving. I thought, "I didn't notice my Tinnitus when I woke up!", and of course then I noticed my Tinnitus

So why did I change this morning? Yesterday I made two health appointments for very early, in the morning, and I've had some urgent tasks to get done first thing in the morning the last few days. This isn't usually me. I'm retired & not a morning person. It's usually a few hours before I motivate myself to do the housework, shopping, etc.!

So the past few days I've had a much more external focus for "first thing in the morning".

Maybe standard psychological testing could generate more insight into this "waking" quandary? An introvert (internal?) vs. extrovert (external?) or depressed (inernal?) vs. manic (external?) poll might generate a correlation.

Have you used your electrodes to investigate your brain patterns on awakening? If you have Tinnitus on awakening, what happens if you zap your brain before awakening?

 

Maybe it has to do with the pillow or a strained neck, depending on how one sleeps.