Sleep Acts as Off/On Switch for Tinnitus

Are there other sufferers out there whose tinnitus is literally switched on and ( mercifully) off after a nights sleep? Does anyone have any theories about why this should be? I can go to bed at night after a day almost completely free of tinnitus and wake to an angry raging torrent of hissing or vice versa. I initially thought it was tied in with diet so experimented with cutting out red meat,alcohol, dairy, etc, etc and found no link. However something occurs during sleep to dramatically alter the pattern of tinnitus and I feel that unlocking what this is may hold the key for to permanent relief.
Joss

 

My T will reduce at about 50%-80% after a good sleep, no matter at night or a nap at noon. If I sleep less than 6 hours, the T will be obviously louder. I also think there should be some mechanism behind this

 

I think some of it is in the brain, but it's possible you're sometimes grinding your teeth at night (bruxism) which has the potential to make tinnitus worse.

 

Its also worse when I wake up and gradually gets les in couple of minutes.

 

maybe it simply has to do with the fact that resting well reduces stress and is good for the immune system also i think sleep studies are even further away from solutions than T-studies apart from the free radicals theory no one knows why we sleep.

 

Yes if I get good night deep sleep my T will almost always be lower. If I don't get enough sleep, restless sleep then it will be louder

 

When I wake up mine is usually pretty bad but after I sit up and fully wake up it lowers. It might have to do with when you are not fully awake and aware it seems louder. I'm not really sure though.

 

Depends, I experimented with that too. I noticed if i didn't get a good night sleep, it is pretty loud the next day once i woke up. But then lessens after i fully woke up. But if i get a really good sleep of 8 hours or more, its really quiet. so i do really think there is a connection.

 

A sleep of several hours will often reduce the T. volume by 50 percent or more..A short nap seems to have the opposite effect..Seems I must enter a deep sleep pattern in the brain to effectively reduce the volume.

 

Another thing that definitely helps me is going to bed early (when possible). If I hit the hay at 9pm, the prognosis for the next day is good. Going to bed past 10pm almost certainly gives me a substandard sleep.

Consequently, the head noise will likely be waiting for me when I am released from the arms of Morpheus in the morning. ( I stole some of the humor of @Golly) I hope he didn't mind.

 

Whilst I agree that having a really good nights sleep makes it more likely that tinnitus will be less the next day, its not a hard and fast rule. I can have a good nights sleep and still have it raging in the morning or have a patchy night and have relative peace in my ears the next day. It may be more tied in with dream sleep or periods of sleep with REM or teeth grinding rather than the length of sleep I can wake at 4 in the morning with my tinnitus still as quiet as the previous day but then go back to sleep and wake at 7 to tinnitus at full volume. This is why even a quick nap will very often trigger a rise in volume. Whatever, the culprit is the sub conscious mind and the brain either "tuning" tinnitus back to the forefront of the conscious mind during sleep or simply that those sensitive nerve endings become over active when the conscious mind is switched off. What I need is a brainwave to come up with a solution to controlling my brain waves!

 

I too have this almost predictable cycle of screaming T that will DRAMATICALLY quiet down almost every other day. This pattern is almost invariably seperated by sleep cycles. It has nothing to do with diet as I've tried EVERYTHING. The cycle is what it is until something breaks it

 

Joss, I am having the exact same experience. On a day when T was mild to me, I took an hour nap only to wake up with the blaring noise, this has happened more that once. I took a hour nap a few times when it was blaring but woke up with the same level of noise.

Lesson learned for me, do not take a nap on a good day.

When my T is high, 99% of time the only way it gets lower is when I wake up in the morning, that seems to set the tone for the rest of the day.

My T when it is blaring away during the day, it has never gotten lower while I am awake.

I firmly agree, something is going on when we sleep, at least with us having this phenomenon.

 

Yesterday I woke up out of a very deep sleep, probably the deepest sleep I have had in months or maybe years and my T was almost non-existent for the entire day. I mean, I couldn't hear it under normal circumstances. It was as good as gone. It had never been that low before. Of course it is back today but still fairly low.

 

Very happy for you erik, now at least you know it is possible to have these type of days. May you have many more...

 

Thanks Gary Me Too! As I have said in the past, if there is a way the brain can sometimes turn off tinnitus or lower it, then there must be a mechanism to do it permanently.

 

Hi, this is my first time here. Not sure how to add photo and will try and figure that out. I was hit with tinnitus Dec. 5, 2013. I've been prescribed a sleeping aid and used it for the first time last night slept 6 hours but was pretty sleepy today. Not sure if this message will go through.

 

I have experienced the raging T after a nap phenomenon on quite a few occasions. And also the variation of how loud it is after a full night's sleep, from firing away full throttle to waking up with almost a miraculous feeling of very low volume Tinnitus, it seems like I smile alot more on those relatively quiet days.

 

Hi Linda, your message came through fine...

 

Hmmmm this sleep/nap phenomenon is very interesting. I too love those days when I can smile and mean it...

 

I've been having a difficult time with this T. After having many difficult nights my ENT put me on Remeron 7.5 mg. An anti-depressent but I use it for sleep. Slept 6 hours last night but woke up groggy and hissing. My ENT wants me to stay on it a week to see how it is working. Have a hard time during the day. Try and not think about it but it's difficult. At night the fan helps but becomes a nuisance in the morning. Need to find the right music I can fall asleep with. Any advice?

 

not sure where my posts go?

 

Can someone tell me where my post #21 went?

 

I wonder how many people have their T get worse because they're grinding their teeth when they sleep. Somatic tinnitus is strange stuff.

 

Hi Gary, do you have good tips for sleeping at night? The fan works but annoying after awhile. Music also helps but can't seem to find the right songs. I'm taking Remeron for sleep puts me in a good deep sleep but seem to be more tired in the morning. The hissing was a bit louder too. I live in California didn't state that.

 

What is this good night sleep you all speak of??????

 

It's probably a duck! Sorry about that....wrong thread.

 

I have just been reading on another thread that Zolpidem could cause or increase t!
I have been taking Zolpidem when needed over the last 12 months and my t has been the worst it have been over the last couple of months.
Now I cant sleep without it because of t!
If anyone knows about this drug can you please set me straight.
If I stop taking it will my t diminish?
If this drug has caused my t why aren't there warnings on the package!!!!

 

So sorry you are having such a rough go right now. It sucks, I know!! I tried a bunch of different sleepy time music to drown out my T at bedtime, and one of the most effective for me was/is Chinese Pan Flute music. For my pitch/tone/volume, it really cancels out my T and helps me to get to sleep. Just thought I'd pass that on. Good luck!!!

 

Hi Linda, first of all your posts are showing up, even #21, are you seeing them now.

As for sleeping, I too use a fan, actually I use two of them. When I go to bed I have a ear plug the is plugged into my radio, I fall asleep listening to a talk radio station, but music would be fine to. Sleeping for me has not been a real problem, I am retired so I stay up until I can't keep my eyes open any longer. If you are working then that is not a good idea if you have to get up early.

I read that Remeron can make you feel groggy, I guess that's why you take it for sleep. I would call or see the ENT and tell him you need something to help you to sleep. This way you can take the Remeron as prescribed.

Thinking about your T and the hissing is very hard to deal with when you first get it. I was on an emotional roller coaster when I first got it, I would have 7 or 8 really bad hissing day's, then it would be a mild hissing for 4 or 5 days, then back up to the loud hissing. I still get it that way, but have learned to deal with it a lot better.

You will eventually read stories of others here that have the exact same feelings as you do. Read through the support forum as well as " introduce yourself" forum and you will get a feel for this site and some relief.

To add a picture or avatar as some call it, go to forums, then click on Announcements & Feedback, go down about the 9th post and you will see a post about how to create an avatar/picture. There is some other good information there too. I asked a few question there myself.....