Dealing with tinnitus on a daily basis can be frustrating as there is no cure. But you don’t have to just suffer through your tinnitus and hope that it goes away.
Here at Hearing Associates of Las Vegas, our hearing specialists provide a variety of tinnitus management tools such as tinnitus tips which can improve your quality of life.
Top 13 Tinnitus Management Tips
To help you manage your tinnitus on a day-to-day basis, try implementing these 13 tinnitus management tips.
1. Reduce exposure to extremely loud noises – Tinnitus is often triggered by exposure to loud noises. These triggering instances can lead to a temporary increase in your tinnitus symptoms. To prevent this, use hearing protection when you know you will be exposed to loud noises such as concerts, shooting ranges, power tool use, and other instances.
2. Avoid over-consumption of stimulants – Consuming stimulants like caffeine can cause your tinnitus to become worse. Stimulants change blood flow, and that can impact your tinnitus. While you don’t have to cut stimulants out completely, monitor your intake and keep track of what level of stimulants does trigger an increase of tinnitus symptoms.
3. Decrease your salt intake – Excess salt can impact your blood pressure, which in turn can impact your tinnitus. By reducing your salt intake, you may be able to alleviate the intensity of your tinnitus.
4. Avoid being in total silence – When there is nothing else to hear, your perception of your tinnitus can increase significantly. Try using sound generators that produce soothing background sounds to keep your tinnitus negligible.
5. Keep track if there are common triggers – By doing a bit of detective work, you can figure out what normally triggers your tinnitus. Once you know what causes it to become worse, you can avoid these triggers or plan for a tinnitus flare-up.
6. Monitor your blood pressure – As you can see from some of our earlier tips, blood flow and blood pressure play an important role in triggering your tinnitus. By ensuring your blood pressure remains in a healthy range, you can alleviate several tinnitus triggers.
7. Engage in regular exercise – Those who engage in regular exercise have superior cardiovascular health, which helps decrease tinnitus symptoms. If you are looking to use exercise to reduce your tinnitus, focus on aerobic workouts as they emphasize cardiovascular improvement.
8. Reduce fatigue – Sleep deficiency and over-exhaustion in general is a common trigger for tinnitus. Adults require at least 7 hours of sleep every night, and it is best if you commit to a regular sleep schedule.
9. Cut out nicotine consumption – Nicotine in cigarettes and some types of vaping juice can restrict your blood flow and act as a stimulant, which triggers tinnitus. By cutting out nicotine, you can greatly impact your tinnitus.
10. Practice relaxation techniques – Reducing stress is a vital part of managing tinnitus. Try to implement simple daily relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, and other stress level lowering activities.
11. Join in support groups – Tinnitus has a significant emotional impact as well as a physical one. By joining a support group, you can receive emotional support and potentially targeted tinnitus advice. If there are no support groups near you, there are active tinnitus forums you can post to online and receive help.
12. Educate yourself about tinnitus – Learning more about your condition is an essential part of managing your tinnitus. As tinnitus can only be perceived by the individual who struggles with tinnitus, dealing with tinnitus can be isolating. By educating yourself on tinnitus, you can be valid that your tinnitus is real and can be addressed.
13. Be evaluated by a hearing expert – Last but certainly not least, you should be evaluated by a hearing expert if you struggle with tinnitus. There is often a connection to hearing loss which can be corrected with hearing aids. Also, there are a variety of other tinnitus management devices which our hearing instrument specialist can help you determine if it will help you.
How To Explain Your Tinnitus To Others
One of the major frustrations for those who suffer from tinnitus is the inability to describe to others what they are dealing with when it comes to tinnitus. If you have been unable to help your friends and family understand what living with tinnitus is like, we recommend you have them listen to the tinnitus sounds we have available here.
These are some of the most common tinnitus sounds. If your tinnitus sound is not on the list, pick the one which is closest to help your loved ones understand. Be absolutely sure to not earbuds or headphones while listening and turn the volume down on your device before playing the clips. Much like living with tinnitus, these clips are piercing and can be painful.
Our hearing instrument specialists at Hearing Associates of Las Vegas are well-informed when it comes to tinnitus education, current research, and treatment methods. To work with one of our tinnitus experts to control your tinnitus symptoms, contact us for an appointment today.