Tinnitus Relief: Exploring Lifestyle Modifications and Therapies

If you notice tinnitus, it’s understandable to feel concerned. But some of this worry comes from the fact that you’re unsure how severe or how tinnitus will affect your life. Like many medical questions, it’s the not knowing that causes individuals the most distress. That’s why visiting an audiologist can provide relief from your symptoms. They help you define the issue, rule out others and curate a treatment plan specific to your needs.

Often, many measures will be suggested, from therapies to lifestyle modifications, supporting one another. But what are these lifestyle modifications, and how do these therapies work? Your audiologist will discuss the most common treatments and suggestions to help lessen the symptoms of your tinnitus to provide relief.

Lifestyle Modifications

There are many lifestyle modifications we can make for better help, but some can directly influence the severity of tinnitus.

Avoiding Loud Noise Exposure

Loud noises, especially exposing the ear for long periods, can cause inner ear damage and may lead to a ringing effect which can either replicate or exacerbate tinnitus. To help lessen the affects that loud noise can have on your ears, you can wear hearing protection like earplugs or earmuffs. This will help to keep the noise at a safe decibel level.

Healthy Diet and Exercise

Yes, a healthy diet and exercise can help you limit the severity of tinnitus. Keeping a healthy weight, and also reducing alcohol, caffeine or cigarette intake, will have a positive impact.

Managing Stress and Sleep

Stress is known to exacerbate tinnitus symptoms, which is why meditation is recommended. This is also directly linked to sleep quality, and it’s essential to try and get into a healthy routine and work on your sleep schedule to help with managing your stress and lessening your symptoms. This not only has benefits overall, but cognitively too, which allows for better emotional regulation as you manage your tinnitus.

Sound Therapy

Sound therapy in the form of nature sounds, white noise machines or even hearing aids that mask your tinnitus when needed can be effective in helping to alleviate the symptoms during more intensive episodes.

Earwax Removal

Compressed earwax has been known to stifle hearing quality and worsen tinnitus. Luckily, an audiologist can schedule earwax removal procedures in which such compressed earwax is either drained or removed from your ear canal, allowing for better hearing.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

With CBT, you talk with a therapist who helps you understand how your thoughts and feelings can affect your tinnitus. They teach you techniques to manage stress and change negative thought patterns about the ringing or buzzing in your ears. By learning new ways to cope with tinnitus, many people find that their symptoms become less bothersome, and they can enjoy life more fully.

By combining sound therapy, masking and counseling, you can feel less worried and affected by tinnitus, which can work wonders while other treatments are in progress. If you have tinnitus, be sure to visit an audiologist for a full inspection today. They will help you ensure a better quality of life.