By David Bryce on 25th Auguest 2015

The Sounds of Tinnitus

The different sounds of tinnitus can be both distracting and annoying during the day, but most people say that they are at their very worst when you are trying to get some sleep. This isn't surprising, tinnitus is much worse in quiet, when there is no competing sound source. The bedroom at night is a very quiet place that can make the sounds of tinnitus, seem louder and even more irritating. So irritating that you may have problems going to sleep. 

Some people have great difficulty sleeping because of sound of their tinnitus. The underlying problem here is that this will become a vicious circle.  Insomnia tends to cause stress, it also makes you cranky and lethargic for the entire day ahead. This can be hard if it is an occassional event, however, repeated nights with poor sleep can have a huge impact on your general health. While sleep problems can leave you feeling drained, it is also a factor in weight gain, chronic health conditions and accidents. 

The stress caused by your insomnia will actually aggravate your tinnitus. Your tinnitus will make sure that you don't sleep well, an endless vicious circle, stress feeds tinnitus and tinnitus feeds stress. When it comes to tinnitus and insomnia, one makes the other worse as surely as night follows day.

Breaking the circle

There are a host of products available to help relieve the sound of tinnitus, including the Widex Zen Therapy system. At Aberdeen and Inverness hearing services we use Widex Zen as one of our main tools to help alleviate the symptoms of tinnitus.  Zen is used to shut out the sounds of tinnitus, help you relax and re-stimulate your brain.

Zen, like many of these type of tools can be used at night in order to help people sleep. People use a host of different devices and strategies to help them sleep. We often hear our customers talking about using low playing music or white noise at night. You can also wear your widex hearing aids in bed with the zen programme on, we can even set them to turn off after a period of time. 

Acceptance

We know that these tools are helpful, but Dr Robert Sweetow, an established authority in the treatment of tinnitus, says that the most effective way to break the circle of tinnitus and insomnia is changing your attitude towards your tinnitus. Changing your attitude and managing your emotional response will ultimately affect your experience of the tinnitus itself. Speaking a a recent Widex Audiological Summit he said,

“It’s all about habituation, or acclimatization. Right now, you’re wearing clothing, perhaps a ring on your finger – but it doesn’t irritate you, because you’ve become habituated to it,” he says. “Maybe there’s a refrigerator noise running in the background, or some traffic hum outside.  These noises don’t cause you stress. You’re used to them. If you can habituate to the sounds of tinnitus, you will notice them less and experience them as less stressful.”

Dr Sweetow is talking about moving towards the acceptance of your tinnitus, this will help to reduce the emotional response that you feel. You don't have to do this alone though, there is help available. One treatment that can help is a widely accepted process called Cognitive Behaviour Training. 

Cognitive behaviour training

Widex introduced an effective therapy process to assist us to deliver real help to people with tinnitus. The Widex Zen Therapy allows us to help you to learn how tinnitus works in the brain, so that you understand what’s going on when buzzing starts. Understanding what is happening can help reduce the fear of the unknown. We hope to help you to stop associating tinnitus sounds with negative emotions.  

“Tinnitus can be closely identified with fear, anxiety and depression, in counselling, we identify these thoughts and behaviors and try to ‘correct’ them so the person with tinnitus can lower stress and enjoy life more.” Said Doctor Sweetow

The treatment that we provide is based on the combination of different strategies, including the wearing of a device that produces amplification and fractal tones or some other combination of sounds, along with relaxation exercises and the learning of new responses to help you first to  get used to the sounds of your tinnitus. Then we hope to help you to ignore them.

How to ignore tinnitus

We are primed for sound, the brain has its own systems to evaluate the importance of external noises. It is an integral part of our survival instincts and our fight or flight response. You will react very differently to different noises and sounds, not just that but we tend to react instinctively. For instance, when you hear a sudden clap of thunder, you will give a little jump. However, if you hear a loud noise that isn't a surprise like the crowd cheering after a goal is scored, it won't really affect you.

The real key is predictability, if it is unexpected, you immediately experience the fight or flight response. The sounds of tinnitus can have a very similar effect. It isn't the sudden dramatic effect of the fight or flight response, it is more of a slow build, chronic low grade reaction that causes long term stress. Dr Sweetow believes that we can retrain our brain to react differently. He said,

“In effect, you have to teach your brain that the sounds of tinnitus are not important, and that they can safely be ignored. By removing fears and anxiety about tinnitus, stress levels are lowered, and the tinnitus patient usually has an easier time getting to sleep.”

Dealing With Your Tinnitus in Aberdeen & Inverness

If you have difficulties with tinnitus and insomnia, come and see us in our hearing aid centres in Aberdeen or Inverness and our clinics across the Highlands. Tinnitus can't be cured, but it can be treated, let us help you get relief from your tinnitus. Call us on 01224 637255 for an appointment