How to Block Noise (Noisy City Apartment) at Night without Aggravating Tinnitus?

[Ludo]

Hi all, I'm new here but I've been lurking for years. I have noise-induced tinnitus with high-frequency hearing loss.

The thing is, I live in a noisy city apartment with neighbors stomping around and sirens down the street etc., so I've always used earplugs to block it out and get some sleep. This worked fine until my most recent noise event in 2020, when my ear protection fell out during a 3T MRI, and I now have a new tone in my left ear that is uneven and distracting. And now when I try to wear earplugs at night, it amplifies the tinnitus terribly.

So I feel kind of stuck. I need to be able to block noise at night in order to sleep, but earplugs make my tinnitus too loud and distracting. I've tried listening to white noise through soft silicone earbuds, but they're all cheaply made and don't fit well and fall apart in a few months. I was considering the Bose ones but that's a hefty price for something that may or may not work.

Anyone experience a similar issue? Or even better, found a solution? I have faith that the tinnitus will attenuate over time, maybe a few more years, but I need to sleep now!

 

[Ludo]

I guess lack of replies means I'm screwed. No one else seems to have this issue, so my tinnitus must be worse than is typical. Bummer.

 

[Kevin Hall]

I would try some background noise like a sound machine or a fan when trying to sleep in a noisy apartment area. Always try and have some type of low level background noise. But do not try and totally mask the tinnitus. You want to be able to still hear the tinnitus a little to be able to habituate to it.

 

[Strawberryblonde]

You could try filtered earplugs that are designed for sleeping. They will block out some of the city noise but not all and will allow you to still hear something in order to distract you from the new tone. Also like the above poster said, low-level background noise will also help you.

 

[Juan]

Try background noise, low volume music or white noise to mask the noise coming from the street.

Another option, if you can tolerate that and only if you sleep facing up and not moving a lot, is using earmuffs, if those do not produce reactivity with your tinnitus (like earplugs are doing). I have used earmuffs for instance on 31 December, and when there are the odd loud noises outside (people cutting tree branches very early in the morning and stuff like that).