Plan B for Tinnitus Patients Who Sleep with Sound Enrichment (Power Failure, Vacation...)

[Lilah]

This is a question for people who MUST have sound enrichment to sleep.

What is your back-up plan in the event of power failure, or if you go on a trip and you lose your white noise machine, phone battery charger, or whatever you use for sound enrichment? Any ideas?

 

[aot]

Pray to god for it to rain so I can crack a window, lol.

Seriously though, assuming I'm in a hotel room or something I guess I could turn the TV on and adjust the volume as needed. And some Melatonin.

 

[Kendra]

I try and sing songs in my head. Just going through the lyrics to help me fall asleep when sound enrichment isn't working. I just repeat different songs over and over. Not guaranteed to work but might help.

 

[Tanni]

Turning the light on in the bathroom usually activates a loud fan, so I'd leave the light on and sleep with the door open if needed. Failing that, leave the tap running. Absolute emergency obviously.

 

[Lilah]

Just thought of this - it would be good to keep a battery operated sound machine, as well as a battery operated radio.

 

[DebInAustralia]

Sleep next to my partner!

I don't sleep with noise on, but if I was feeling very anxious and bothered, I pray, meditate, even focusing on the sound of my breathing. Really listen beyond the tinnitus, and my brain can find other noise.

 

[Jebbis]

For an absolutely fool proof solution, there are solar powered radios as well as hand crank radios. I was recently in a national forest and the radio still worked. Having a battery powered/solar powered/hand crank radio is the easiest way to guarantee access to sound enrichment wherever you go, plus you can either find a station with static or a station with music, or talk radio. So many options. I don't need to mask anymore to fall asleep, but if I did, this is what I would do for peace of mind. I would have a few radios in the car, and maybe a small one in my backpack.

 

[GuitarMan]

A fully charged cellphone or tablet with sound apps installed and an external power bank so you can run it for at least a week.

When I run my tablet playing cricket sounds all night long the power drops from 100% to 90% which means I can use it for a full week without recharging. A small portable power bank should give me an extra week.

I can also do the same thing with my cellphone although because I use it as an actual cellphone it would only last 2 or 3 days max before needing to be recharged.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Some people do not understand the purpose for using sound enrichment at night. Neither do they know the correct way to administer it, or the importance of using good quality sound enrichment. It should not be regraded as a noise, on the contrary, it is a treatment for tinnitus and hyperacusis if it is present.

The brain and auditory system are always active, until the day we shuffle off this mortal coil. Someone with tinnitus risks making it louder and more intrusive if they sleep in a quiet room without using sound enrichment, because the brain has the ability to increase its background activity and in the process, increase the tinnitus which can make it louder during waking hours.

Placing a sound machine by the bedside or connected to a pillow speaker, will provide the brain and auditory system with sound enrichment and therefore, prevent it from increasing its background activity and the tinnitus. At the same time, if hyperacusis (oversensitivity to sound) is present, it will be treated, as the sounds help to desensitize the auditory system over time, so it becomes less sensitive to sound.

It is advisable to use nature sounds or something similar that is neutral and won't draw attention to itself or evoke emotions like music. Keep the sounds slightly below the tinnitus at all times and not masking it. It should be played throughout the night until morning.

The quality of sound enrichment is important and how it is administered. I don't advise using a mobile phone because the speaker is usually small and doesn't have much definition to the sound. If it's plugged into a docking station with external speakers or Bluetooth to a speaker then this should suffice.

Michael