Sleep Aids for New Tinnitus Sufferer

[NeuroNut]

Hello all,

Three weeks into this rather difficult journey, and I find the biggest problem is sleep. I know - or hope - that this will get easier with time and habituation, but I have an acute problem now. I have a young family and a stimulating job, and I can't do either justice if I can't sleep.

When I first realised I might have to live with this long-term, I was very anxious indeed, and was prescribed propranorol. I've never taken medication like this before, but it made an already difficult sleep situation impossible. I gave it up and was proscribed zopiclone to sleep - and it does work. It's a little disappointing, because it only lasts around 6 hours (I'm used to more like 7-8), but 6 is a lot better than none.

But zopiclone is not a long-term solution - apart from the dependency worry, it already has some pretty annoying side-effects . I used to cycle-commute to work, but don't feel I can do that safely at the moment. And I have almost completely lost my appetite. So: I've got to stop it. But I also need to sleep - before waiting for habituation.

Any ideas? Anyone tried 5-HTP? Valerian maybe? Guided meditation? Pure sleep hygiene? Hot bath? Hardcore anti-depressants? Just telling myself I'm OK a lot? I would particularly appreciate advice on how long I should give these various options to make sure I'm giving them a fair go.

Many thanks,

 

[Michael B]

Have you tried a sound machine at bedtime? I have one from Sound Oasis as well as mp3 sounds I downloaded from the same company online. I'm a side sleeper and I use a pillow speaker with the sound machine which always helps me sleep. I honestly don't know what I would do without it.

 

[NeuroNut]

The problem with sound is that I find I can't get comfortable with sounds that are related to my T. Playing them makes me anxious. I can listen to water but it doesn't mask my T at all.

I tried a night off the zopiclone last night and got no sleep at all. Not even a few minutes. I took the herbal supplement 5-htb but it made me jittery all night. Perhaps too high a dose, but it was only 100mg (one tablet).

 

[Kelvin]

I found all these helped kick the insomnia cycle at various times in my life :-

1. L-Tryptophan - a food- no side effects for me
2 Diphenhydramine - an antihistamine - no side effects part from slight hungover feeling in the morning.
3 Melatonin - no side effects for me - worth a go.

Always check with your medical advisor

 

[Jill Ridge]

Hi, I can totally relate and am too on Zopaclone and run out in 6 days. I've had my tinnitus for 15 weeks - not long but has had a massive effect on well being etc. I'm a school teacher in the UK , have teenage children and look after my mum (she is not living with me) but I had a viral infection and lost my voice and a week later I woke up with these loud buzz in head and it has stayed. I've tried acupuncture, homeopathy, and now on antidepressants and the sleeping pill. I've come off the antidepressant as it made me feel super hungover and I have a long drive to work. I'm trying to crack the sleep. I went for a walk for an hour the other day with a friend and I had the best night sleep since I got the tinnitus. So from now on I am going to walk around the block, listen to red/brown noise as mine is low frequency buzzing - through out the night as a masking device. This is not going to beat me down!! I am not going to let it win. Yes I am fed up that I have it, angry, anxious and depressed and have lost my spark, but I have to get a grip on my sleep!! I feel that if I can do this then I can accept it better. Like you I am hoping it will go one day and buzz off!!! I will let you know how I get on but in the UK they will only prescribe zopaclone for 28 days and then I have to get on with it!!

 

[Raphael7713]

Downlaod the app "atmosphere". This one really helped me and it provides several noises you can choose from, and you can combinate them.

 

[fishbone]

These folks have already made, some good suggestions. I would use sleep aids for a short time frame. Many sleep aids can make us addicted to them and then we may not be able to sleep with out them. I was hooked on sleeping pills for close to 3 years and I was dependent on them.

It's been 2-3 months that I have not touched a sleeping pill. My tinnitus is louder than ever and now my secondary tone (lawnmower, microwave, ship horn) is much louder too.

Take your time, possibly take a sleeping med, but eventually try to sleep naturally. It's hard, I know first hand but in time it is possible

 

[NeuroNut]

@Jill Ridge

28 days, eh? I'm on day 9, I think, so will have to go back to my GP. The problem is it's not like this T will be gone in another couple of weeks. At a month now myself, and hope it will go at all is fading, but habituation takes months as I understand it, at least.

The problem with all the 'alternative' suggestions, is that they're really just suggestions about how to get to sleep more easily in general. The fact is that I slept fine until a month ago. I just didn't need to do all this other stuff. My sleep problems are not caused by poor sleep hygiene or stress but by hearing a constant, loud sound all the time. Having cold showers or taking a walk just feels like fiddling while Rome burns, basically.

I tried Valerian and did manage to sleep for about 90 minutes, but then woke up at 11.30pm and couldn't get back to sleep all night. Feels like it might work eventually but I'd need to take it by the bucket-load, which will likely negate the safety benefits of it being herbal. Same goes for things like chamomile tea. I feel like these things would help if I was a little stressed by my job every now and then, for example. But T just feels like a bomb going off in my brain all the time: I frankly can't imagine how anyone can sleep with this condition.

These last few days it feels like my T sound is changing for the better though: less tonal and more seashell-t0-ear. It's still loud as hell but feels a bit more tolerable. And I actually woke to a couple of hours of silence yesterday, which was bliss - though in some ways even harder when the noise came back. The annoying thing is that I have no idea what caused the change in tone, which could presumably reverse at any time. But maybe I can learn to sleep without chemical help if it stays like this. Eventually.