Sleep Aids Needed With Habituation?

[Vapor Trail]

Dr. Nagler,

First I want to say thanks for answering a question I posted a few weeks back regarding hearing protection and drumming. Your advice was very helpful.

On the topic of sleep and habituation: My tinnitus is mostly noticeable at night when in bed. I've been using a white noise machine for masking.

Over time should I expect to remain dependent on white noise at bedtime? Can I transition away from needing/desiring white noise (as a part of habituation)? If so, how? Tapering? Cold turkey?

Thanks again for your continued contributions and presence on this board!

 

[Dr. Nagler]

Over time should I expect to remain dependent on white noise at bedtime?

Well there's certainly nothing wrong with masking. Many people with tinnitus use tabletop units at night to mask their tinnitus. One thing you might try is to set the volume of the masking sound so that it doesn't completely cover your tinnitus but instead serves as more of a background sound. See how that goes for a while.

Thanks again for your continued contributions and presence on this board!

You are welcome. Glad to help.

stephen nagler