MemberLet me start by saying that getting good quality sleep was the single most important factor for me in getting the tinnitus under control. Without good sleep the tinnitus just wears you down more and more. I have two elements that have really worked well for me. I know everyone is different so this may not apply to all.
I have always been hesitant to use any medication unless absolutely necessary and in the case of tinnitus it became a necessity quickly. I started using ambient but it would not get me all the way through the night and would leave me with a hangover. Same thing with Benadryl. Had some success with Xanax and Temazepam. I'm back to about 2mg of ambien now.
The other half of the equation is music and masking. I have the Neuromonics device and tried it at night but the headphones supplied would not stay on and the music volume is not consistent enough. The folks at Neuromonics suggest that you use their device to fall asleep and then turn it off and continue to sleep through the night unassisted. No way will this work for me! So that did not help me at night.
I did some internet research and found a blog by a guy who does a lot of business travel. He had developed some techniques for maximizing his sleep while traveling on commercial airlines. As it turns out I travel fairly frequently as well. By the way I found it necessary to protect my ears from the high noise levels on commercial jets anyway. (more on this later as it turns out I have hyperacusis as well) So this is what I took away from his blog.
First, get earphones that will stay in your ears and that are not too bulky. Second, get earphones that provide good noise isolation. You don't want to be awakened by outside noise once you do finally get to sleep. Third, play music that is very familiar to you. This is not the time to try to find some new music to add to your library. You don't really want to be challenging your brain with anything new. I took these basic principles and added an important element. I have an iPhone/iPod so I don't know if this can be done on other devices but maybe you can come up with a similar effect. I have an iPhone app called "Ambiance" There is a free version and I think the full version costs $1. It allows you to down load the masking sounds that cover your tinnitus the most effectively for you. I personally like the sound of "rain". These are actual real recordings of natural sounds that are looped. The loops are well done so you don't notice the "start over". They have beach waves, thunder, fan, jungle sounds, cat purring, you name it they have it. All free of cost. They do have white noise but I find it is monotone, harsh and annoying to me. I have about 10 different rain sounds. You can play 1 or more sounds that cycle through all night long with a nice fade in and out between sounds or just pick the one that you like best. The coolest thing about the app is you can play your music simultaneously over the masking sound for a predetermined length of time and then the music fades out and leaves you with your masking sound for the rest of the night. Brilliant! There are other similar apps but this is the best one for me. Some other apps like "White Noise" offer balance control, but no music over the sound feature.
Headphones: I did quit a bit of research on headphones/ earphones. I found a company called Etymotics Research. They make professional musician quality stuff including earplugs, onstage monitors, etc. They also have some interesting products for the hearing impaired. I highly recommend their earplugs for hearing protection. They also specialize in "on stage performance" in-ear monitor earphones. I ended up getting the HF2's because they go well with the iPhone. They are expensive at $179 but worth every penny in my opinion. They have a less expensive pair without the microphone. They stay in the ear and I can sleep all night with them. The added benefit is they produce incredible hi fidelity sound that will deliver music like you have never heard before. They quite simply make the standard apple phones sound pretty bad by comparison. This is starting to sound like a commercial but I am not working for anyone. I am retired and have no interest in ever being employed again.
It's not ideal to have to get wired up every night before bed but it beats lying awake. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm ever going to be able to go camping again with all the electronics that I depend on now. One step at a time I guess.
I think Yogi Berra's famous quote about baseball is directly applicable to tinnitus,
"Ninety percent of the game is half mental"
Cheers,
Jim.
I have always been hesitant to use any medication unless absolutely necessary and in the case of tinnitus it became a necessity quickly. I started using ambient but it would not get me all the way through the night and would leave me with a hangover. Same thing with Benadryl. Had some success with Xanax and Temazepam. I'm back to about 2mg of ambien now.
The other half of the equation is music and masking. I have the Neuromonics device and tried it at night but the headphones supplied would not stay on and the music volume is not consistent enough. The folks at Neuromonics suggest that you use their device to fall asleep and then turn it off and continue to sleep through the night unassisted. No way will this work for me! So that did not help me at night.
I did some internet research and found a blog by a guy who does a lot of business travel. He had developed some techniques for maximizing his sleep while traveling on commercial airlines. As it turns out I travel fairly frequently as well. By the way I found it necessary to protect my ears from the high noise levels on commercial jets anyway. (more on this later as it turns out I have hyperacusis as well) So this is what I took away from his blog.
First, get earphones that will stay in your ears and that are not too bulky. Second, get earphones that provide good noise isolation. You don't want to be awakened by outside noise once you do finally get to sleep. Third, play music that is very familiar to you. This is not the time to try to find some new music to add to your library. You don't really want to be challenging your brain with anything new. I took these basic principles and added an important element. I have an iPhone/iPod so I don't know if this can be done on other devices but maybe you can come up with a similar effect. I have an iPhone app called "Ambiance" There is a free version and I think the full version costs $1. It allows you to down load the masking sounds that cover your tinnitus the most effectively for you. I personally like the sound of "rain". These are actual real recordings of natural sounds that are looped. The loops are well done so you don't notice the "start over". They have beach waves, thunder, fan, jungle sounds, cat purring, you name it they have it. All free of cost. They do have white noise but I find it is monotone, harsh and annoying to me. I have about 10 different rain sounds. You can play 1 or more sounds that cycle through all night long with a nice fade in and out between sounds or just pick the one that you like best. The coolest thing about the app is you can play your music simultaneously over the masking sound for a predetermined length of time and then the music fades out and leaves you with your masking sound for the rest of the night. Brilliant! There are other similar apps but this is the best one for me. Some other apps like "White Noise" offer balance control, but no music over the sound feature.
Headphones: I did quit a bit of research on headphones/ earphones. I found a company called Etymotics Research. They make professional musician quality stuff including earplugs, onstage monitors, etc. They also have some interesting products for the hearing impaired. I highly recommend their earplugs for hearing protection. They also specialize in "on stage performance" in-ear monitor earphones. I ended up getting the HF2's because they go well with the iPhone. They are expensive at $179 but worth every penny in my opinion. They have a less expensive pair without the microphone. They stay in the ear and I can sleep all night with them. The added benefit is they produce incredible hi fidelity sound that will deliver music like you have never heard before. They quite simply make the standard apple phones sound pretty bad by comparison. This is starting to sound like a commercial but I am not working for anyone. I am retired and have no interest in ever being employed again.
It's not ideal to have to get wired up every night before bed but it beats lying awake. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm ever going to be able to go camping again with all the electronics that I depend on now. One step at a time I guess.
I think Yogi Berra's famous quote about baseball is directly applicable to tinnitus,
"Ninety percent of the game is half mental"
Cheers,
Jim.
Manager
Member
But who knows, maybe one of the many things that has caused my hearing lose.
