Sleeping with Sounds or Silence? Which Is Better for Tinnitus Sufferers?

[Sgguy46]

I generally sleep in silence... with the air conditioner noise. I read somewhere that this is not good for tinnitus sufferers and that we should sleep with some sound? Is it true?

 

[Gill Hayes]

I sleep with nature sounds on all night, at a volume just below that of my tinnitus. Not only does this help me sleep but, apparently, it's good to give your brain something else to listen to (other than the tinnitus) even when you're asleep.

 

[linearb]

Short of sleeping in a completely soundproof room, I don't think there's any harm in sleeping in silence.

Most urban and suburban environments have ambient noise in the 30-40 dB range, which is probably more consistent than the noises we evolved sleeping through. On the other hand, country living has soundscapes which can be that loud, or louder, during cricket season and the like.

There's no such thing as silence.

 

[TinniTom]

Hi all!

I'm sorry for re-open this topic but I want to ask for your experience. Do you sleep with sounds (waterfall or rain sounds or something like that or in silence?

Someone recommended me to always sleep with some background sounds.

@TinniTom
.....
You might want to consider using sound enrichment especially at night. Sleeping in a quiet room is not recommended for anyone that has tinnitus, even those yours is mild. The brain and auditory system never turn off. If the brain hears silence when we are in a deep sleep, it has the ability to increase its background activity. In doing so it will also increase the tinnitus making it louder and more intrusive during the daytime. One way to prevent this from happening is to use a sound machine that plays nature sounds by your bedside. Set the volume level low - below your tinnitus and to play throughout the night until morning.

Music is not ideal although some people use it. Music draws the brain's attention, which again isn't ideal for nighttime use.

Michael

And now I want to ask what do you guys think about and what to you prefer and why?

Cheers,
TinniTom

 

[undecided]

I'm pretty certain there's no research on this particular matter.
After spending quite some time on this site, I see certain people who cannot even sleep without some sort of distraction, others must have absolute silence.

It basically comes down to personal preference. I prefer silence, cause I'm used to it.

 

[Michael Leigh]

@TinnitusTom If you want to know more about the benefits of using sound enrichment at night, and how important it is for anyone that has intrusive tinnitus to try and avoid quiet rooms. Buy the book written by Professor Pawel Jasterboff and Jonathon Hazell TRT (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy) Jasterboff developed TRT. Available from Amazon.

 

[Tamalak]

Sleeping in silence CURED my tinnitus. Try it for a few months.

 

[squeek]

I sleep with comfort sounds. I make MP3s of tv shows that I'm really familiar with, stuff I've watched a million times. Combine that with sleeping pills on bad days and I'm good for sleep. I'm asleep within 15 mins.

The good thing with tv shows is that they interrupt your internal dialogue and give you something to focus on. I just have it playing on the lowest volume with one ear plug in one ear and my other ear on the pillow.

As a side note, you can buy pillows with built-in speakers. They're quite good.

 

[cjbhab]

I know this has been discussed before; but, I would like to rehash this.

Do you sleep with masking (fan, rain noise, etc) or do you sleep in silence?

Do you think it is beneficial to sleep with masking or detrimental?
Do you think sleeping in silence at night could ease tinnitus during the day?

I sleep with fan, rain noise, tv etc and lately my tinnitus has been bad. This is probably the most noise I subject myself each day. I'm really just trying to get good sleep.

I read in the past that some people thought sleeping in silence helped, one person even suggested it cured their tinnitus. I don't think anything will cure my tinnitus, but I want any relief I can get.

 

[Kendra]

Right now I'm using sound enrichment/masking to fall asleep but I have it on a timer that shuts off so it isn't going all night. You might try that and see if it helps?

 

[CLB2020]

I play the sound of the sea to help take my mind off the tinnitus when I'm trying to sleep. This plays through the night in case I wake up and start to panic.

 

[Steph1710]

Since developing tinnitus I have never had any issues with sleep. I still fall asleep as normal without background sounds on.

Occasionally if it's really loud, I'll put on a fan, but I soon turn it off again. I find sometimes background sound annoys me more than my own tinnitus!

Strange, I know.

Steph

 

[Digital Doc]

Quieter the better at night. Earplugs are very helpful at night, and sleep a ton better. Tinnitus consistently better in the AM. One of the cornerstones of what got me through all of this.

 

[Lilah]

I must sleep with pink noise through my sound pillow. I have dosed off in a quiet room but I wake up an hour later with louder tinnitus, so sleep without noise is not an option. As soon as I hear the pink noise I can fall asleep relatively quickly. I still have interrupted sleep, has been slowly improving.

I might be damaging my ears with the sound pillow, but I really have no other option.

 

[cjbhab]

I must sleep with pink noise through my sound pillow. I have dosed off in a quiet room but I wake up an hour later with louder tinnitus, so sleep without noise is not an option. As soon as I hear the pink noise I can fall asleep relatively quickly. I still have interrupted sleep, has been slowly improving.

I might be damaging my ears with the sound pillow, but I really have no other option.

I sleep with rain noise under my pillow, I wonder if it does damage - its definitely not higher than 65-68 decibels so i dont see why it would, but everything seems to make me worse, so who knows.