Relief for Tinnitus Sufferers

What do famous celebrities of today like Steve Martin and will.i.am have in common with well-known scientist of our past, Charles Darwin, and the late US President, Ronald Reagan? They all suffer/ed from a common condition called Tinnitus, which is noise in the ear.

There are two different types of Tinnitus. The first is subjective, which only the sufferer can hear and the second is objective, which a doctor can actually hear when listening closely during an examination. The noise can vary from person to person. Some may have buzzing, ringing, hissing or clicking. It can occur in one ear or both.

Tinnitus can be caused by various factors such as long-term exposure to loud noise like a jack hammer or loud music, hearing loss due to age, changes in the inner ear or even too much earwax build-up. Tinnitus has been known to cause depression, stress, anxiety, trouble concentrating, fatigue, and trouble sleeping.

The good news is Tinnitus sufferers have found relief from a couple different methods — use of white noise, which masks the noise, as well as breathing and meditation, which helps the sufferer acknowledge the sound and cope better. According to the experts at www.tinnitus123.com, "In the battle of masking Tinnitus, white noise can be an invaluable weapon. There are certain white or pink noise machines, as well as CDs which Tinnitus sufferers can purchase in order to reduce how noticeable their Tinnitus is." Examples of sounds found to be soothing to Tinnitus sufferers are rain, rainstorms, waves and others.

Meditation and breathing exercises are also a helpful tool in combating Tinnitus. Meditation is about focusing on the moment and according to www.tinnitus.org.uk, "...suggest a way of being with difficult sensations without needing to change them. The attitudes of mindfulness meditation encourage interest, curiosity, non-judgement and acceptance and we encourage individuals to see if they can experiment with bringing some of these attitudes towards their tinnitus, rather than 'pushing it away'."

Getting to sleep is often one of the biggest problems for Tinnitus sufferers. One of the best ways listen to white noise, soothing sounds and meditation (guided or otherwise) is through the use of headphones at bedtime. The experts at www.tinnitus123.com say that, "...with the right headphones, this doesn't have to be a major consistent problem. Certain headphones are designed to make it easier to have them in while going to sleep so as not to be uncomfortable in any way."