If you suffer from tinnitus, you know that the ceaseless ringing (or whistling, or humming, or whooshing) in your ears can seriously affect your daily life and comfort. The sound may make it hard for you to focus at work, keep you up at night and spike your stress levels. An audiologist or tinnitus specialist may recommend you try tinnitus retraining therapy.
How Tinnitus Retraining Therapy Works
There is no cure for tinnitus, but there are many possible ways to manage it. One such management technique is tinnitus retraining therapy, a type of acoustic therapy (also called sound therapy) that aims to train your brain not to react to tinnitus and make it less noticeable over time in a process known as habituation.
Habituation trains your brain to treat tinnitus like it does any other background noise. Have you ever noticed that you don’t really hear the refrigerator humming or the heater going? That’s because your brain recognizes those sounds as background sounds and tunes them out, instead focusing on sounds that are actually important for your situational awareness, such as the sound of someone entering the room or speaking.
Making Tinnitus Less Noticeable
Tinnitus retraining therapy doesn’t start working right away; it will take some time for you to start noticing a reduction in your perception of tinnitus, but over time, it will make a difference, and ultimately, you’ll realize that your tinnitus is simply less noticeable than it used to be.
Once the sound isn’t as intrusive, you’ll experience improved focus and mental clarity, as your brain will be allocating less of its mental resources to perceiving and reacting to tinnitus. The loudness of your tinnitus will be reduced, and the impact it has on your daily life will diminish.
Better Sleep
As you progress through your tinnitus retraining therapy journey, you’ll probably also begin to experience better sleep quality once tinnitus is no longer keeping you up or waking you at night. More hours of uninterrupted sleep will have incredible benefits on your everyday comfort, as you’ll feel refreshed, well-rested and ready for the day ahead.
Reduced Stress and Anxiety from Tinnitus
Many people report that the presence of tinnitus spikes their stress levels or anxiety, which can cause a frustrating positive feedback loop, as stress is a common trigger for tinnitus. As your brain learns to treat tinnitus as unimportant background noise, it won’t focus on it as much, and you won’t become stressed as a result.
Not only will reduced stress help with your tinnitus, but it will also have a massive impact on your mood, energy levels and comfort. Going about your daily life without stress and anxiety will be a huge boon.
Get Started Today
If you’re ready to start your journey with tinnitus retraining therapy, call Beneficial Hearing Aid Center today to schedule a tinnitus evaluation. We’ll learn about your tinnitus symptoms and your lifestyle to develop a customized retraining therapy regimen that works for you. Call today to learn more.