More Tips on Getting Sleep When You Have Tinnitus

We've covered the link between insomnia and tinnitus, with strategies to help manage both. And there's one post on whether melatonin can help reduce tinnitus.

But there are a lot more approaches you may not have considered when you're trying to ignore the sounds in your head to get some sleep. Here's a list of ideas:

Non-medicinal Approaches

Take some cannabis edibles/oil before bed. Strains known for their sleep-inducing properties include Pink Kush, Sedamen, Snowdome and Bubba Kush Whistler according to Canadian Cannabis Clinics.

Soak in a hot bath, with epsom salts and lavender oil, before bed.

Try a body scan meditation as a stress reduction exercise during which you focus on other bodily sensations instead of the tinnitus.

Have a cup of lemon balm tea or chamomile tea, as part of your stress-lowering evening routine.

Try GABA 500, a supplement that improves sleep. You can get GABA from foods, too, like spinach, sweet potatoes, broccoli and kale. Fermented foods including tempeh and kimchi are good sources too.

Have you tried under pillow speakers? If you like to listen to brown noise or podcasts when you nod off, but hate earbuds and headphones, an under pillow speaker might be the solution.

If you're a side sleeper, try sleeping on your back instead. Otherwise, you'll have one of ears pressed against the pillow and that can cause the ringing to get extremely loud.

Medications That Might Help

Some prescription and over-the-counter meds might be helpful too when your tinnitus is particularly bothersome:

Trazodone - This prescription medication is used as an anti-depressant and for patients with sleep problems. If you try this, ask your doctor to start you at a tiny dose, otherwise you might be very groggy the next day. 

Remeron (mirtazapine). This is another prescription medication that can be effective for sleep. It doesn't create dependency or build tolerance, but it does improve sleep quality and helps you get to sleep faster. 

Antihistamines. Over-the-counter antihistamines like Benadryl, can help two ways. First, they ward off any sinus pressure that may be contributing to your tinnitus; and secondly, one of their side effects is sleepiness.

Something a Little Different

There's a drumming method that may provide at least temporary relief.

Put your palms over your ears, with your fingers resting on the back of your head. Your middle fingers should touch just above the base of your skull. 

Then put your index fingers on top of your middle fingers and make a loud, drumming noise. Drum 40-50 times. Repeat several times a day if you notice relief.

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