For people who suffer from tinnitus, day-to-day life can be a struggle. After all, having a persistent ringing noise in your ears accompany you through all of your daily activities can be distracting, at best, and infuriating at worst. It’s natural for tinnitus sufferers to seek out options for ways to reduce and manage their symptoms. And while there are medical interventions available such as certain medications and masking devices, these are not always accessible to or helpful for everybody.

If you’re looking for another way to address your tinnitus, we’ve put together a list of five tinnitus hacks that might help you better manage your condition. Read on to learn about each one and how it can help you. 

What Is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a condition in which a person hears phantom noise in their ears in the form of ringing, hissing, buzzing, clicking, or something else of that nature. This noise can vary quite a bit from perpetual to intermittent, high-pitched to low-pitched, and in one ear to in both ears. Tinnitus can be very disruptive depending on its intensity, making it difficult for people to relax, concentrate, and even hear. 

There are two types of tinnitus: subjective tinnitus can only be heard by the individual who has it. In contrast, objective tinnitus, which is quite rare, can actually be heard by a doctor upon examining the ear, and usually has physiological causes such as muscle contractions, blood vessel issues, and middle ear bone conditions. 

What Causes Tinnitus?

There are a number of ways that tinnitus can occur. There are natural causes like age, as well as health-related issues such as circulatory system problems. There is, however, an external cause that can result in a tinnitus diagnosis: hearing damage. Whether from external trauma or exposure to excessively loud noises, tinnitus can develop as a consequence as damage to the parts of the ear. One group that suffers disproportionately from tinnitus is members of the armed forces. While many are issued equipment to protect their hearing, sometimes that equipment is not effective, and hearing loss occurs anyways.

Click here to learn more about tinnitus, its causes, and treatment options. 

5 Hacks for Tinnitus

The difficult truth is that many people do not succeed at eliminating their tinnitus. Instead, one must often focus on efforts to manage and live with symptoms. The following life hacks offer a few different options for dealing with tinnitus.

1. Noise Masking

One of the most popular and common ways that people manage tinnitus is to mask the noise in their ears with a different, external noise. White noise machines, devices that emit calming noises, many of which emulate a natural sound like rainfall, wind, or birdsong, are a favorite choice of many tinnitus sufferers. However, there are also other options like simply running a fan or playing music and podcasts. The idea here is that you give yourself something else to listen to that will drown out or mask the sound of your tinnitus. Many people swear by it, so it’s worth a try. 

2. Ear Plugs

Much of the time, tinnitus is related to hearing loss, which means that protecting your ears from loud noises is an important intervention to prevent the tinnitus from getting any worse. And one of the best things that you can do to protect your hearing is to wear ear plugs, especially if you are going to be exposed to loud noise such as at a concert or at your job. 

If you’re going to make a habit of wearing earplugs, we highly recommend choosing the high-fidelity variety, which filters out noise instead of blocking it entirely so you can still have conversations and maintain full awareness of your surroundings. 

3. Mindfulness

Unfortunately, tinnitus often causes sufferers to feel stressed, angry, and anxious, something that can really decrease one’s quality of life. But something you can do to manage these feelings is practice mindfulness, a technique that focuses on helping individuals calm their nervous systems, relax, and better deal with the challenges they face in day-to-day life. The goal is to help people learn to be present in the moment, accepting things as they come and releasing judgment or fear about the future. While mindfulness won’t stop your tinnitus, it can make it much more manageable emotionally.

4. Sensory Distraction

Another option to deal with your tinnitus is to engage your other senses so that the sounds you hear aren’t as prominent. There are many things you can do for this kind of distraction, including:

• Taking a walk 
• Watching a movie
• Playing a game
• Mindfully enjoying a meal
• Using aromatherapy

By taking the focus off of what you are hearing, your tinnitus can (hopefully) fade into the background.

5. Relax Your Jaw

While it is not the case for everybody, the onset of tinnitus is often associated with jaw issues such as temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ). The jaw pain and stress that come with clenching one’s teeth can potentially trigger tinnitus. For this reason, it can be a good idea to see a dentist or doctor to determine if you are grinding your teeth at night or have any other jaw issues. If you are lucky and find this is the cause of your tinnitus, you can potentially make a big difference in or even eliminate your symptoms by addressing the cause of them.

Could You Be Eligible for Compensation for Your Tinnitus?

Veterans are a population who experience a disproportionate rate of tinnitus, often because they are exposed to loud noises or may be vulnerable to traumatic brain injuries in combat. If you or somebody you know served in the U.S. Army from 2003 to 2015 and used 3M earplugs, you may be eligible to join a mass tort case against 3M for providing faulty earplugs and causing many cases of tinnitus. Read more about the case here and contact us to find out if you qualify for compensation.