If you are one of the millions of individuals in the U.S. suffering from a medical disorder known as tinnitus then you probably know that it often gets worse when you are trying to fall asleep. But why would this be? The ringing or buzzing in one or both ears is not an actual noise but a side-effect of a medical issue like hearing loss, either lasting or temporary. Naturally, knowing what it is will not explain why you have this buzzing, ringing, or whooshing noise more often at night.
The real reason is fairly straightforward. To know why your tinnitus increases as you try to sleep, you need to know the hows and whys of this extremely common medical problem.
What is tinnitus?
To say tinnitus is not an actual sound just compounds the confusion, but, for most individuals, that is the case. The person with tinnitus can hear the sound but nobody else can. It sounds like air-raid sirens are ringing in your ears but the person sleeping right beside you can’t hear it at all.
Tinnitus is a sign that something is wrong, not a condition on its own. It is usually associated with substantial hearing loss. For a lot of people, tinnitus is the first indication they get that their hearing is in jeopardy. Hearing loss is often gradual, so they don’t detect it until that ringing or buzzing begins. This phantom sound is a warning flag to warn you of a change in how you hear.
What causes tinnitus?
At this time medical scientists and doctors are still not sure of exactly what causes tinnitus. It may be a symptom of inner ear damage or a number of other possible medical issues. There are very small hair cells inside of your ears that move in response to sound. Often, when these tiny hairs get damaged to the point that they can’t efficiently send signals to the brain, tinnitus symptoms occur. Your brain translates these electrical signals into identifiable sounds.
The absence of sound is the base of the current hypothesis. The brain remains on the alert to receive these messages, so when they don’t arrive, it fills in that space with the phantom noise of tinnitus. It attempts to compensate for input that it’s not receiving.
That would clarify some things when it comes to tinnitus. Why it can be caused by so many medical conditions, like age-related hearing loss, high blood pressure, and concussions, for starters. That may also be why the symptoms get worse at night sometimes.
Why does tinnitus get worse at night?
You may not even recognize it, but your ear receives some sounds during the day. It will faintly hear sounds coming from another room or around the corner. But at night, when you’re trying to sleep, it gets very quiet.
Suddenly, all the sound disappears and the level of confusion in the brain goes up in response. When faced with total silence, it resorts to producing its own internal sounds. Sensory deprivation has been shown to trigger hallucinations as the brain tries to insert information, like auditory input, into a place where there isn’t any.
In other words, it’s too quiet at night so your tinnitus seems worse. If you are having a difficult time sleeping because your tinnitus symptoms are so loud, creating some noise might be the answer.
Producing noise at night
A fan running is often enough to reduce tinnitus symptoms for many individuals. The volume of the ringing is decreased just by the sound of the fan motor.
But you can also buy devices that are specifically made to reduce tinnitus sounds. White noise machines reproduce environmental sounds like rain or ocean waves. The soft noise calms the tinnitus but isn’t distracting enough to keep you awake like leaving the TV on may do. Instead, you could try an app that plays soothing sounds from your smartphone.
Can anything else make tinnitus symptoms worse?
Your tinnitus symptoms can be amplified by other things besides lack of sound. For example, if you’re drinking too much alcohol before you go to bed, that could contribute to tinnitus symptoms. Other things, like high blood pressure and stress can also contribute to your symptoms. Call us for an appointment if these tips aren’t helping or if you’re feeling dizzy when your tinnitus symptoms are present.
References
https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/hearing-loss-tinnitus-statistics/
