Tune out to tackle tinnitus...
WHEN THIS CHRONIC CONDITION IS AFFECTING YOUR WELLBEING, FINDING WAYS TO EASE THE IMPACT CAN BE IMMENSELY HELPFUL. ABI JACKSON FINDS OUT MORE
AROUND one in three people experience tinnitus at some point – often a ringing, buzzing or whooshing sound in the ear, when there’s no external cause.
However, about 13% of the population live with persistent tinnitus – and it can have a big impact.
According to the British Tinnitus Association (BTA, tinnitus.org.uk), 9.3% of people living with tinnitus have experienced thoughts of suicide or self-harm in the last two years, with 87% saying they think about their tinnitus every day.
The charity, who surveyed 2,600 people, also found a third admit to withdrawing from social situations and feeling like their partner and family ‘don’t understand’.
“We’ve noticed during Covid, more people telling us about their tinnitus,” says BTA’S communication manager Nic Wray.
“The stress of living through the pandemic does seem to have exacerbated lots of people’s tinnitus.”
TINNITUS AND STRESS
Most of the time, tinnitus doesn’t have a clear cause, although it’s often associated with hearing loss and sometimes occurs due to other health conditions.
However, stress and anxiety can be big factors.
“And it can be difficult to unpick that: is the stress and anxiety triggering the tinnitus, or is it the tinnitus triggering the anxiety and stress?” says Nic.
“And sometimes it’s very difficult to stop that spiralling.”
She says tinnitus is a “very individual” thing: “Some people are not distressed by it, but for some people it can have this impact.”
Audiologist Farah Kiani, of high street clinic Hidden Hearing (hiddenhearing.co.uk), agrees – and like Nic is keen to highlight that help is out there: “The main thing is for people to know they are not alone, and you can talk to somebody.”
If you have hearing loss, Farah says “having a hearing aid can help reduce your awareness of tinnitus.
“That’s because hearing aids amplify sounds that you want to hear, and that distracts your brain from the tinnitus.”
Free hearing tests are available at Hidden Hearing and Specsavers.
HOW CAN YOU HELP TINNITUS?
Nic says: “A lot of tinnitus management is around relaxation techniques. When we’re under lots of stress, our system is automatically more alert, it’s monitoring our senses more – and hearing is one of
those.
“So, if we’re hyper-alert and stressed, our body is monitoring sound more closely and that includes the tinnitus.”
Farah adds: “There are lots of techniques you can try. For example, deep breathing exercises, meditation, and even something like visualisation exercises.
“Imagine yourself somewhere else and really pay attention to, for example, whether there’s a river, an ocean, the colour, how you’re feeling, all these sorts of things can help.”
Yoga and tai chi can be helpful, and mindfulness meditation is also worth a try.
“That has been shown – and the research is fairly new – to be very effective, and more effective than standard relaxation techniques,” says Nic.
She also suggests “just generally looking at your physical and mental wellbeing, so making sure you’re getting enough sleep, exercising regularly” etc, as all these things can influence how stress affects us.
Farah says: “It’s a good idea to stick to a bedtime routine. And even things like cutting down on caffeine – some studies have shown that can help.”
Quiet background noise can also be very helpful if tinnitus keeps you awake at night – whether that’s white noise, soothing sounds or music, an audio bedtime story or relaxing hypnosis track.
CBT FOR TINNITUS
Cognitive behaviour therapy, or CBT – a form of counselling weaving in coping strategies and helping people reframe things – is a recognised treatment option.
Nic says it can provide a helpful “framework for understating how you’re feeling about the tinnitus, and how tinnitus and stress are linked”.
Farah adds that “tinnitus retraining therapy can be very helpful”.
Ask your audiologist or GP about referrals, or see if you can self-refer.
“Waiting lists are not as short as they could be, so some people might want to try and find a private counsellor,” says Nic – if that’s available to you.
“Or try other techniques, because there are lots of things that can help.”
The main thing is for people to know they are not alone, and you can talk to somebody Audiologist Farah Kiani
APPS AND PODCASTS
For all these things, there are lots of apps and podcasts. Many are free (for example, search for ‘bedtime stories’ or ‘visualisation’ in whichever podcast platform you use).
Dr Ed Farrar, an EX-RAF and NHS doctor who developed tinnitus in his 20s, co-founded an app specifically for tinnitus, called Oto (joinoto.com).
It combines all these techniques, guiding people to build daily self-help habits.
“Whilst I’ve been fortunate enough to adjust and manage [my tinnitus], learning to live with the ringing was tough at times. My co-founder George Leidig had a similar experience,” explains Dr Farrar.
“During our time as doctors, we saw many patients with tinnitus who weren’t as lucky.
“We saw how tinnitus had a huge impact on their quality of life and mental health.”
They designed Oto with this in mind.
“The app provides instant access to sciencebased support and is backed by world-leading tinnitus experts,” adds Dr Farrar.
“Oto’s tools train your brain to respond differently to the sound and, gradually, the changes in your neural network mean you hear the ringing less and less, bringing you to a point of habituation, when someone no longer notices it at all.”
CONNECT WITH OTHERS
Nic says “sharing experiences” can help people feel less alone, as well as opening them up to coping strategies that have really helped others. BTA has “a network of support groups across the country.
“We also have online support groups, and workshops and webinars people can dip in and out of,” adds Nic.
“We also have a befriending service, so people can have one-toone support by phone or email from somebody who also has tinnitus.”
For details, look under the ‘Support’ tab on BTA’S website or call its helpline (0800 018 0527).
Wake up to why you might not be getting a good night’s sleep
Do you regularly get a full night’s sleep, but still wake up feeling tired?
We all know eight hours is doctorrecommended, but it’s about quality as well as quantity.
New research by Thriva (thriva. co) – who asked 46,000 people about their sleeping habits – found a massive 71% did not feel refreshed after waking on four or more days per week, despite 84% of those surveyed getting six to eight or more hours of sleep a night.
So why might that be? Experts share what’s going on.
1. You’re too stressed
Of those surveyed, almost half (45%) said they were more stressed than usual.
“If you’re laying in bed worrying [before you go to sleep,] your body will be in a state of high alert,” says Thuli Whitehouse, GP at digital healthcare provider Livi (livi.co. uk). “Instead of winding down for sleep, it continues to produce stress hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline.”
If your body is producing too much of these, you won’t feel properly rested. “You might also be struck with an unwelcome hit of wakefulness around 3-4am.”
2. Too much blue light
Bright artificial light could be to blame for bad quality sleep.
“TVS and other screens can hinder your body’s production of melatonin,” says Dr Whitehouse – the hormone that promotes sleepiness.
Dr Manpreet Bains, GP and head of clinical operations at Thriva, adds: “[Even] regular light can trick our internal clock into thinking it’s still daytime.”
Go for a pitch black room over a night light or a hallway lamp left on.
3. Breathing through your mouth
“As humans, we’ve evolved to breathe using our noses, but it’s estimated that up to 30-50% of adults breathe primarily with their mouths,” says Dr Bains.
“Brief periods of mouth breathing are normal, such as when exercising. However, when this becomes our main method of breathing, including during sleep, it can lead to poor sleep quality.”
The trick, she says, is to practise nose-breathing in the daytime.
4. Diet lacks key nutrients
Emily Servante, PT and global trainer education manager at Ultimate Performance (ultimate performance.com), says: “One of the first habits we change is to vastly increase the consumption of greens in our clients’ diets.
“By default, their magnesium and calcium intake skyrockets.” Both have a crucial role to play in sleep, she says. Magnesium can help muscle relaxation, deactivation of adrenaline and the reduction of cortisol, while calcium helps the body use tryptophan to manufacture melatonin, a hormone that helps control your sleep and wake cycles. Low vitamin D and folate (vitamin B9) levels can also be associated with poor sleep, according to Dr Bains.
5. Drinking too much caffeine
Even if you get eight hours of rest, caffeine being in your system will affect the quality of that rest.
“Our sleep deprived, work-driven society means a growing number of people turn to caffeine to provide them with ‘energy’,” says Emily.
“A rule of thumb we like is to stop all caffeinated products after 2pm.
“Caffeine has a half-life of six hours, so if you consume a cup of coffee (100mg) at 2pm, you’ll still have 50mg in your bloodstream at 8pm.
“The problem is, most people’s caffeine habits are so excessive they’ll drink tea and coffee all through the day to keep them going. This will negatively impact sleep and their ability to experience deep, quality sleep.”
Thriva offers an ‘Improve your sleep quality’ blood test (£133) which looks at key biomarkers.