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Nov
Tinnitus Habituation: From Ringing to Relief
A chronic tinnitus diagnosis initially sounds like endless anxiety, frustration, and distraction. While the ringing, hissing, or buzzing never goes away, there are treatment options. Your Audiologist will work with you to determine which tinnitus habituation treatments are right for you.
What Is Tinnitus Habituation?
Habituation occurs when anything new becomes normalized or habitual. It might seem impossible, but tinnitus is one of many sounds your brain can filter out. Consider other sounds that were initially disruptive, that you have grown accustomed to.
For example, the sound of the garbage truck that used to wake you up every morning when you moved into a new apartment. Now, you sleep through it most mornings. This is because your brain filters it out as part of your “new normal”. Now, the garbage truck only wakes you up when you are not sleeping well or if the truck or drivers are louder than usual.
From Fight or Flight to Tuning It Out
When tinnitus begins, it prompts your body’s “fight or flight” response. This is a biological response designed to keep you safe. For example, if you come across a bear on a hiking trail, your body responds with fear, an elevated heart rate, and a surge of adrenaline. Whether you freeze or run, your stress skyrockets in seconds.
Although tinnitus is not life-threatening, if it is not properly treated, your body does not learn to adapt, keeping you in a daily stress response. For many, this manifests as anxiety, irritability, and insomnia. Tinnitus habituation therapy helps you transition from chronic fight or flight to normalizing the ringing, like you do the garbage truck in the example above.
5 Tips for Habituating Tinnitus
1. Get Diagnosed
The first step is scheduling a comprehensive tinnitus evaluation with your Audiologist. The type of sound you hear, audiogram results, and whether your diagnosis is temporary or chronic influence your treatment plan.
You may have tinnitus if you hear:
- Ringing
- Hissing
- Roar
- Ripple
- Whistle
- Buzzing
- Hum
2. Identify Your Triggers
If your diagnosis is chronic, your ears will ring every day, but some days are louder than others. Identifying your triggers helps keep your symptoms to a minimum.
Below are the top causes of tinnitus flare-up.
Prescription Medications
Tinnitus is a side effect of some prescription medications, including antibiotics, diuretics, SSRIs, and chemotherapy drugs. Adjusting your medication may be part of your treatment plan.
Silence
Your initial response may be to eliminate all other sounds, but complete silence creates an environment where the ringing is all you hear. This makes it difficult to focus during the day and challenging to fall asleep at night.
Stress and Anxiety
Any type of physical, emotional, or psychological stress may intensify your symptoms. For some, this includes increased symptoms after working out and physical exertion.
Diet and Nutrition
The connection between diet and tinnitus is sometimes underestimated. Keep a food journal to determine if your symptoms increase when you consume too much salt, caffeine, alcohol, starchy foods, and high-fat foods. Studies find that potassium, omega-3 fatty acids, and foods rich in vitamins B12, C, D, and E may reduce symptoms.
Loud Noise Exposure
If you go to a concert, listen to your headphones too loud for too long, or are exposed to any loud noise, expect your symptoms to worsen short-term for a few hours or days. In addition to tinnitus, keep loud noise exposure to a minimum, as it is a contributing factor to hearing loss.
Facial Tension
If you have TMJ, clench your jaw, or wear oral appliances (including dentures and Invisalign), the increased tension in your face may trigger louder ringing. You may not notice when you clench your jaw, so prioritize whole-body stress relief.
3. Mindfulness Practices
Mindfulness practices include yoga, meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy, and other stress-relief and adaptive therapies. Meditation helps your body grow accustomed to silence, often making the ringing your focal point while you clear your mind. This normalizes the sound you hear, providing a positive association.
Cognitive behavioral therapies help you test and tailor a combination of coping mechanisms and stress-reducing techniques to identify what works for you.
4. Sound Therapy
As counterintuitive as it may seem, tinnitus sound therapy is a leading treatment option. It works by countering the noise in your head, helping you to focus during the day and sleep at night. White noise and pink noise are top choices for silencing tinnitus.
White noise includes: TV static, fans, air conditioners, vacuums, running water, and some other low- and high-frequency sounds.
Pink noise includes: Rushing water, rustling tree leaves, ocean waves, rain, and some other low-frequency sounds of nature.
Audiology Island prescribes a tailored range of auditory devices, mobile apps, and software to encourage tinnitus habituation.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- Otoharmonics apps, including Levo, for sound-matched sleep therapy.
- Neuromonics devices to counteract situation-specific ringing day and night.
- Signia notch and other apps that stream into hearing aids to de-amplify ringing.
- Custom-fit earbuds to comfortably stream into your ears while sleeping.
Precautions With Sound Therapy
Be mindful of the decibels when streaming white noise or pink noise into your earbuds, headphones, or hearing aids. If the decibels are too high, you can damage the sensory hairs in your ears.
5. Physical Therapy
If facial tension or physical exertion triggers your symptoms, physical therapy may help. This releases the tension you are holding in your face and body. Also consider self-massage, professional massage therapy, and stretching.
Tinnitus Habituation in New York and New Jersey
If you have tinnitus and live in or around Holmdel, New Jersey or Staten Island, New York—schedule tinnitus relief therapy with Audiologist Dr. Stella Fulman.
Dr. Fulman will complete a thorough tinnitus evaluation and advise on the most effective methods of minimizing triggers and managing ringing day and night.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tinnitus Habituation
1. How long does it take to habituate to tinnitus?
Habituation is different for everyone. Some patients begin noticing improvement within a few months, while for others it may take a year or more. The speed of progress depends on factors such as your stress levels, how long you’ve had tinnitus, and your commitment to treatments like sound therapy or mindfulness. With consistent practice and professional guidance, most patients do experience meaningful relief.
2. Can tinnitus habituation completely silence the ringing?
Tinnitus habituation doesn’t eliminate the sound itself—it helps your brain filter it out so that it no longer feels intrusive. Many patients describe it as “not noticing it anymore” rather than “it’s gone.” The goal is to reduce your emotional response and allow the sound to fade into the background of everyday life.
3. What’s the difference between tinnitus habituation and masking?
Masking uses external noise—like white noise or background sounds—to temporarily cover the ringing. Habituation, on the other hand, trains your brain to tune out tinnitus naturally, even in quiet environments. While masking provides short-term relief, habituation offers a long-term reduction in tinnitus distress.
4. Is sound therapy safe to use every night?
Yes, sound therapy is generally safe when used at low and comfortable volume levels. Make sure the sound isn’t louder than necessary, since excessive volume could cause additional hearing stress. If you’re unsure which devices or apps are best for sleep, consult your audiologist for recommendations tailored to your hearing profile.
5. Can stress make tinnitus worse?
Absolutely. Stress is one of the most common tinnitus triggers. When your body stays in “fight or flight” mode, your perception of ringing often intensifies. Mindfulness practices, gentle exercise, and cognitive behavioral therapy can help reduce stress, improving both your emotional well-being and tinnitus symptoms.
