Tinnitus tends to get worse at night for most of the millions of people in the US that experience it. But what’s the reason for this? The ringing is a phantom noise due to some medical disorder like hearing loss, it isn’t an outside sound. Naturally, knowing what it is will not clarify why you have this buzzing, ringing, or whooshing noise more frequently during the night.
The real reason is pretty simple. To know why your tinnitus gets louder as you try to sleep, you need to understand the hows and whys of this extremely common medical problem.
Tinnitus, what is it?
For most individuals, tinnitus isn’t an actual sound, but this fact just adds to the confusion. It’s a sound no one else is able to hear. 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 by itself is not a disease or condition, but an indication that something else is wrong. Substantial hearing loss is usually the root of this condition. Tinnitus is frequently the first sign that hearing loss is Taking hold. Hearing loss is typically gradual, so they don’t detect it until that ringing or buzzing starts. This phantom sound is a warning flag to notify you of a change in how you hear.
What causes tinnitus?
At this time medical scientists and doctors are still uncertain of exactly what causes tinnitus. It might be a symptom of inner ear damage or numerous other possible medical conditions. There are very small hair cells inside of your ears that move in response to sound. Tinnitus can indicate there is damage to those hair cells, enough to keep them from sending electrical messages to the brain. These electrical messages are how the brain translates sound into something it can clearly interpret like a car horn or a person speaking.
The absence of sound is the basis of the current hypothesis. Your brain will begin to fill in for signals that it’s waiting for because of hearing loss. It gets confused by the lack of feedback from the ear and attempts to compensate for it.
That would clarify a few things regarding 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 the reason 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 really quiet.
All of a sudden, the brain becomes confused as it searches for sound to process. It only knows one thing to do when faced with total silence – create noise even if it isn’t real. Sensory deprivation has been shown to induce hallucinations as the brain attempts to insert information, such as auditory input, into a place where there isn’t any.
In other words, it’s too quiet at night so your tinnitus seems louder. If you’re having a difficult time sleeping because your tinnitus symptoms are so loud, producing some noise may be the solution.
How to generate noise at night
A fan running is often enough to decrease tinnitus symptoms for many people. The loudness of the ringing is lowered just by the sound of the fan motor.
But you can also get devices that are exclusively made to reduce tinnitus sounds. Environmental sounds, like ocean waves or rain, are produced by these “white noise machines”. If you were to leave a TV on, it might be distracting, but white noise machines produce soothing sounds that you can sleep through. Your smartphone also has the ability to download apps that will play calming sounds.
What else can worsen tinnitus symptoms?
Lack of sound isn’t the only thing that can trigger an upsurge in your tinnitus. Too much alcohol before bed can contribute to more severe tinnitus symptoms. Tinnitus also tends to get worse if you’re stressed out and certain medical problems can result in a flare-up, also, like high blood pressure. Contact us for an appointment if these suggestions aren’t helping or if you’re feeling dizzy when your tinnitus symptoms are active.
References
https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/hearing-loss-tinnitus-statistics/
