Why Is My Tinnitus Worse When I Lay Down?

If you’ve ever found yourself lying awake into the wee hours of the night, you may have felt like you were able to feel the silence all around you. However, sometimes silence isn’t what you hear when trying to sleep. Instead, you may notice a constant ringing noise that can make it difficult for you to get the shuteye you need to feel rested during the day.

Tinnitus may leave you tossing and turning throughout the night, unable to turn off your mind and fall asleep. Unfortunately, this ringing sensation is coming from your inner ear, which means that no matter how many pairs of ear plugs you go through or pillows you pile on your head, you’re still going to hear it.

Because it’s easier to resolve (or ignore) the ringing noise during the day, you may feel your tinnitus worsens when you lay down for bed. Follow along as El Dorado Hearing explains why your tinnitus is worse at night and the steps you can take to remedy the situation.

Why Tinnitus Worsens at Night

Even with mild to moderate hearing loss, your ears can still pick up general sounds. Only those with profound hearing loss aren’t going to hear any noise at all. When going about your day, your ears are attempting to take in the sounds from the world around you — a ticking clock, a tea kettle, a blaring car horn — helping to fill some of the voids in your ear. However, your hearing loss may still result in tinnitus, meaning you may notice a slight ringing sound as your ears try to replace the “missing” sound. With the ringing and the background noises around you, your tinnitus symptoms may not seem as bad.

However, when heading to bed, it’s often in a quiet and relaxed environment — there aren’t going to be many background noises that your ears are trying to pick up! As a result, the ringing sensation in your ear will be much more apparent and seem louder than it does throughout the day. The silence in your bedroom confuses your brain, resulting in the ringing sound, and without other noises to drown it out, you’re going to feel as if your tinnitus has worsened. So what can you do to make the ringing sound more bearable when trying to sleep?

How to Improve Sleep with Tinnitus

If you’re experiencing tinnitus and having difficulty sleeping, there’s only one solution — create sound in your bedroom to help alleviate the ringing sensation.

Sometimes, adding simple white noise can go a long way to help ease the ringing in your ears. One of the most accessible solutions is to add a fan to your bedroom that constantly runs in the background, adding some ambient noise to help balance out the sounds your ears are picking up. Along with a fan, you may opt for an actual white noise machine that allows you to control the volume of the white noise. You may find that a fan doesn’t provide enough sound to help the ringing noise, but the controllability of a white noise machine does.

For an even simpler solution, you may opt for turning on the television while you sleep at a volume that doesn’t distract you from sleeping but helps soothe your tinnitus. However, you want to remember that sleeping with the television on can impact your or your partner’s quality of sleep.

El Dorado Hearing is here to help

Take the first step to relief by scheduling a tinnitus evaluation with one of our skilled audiologists at El Dorado Hearing. If you or a family member is struggling with tinnitus, we can help you find a solution during the day and night.

Our doctors of audiology specialize in evaluating, diagnosing, and treating tinnitus with great success. Contact us to schedule an appointment.