If tinnitus is especially noticeable in quiet environments, try using a white noise machine to mask the tinnitus noise. If you don't have a white noise machine, a fan, soft music, or low-volume static radio can also help. If tinnitus is caused by an underlying health condition, treating the condition will help stop or reduce the sounds you hear. The suboccipital muscles are a source of pain for many people with tinnitus and are a common cause of “tension-type headaches”.
One way to combat tinnitus is to treat the underlying cause, especially when that cause is hearing loss. There are some behaviors that can help reduce symptoms of tinnitus, such as reducing stress or changing the way you eat. Correcting even a fairly mild hearing loss means that the parts of the brain involved in hearing don't have to work as hard and therefore don't pay as much attention to tinnitus. Some people may hear sounds similar to those of music or when they sing, and others may hear noises that beat at the rate of their pulse (pulsating tinnitus).
These medications can help make tinnitus symptoms less bothersome, improving your quality of life. Some antidepressants work by increasing serotonin, which in turn can suppress the effects of the neurotransmitter GABA and reduce symptoms of tinnitus. They can also perform a simple hearing test (speech tests and tuning fork tests) and arrange blood tests to detect conditions that are sometimes associated with tinnitus, such as anemia (a reduction in red blood cells), diabetes, or a thyroid gland problem. This can also help you prevent the progression to serious hearing loss, mainly because tinnitus is a sign of early hearing loss.
The most likely reason this technique works is because you're making your suboccipital muscles relax and reduce tension. Sound masking devices produce pleasant external noise that can help drown out the internal sound of tinnitus. Any degree of hearing loss you have should be addressed, as straining to hear can worsen tinnitus. Most people prefer an external sound level that is slightly higher than that of tinnitus, but others prefer a masking sound that drowns out the tinnitus completely.
Tinnitus counseling is a type of therapy in which you work with a health professional to help you learn more about tinnitus and find ways to cope with it. There are therapies that aren't designed to cure tinnitus, but rather to help reduce the distress and discomfort it may be causing. Tinnitus is the term for hearing sounds that come from inside the body and not from an external source.
