What do studying for a test and writing a report for work have in common? They both require a great deal of concentration. Everybody has different methods they employ to help them concentrate; wearing noise-canceling headphones, working in a coffee shop for ambient but non-distracting sound, sitting at a specific spot in the house, etc. Whatever way you like to relax and concentrate, you likely agree that an intrusive ringing or buzzing noise in your ear isn’t conducive to good work.
For the roughly five million Americans struggling with chronic tinnitus,[1] that ringing in the ear can quickly ruin concentration and significantly impact productivity. Let’s take a look at a few ways you can refocus despite your tinnitus.
1. Listen To Calming Music, Nature Sounds or White Noise
Listening to a soothing, external sound will help you divert your attention away from the internal ringing. There are tons of great study playlists on music apps. You can search for things like “focus mix” or “study music” and listen to them through speakers or headphones. A white-noise or nature-sounds machine or app can also be helpful if you prefer something with a steady rhythm.
2. Do Something Relaxing
Stress can not only exacerbate tinnitus, but the more stressed out you are about the ringing, the more you’ll pay attention to it. If you’ve got a mountain of work ahead of you, take some time for a relaxing activity like reading in Butler Metro Park, practicing yoga, meditating, journaling or watching an episode of your favorite TV show.
3. Retrain Your Brain
We employ a management technique called tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) to help you get used to and ignore tinnitus when it occurs. With TRT, you’ll use a portable sound generator that plays soft, patterned tones to desensitize your brain to the ringing. We can create a customized tone profile to treat your specific tinnitus patterns and tones.
If tinnitus is making it hard to concentrate on your work or school, or you’re interested in trying TRT, call our experts at River ENT to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists.
[1] American Tinnitus Association. (n.d.). Why are my ears ringing? American Tinnitus Association. https://www.ata.org/about-tinnitus/why-are-my-ears-ringing/
