Does your Tinnitus or Pulsatile Tinnitus get worse when lying down? Are you unable to sleep because of the heightened swooshing, whooshing or ringing sounds at night? Let’s look at why this is happening and what you can do about it.
Why do you have Tinnitus or Pulsatile Tinnitus when lying down?
There are a few reasons why you experience an onset or worsening of the ringing in the ears at night or when you lie down to rest.
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Bedtime medications
Have you recently started to take any new medications, just before you go to bed? Anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), some anti-biotics and even anti-depressants and chemotherapy drugs can cause Tinnitus. In this case, it’s not you lying down that causes Tinnitus. It’s just that the medicine’s side effects are kicking in when you are in bed, lying down. Medicines that can cause Tinnitus are called ototoxic medicines.
What can you do?
Talk to your doctor about alternative medications that will hopefully not trigger or aggravate your Tinnitus, when you are lying down to sleep.
Nighttime Quiet = Lack of Auditory Inputs
Another reason why your Tinnitus or Pulsatile Tinnitus might be worse or prominent when you lie down is because of the lack of environmental sounds. Nighttime for most people is usually a very quiet environment. And, there’s some evidence that significant levels of silence can cause one to hear phantom noises, according to this Science Daily article. Because there are no external sounds to process, your brain and ears focus on the internal sound that is ringing, whooshing, clicking or hissing sounds to you.
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What can you do?
In such a case, masking sounds can greatly help you ignore Tinnitus when lying down. Please read this Tinnitus ear plug buying guide. The second half of that guide will introduce you to one of the best Tinnitus sleep masking ear buds out there today. If you are not too keen on using ear plugs at night, you can also try white noise machines. Some people even report success with something as simple as noise from a small fan.
Masking sounds or white noise will however not help you if you suffer from Pulsatile Tinnitus when lying down.
Sleep Posture
Does your Tinnitus or Pulsatile Tinnitus get worse when you lie on your side? For some people, it gets worse when they lie on their back. Everyone’s body is different. There are also many who say that their Tinnitus goes away when lying down!
If your Tinnitus comes on only when you lie down or gets worse when you lie down, you are said to have somatic Tinnitus. Somatic Tinnitus is classified as the type of ringing in your ears that is caused by physical movement or even touch. A changed posture will also count as physical movement that can cause somatic Tinnitus.
What can you do?
Experiment with different sleeping postures to see if your Tinnitus will go away or quiet down. If you are a side sleeper, try sleeping on your back. If you are a back sleeper, try side sleeping. Use guide pillows to support a new posture if you find yourself tossing and turning back into your old sleep postures.
You can also try changing your pillow. Go with a thicker or thinner pillow to see if it will change anything. The internet is full of anecdotal evidence that suggests that doubling up on pillows and sleeping with the head in an elevated position also helps with Tinnitus when lying down. Conversely, elevating your legs on a pillow can also possibly help.
You will have to experiment a bit to see what might work for you. Read our post on the best sleeping position for Tinnitus.
Alcohol before bed?
Alcohol and Tinnitus just don’t go well together. While a nightcap drink might seem to help you unwind for the night, it does more harm than good. From increasing blood pressure to contracting your brain’s auditory cortex to even changing the fluid composition inside your ear structures, there’s a lot of damage it can do. Please read this article about the alcohol and Tinnitus connection here.
What can you do?
Unfortunately, avoiding that glass of wine or whiskey is all you can do. If you take that bedtime drink as a sleep aid, try talking to your doctor to see if Melatonin can be an alternative sleep aid for you. Melatonin is known to help with Tinnitus, by helping people both fall asleep sooner and also by letting them sleep more soundly.
Supine Hypertension
Everyone’s blood pressure increases a little when they lie down. This happens as some of the blood from the legs flows back to the heart. But, some people suffer from supine hypertension where the heart rate is more elevated than normal. An increased heart rate can then increase blood pressure. This can then in turn increase the flow of blood to the ears, causing pressure changes that can then cause Tinnitus or Pulsatile Tinnitus.
Patients who are diagnosed with supine hypertension will also usually suffer from orthostatic hypotension. Orthostatic hypotension is when a person feels dizzy or lightheaded when they go from a supine (lying) to an upright position, especially when they do it suddenly or quickly.
What can you do?
Only your doctor can help you with this. They will typically test your blood pressure after you have been in a supine position for at least 10 minutes. Then, if they do diagnose supine hypertension, they might help you manage it through new medication or even by altering medication that you already take.
In some rare cases, people with anemia also complain about Tinnitus, especially when they lie down. Read more about the connection between anemia and pulsatile tinnitus here.
