14 DAY TRIAL // Investigators from the Henry Ford Hospital, in Detroit, say that insomnia tend to worsen tinnitus in chronic patients. The discovery is extremely important, since more than 36 million people suffer from ringing in the ear.
What the team found is that tinnitus patients who also can't sleep at night tend to report a worsening in their perceived symptoms. This takes an emotional and functional toll on these individuals, reducing their quality of life.
“Tinnitus involves cognitive, emotional, and psycho-physiological processes, which can result in an increase in a patient’s distress. Sleep complaints, including insomnia, in these patients may result in a decrease in their tolerance to tinnitus,” researcher Kathleen L. Yaremchuk, MD, explains.
Tinnitus can be produced by prolonged exposure to loud noises, for example, by the build-up of wax in the ear, by severe sinus infections, as well as by trauma to the neck and the head, Science Blog reports.