Will I ever be able to sleep again? Needing sleep tips

[susieshow]

It's been over a year now since my last real sleep. It started last year by me waking up much too early due to birds singing the dawn chorus and not being able to get back to sleep again. Every morning it got earlier and earlier and eventually after a few months I got ear plugs which I've worn up until now.

They blocked out the birds singing, however, it seems wearing ear plugs long term has caused other problems. Now I can't get to sleep to begin with, nevermind stay asleep. All I can hear is constant noise (with or without earplugs). I can hear the fabric of my pillow making noises every time I breathe in and out and it keeps me awake (who knew fabric even made noises?!) I can hear my bones creaking and it keeps me awake, I can hear my heart beating and it keeps me awake, I can't have any fabric touching my ears anymore and it's near impossible because the only positions I can sleep in are my sides...

I can't stay asleep for more than a few hours and every time I awake I get the trouble of trying to sleep all over again.

Without earplugs - I can't sleep because I can hear the fabric noises and then I get woken by birds singing and an early riser bumping around downstairs.
With earplugs - I can't hear the birds or bumping about anymore, but I can't sleep because I can hear fabric noises still, bones creaking and heart beating.

In short - I can't sleep with earplugs anymore and I can't sleep without them either. I don't feel stressed or unsettled. Advice is much appreciated, I don't know where to go from here but I can't deal with this sleeplessness anymore.

Little advice afraid but much sympathy from me. I get tinnitus in one ear and sometimes drop off ok but sometimes lay awake for ages.

A brief meditation before bed sometimes helps - literally just 7 or 8 minutes sitting still and breathing and focusing on breath and noticing thoughts/sounds etc and just noticing those things but not fixing on them. However have to do this when not too tired otherwise my mind just drifts off in to a half-dream state which is unsettling.

I mostly fall asleep with the radio on nowadays as I find it easier than lying in quiet. I have one of those dawn alarm clocks that fades down both the light and radio gradually and then am woken up gently by the light in the morning. May be no good for you if noise is annoying, but may be a distraction from more annoying noises??

It seems like you are hyper-aware of what's going on around you. You need to somehow switch off from 'now'.
I need a pitch black room and I need to read book for an hour or so beforehand ( something I enjoy and can get engrossed in) after a while I put down the book, switch off the lamp and concentrate on my breathing. Breathe in through nose and out through nose. When my mind drifts it usually drifts back to the story I've been reading and I tend to drift off this way.

It really doesn't have to be so difficult. There are over-the-counter sleep aids available all over the place.