The cause of tinnitus, a constant ringing or buzzing in the ears, is often unclear. But one thing we know for certain is that if you have hearing loss your probability of experiencing tinnitus rises. According to HLAA as much as 90 percent of individuals who are dealing with tinnitus also have hearing loss.
As you probably realize, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all play a role in the advancement of hearing loss. Frequently, minor instances of hearing loss go unnoticed and hearing loss, in general, isn’t always evident. Even worse, even a minor case of hearing loss raises your risk and likelihood of developing tinnitus.
It’s Not a Cure, But Hearing Aids Can Help Manage Tinnitus
Tinnitus has no cure. However, hearing aids will treat both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can reduce symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. Sixty percent of people coping with tinnitus, in fact, experienced relief of their symptoms, and twenty-two had substantial improvement.
When you can suddenly hear outside sounds better because hearing aids have boosted the volume, your tinnitus symptoms will go into the background. And, fortunately, conventional hearing aids aren’t the only solution as more sophisticated treatment possibilities are being produced.
Types of Specialty Hearing Aids to Decrease Tinnitus Symptoms
Hearing aids increase the volume of environmental sounds to the point that you can hear them clearly. Although it may be basic in design, that amplification of sound, be it the hum of a dinner party or the rattle of a ceiling fan, is crucial in training your brain to receive certain stimulations again.
You can enhance those amplification efforts by the combination of other methods, like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress reduction for a more complete approach to treatment.
Some hearing aid makers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to minimize the symptoms of tinnitus. The constant tone of tinnitus can be interrupted by the uneven tones of these inconsistent rhythms.
Blending the normal sounds you hear with your tinnitus sounds is the objective of other sophisticated hearing aid options. This strategy will generally use a white noise signal that a hearing specialist can adjust to guarantee proper calibration for your ear and your disorder.
Whether it’s through sound therapy, blending, or a white noise mechanism, all of these specialized devices have a common goal of distracting the user away from the buzzing or ringing of tinnitus.
It’s true that there is no cure for tinnitus, but for at least some, hearing aids help lessen symptoms and improve your quality of life.
References
- https://www.hearingloss.org/wp-content/uploads/HLAA_HearingLoss_Facts_Statistics.pdf?pdf=FactStats
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17956798
- https://www.ata.org/managing-your-tinnitus/treatment-options/hearing-aids
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197965