Tinnitus isn’t new. But perhaps it’s new to you, like a noisy used car you can’t take back. Usually, though not always, tinnitus presents as an incessant ringing or buzzing in the ears. The sound can be, at times, really loud. Regardless of how tinnitus manifests for you, this point is probably true: if tinnitus is bothering you, you might be looking for some new ways to deal with your symptoms.
The good news is that new therapies and treatment options are being developed that aren’t cures for tinnitus but can help you deal with it. Some of those therapies even concern your tongue.
Newest Approaches to Tinnitus
Perhaps the newest tinnitus treatment to hit our radar does indeed offer quite a bit of potential, even if it appears a little unusual at first. Both the tongue and the ear are stimulated with this device developed at the Trinity School of Medicine in Dublin. The technical term is bi-modal neuromodulation.
The results were rather striking with this device based on the first tests. 12 weeks was about the duration that most people were treated. Over those 12 months, those same people noted a dramatic reduction in tinnitus symptoms. But this kind of therapy is still in testing and not extensively available yet.
What Can I do Now to Find Tinnitus Relief?
Naturally, it takes years for technology to go from research and development to patient accessibility. So maybe you’re wondering what you can do now to help deal with your tinnitus.
Fortunately, there are some newer tinnitus management devices on the market now. And one of the best new methods of managing tinnitus is something you’ve probably already heard of: your hearing aid.
It works like this:
External sounds are enhanced by hearing aids. One reason why tinnitus is more apparent as you lose your hearing is that the ringing is the only thing that stays loud while everything else becomes quieter. The volume of the exterior world is raised by hearing aids. By raising the volume of outside sounds, your tinnitus sounds will often disappear into the background.
There is a noise masking device similar to a modern hearing aid. If your hearing loss is fairly minor, then a masking device might be the best way to address your symptoms. A masking device basically looks like a hearing aid. And masking technology can be combined with modern hearing aids. Your tinnitus symptoms can be obscured by sounds emitted by this kind of technology. At times this will be a tone, in other situations, it might be some white noise. Whatever is going to best hide the humming in your ears.
Obviously, this is only a starting point. We can demonstrate devices that work best for tinnitus. Contact us.
