The cause of tinnitus, a constant buzzing or ringing in the ears, is often unclear. But one thing we know for certain is that if you have hearing loss your chance of developing tinnitus goes up. Up to 90% of individuals who are afflicted by tinnitus also have hearing loss according to HIAA.
Your age, lifestyle, and genetics can all play a role in the development of hearing loss as you probably know. And while many people think of hearing loss as being obvious, the truth is that some mild hearing loss can go undetected. Even slight cases of hearing loss will increase your chance of tinnitus, making the situation even worse.
Hearing Aids Won’t Cure Tinnitus But They Will Help
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing aids will treat both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can decrease symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. In fact, one study revealed that as much as 60 percent of people suffering from tinnitus experienced relief when they used hearing aids, with 22 percent showing appreciable relief.
A traditional hearing aid can essentially hide the buzzing or ringing caused by tinnitus by strengthening your ability to hear outside sounds, which basically drowns out the ringing. Luckily there are other, more advanced options beyond just conventional hearing aids to treat the symptoms related to tinnitus.
Tinnitus Symptoms Will be Reduced by These Types of Specialized Hearing Aids
Hearing aids increase the level of environmental sounds to the point that you can hear them clearly. Even though it might be simple in design, that amplification of sound, be it the rabble of a dinner party or the rattle of a ceiling fan, is critical in teaching your brain to receive certain stimulations again.
You can enhance those amplification efforts by the combination of other approaches, 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 decrease the symptoms of tinnitus. The persistent 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 goal of other advanced hearing aid options. Your condition and ear have very personal needs and this technique will use a customized white noise that will be dialed-in by your hearing professional.
Whether you use sound therapy, blending, or a white noise mechanism, all of these specialized devices have a common objective of distracting the user away from the ringing or buzzing of tinnitus.
It’s true that there is no cure for tinnitus, but for at least some individuals, hearing aids help decrease symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Call Today to Set Up an Appointment
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
