The cause of tinnitus, a constant buzzing or ringing in the ears, is generally ambiguous. However, there is one thing researchers agree on: you are more likely to develop tinnitus if you also suffer from hearing loss. Up to 90 percent of people who suffer from tinnitus also have hearing loss according to HIAA.
As you most likely realize, your genetics, age, and lifestyle can all be involved in the advancement of hearing loss. Frequently, minor cases of hearing loss go unnoticed and hearing loss, in general, isn’t always apparent. Even slight cases of hearing loss will raise your likelihood of tinnitus, making the situation even worse.
It’s Not a Cure, But Hearing Aids Can Help Treat Tinnitus
Tinnitus doesn’t have a cure. However, your symptoms can be decreased and your life can be improved by using hearing aids to treat your hearing loss and tinnitus. In fact, one study revealed that as much as 60 percent of tinnitus patients experienced relief when they wore hearing aids, with 22 percent showing appreciable relief.
A conventional hearing aid can essentially hide the ringing or buzzing associated with tinnitus by improving your ability to hear other sounds, which essentially drowns out the ringing. And, fortunately, conventional hearing aids aren’t the only solution as more sophisticated treatment possibilities are being produced.
Types of Specialized Hearing Aids to Lessen Tinnitus Symptoms
Hearing aids boost the volume of environmental sounds to the point that you can hear them clearly. Although it may be simple in design, that amplification of sound, be it the rabble of a dinner party or the clank of a ceiling fan, is critical in teaching your brain to receive certain stimulations again.
You can take an even more comprehensive approach to your tinnitus management by enhancing hearing aids with other strategies, like stress reduction, sound stimulation, and counseling.
Some hearing aid makers even use the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to minimize the symptoms of tinnitus. These rhythmically inconsistent tones can distract from the persistent and regular tones tinnitus sufferers hear.
Blending the natural sounds you hear with your tinnitus sounds is the objective of other sophisticated hearing aid options. Your condition and ear have very personal needs and this technique will use a customized white noise that will be calibrated by your hearing professional.
All of these approaches, from white noise therapies to sound therapies, use specialized hearing aid technology to distract the attention of the user away from paying attention to tinnitus noises.
It’s true that there isn’t any cure for tinnitus, but for at least some individuals, hearing aids help lessen symptoms and improve your quality of life.
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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