Tinnitus has been present for a long time. But maybe it’s new to you, like a loud used car you can’t take back. A relentless buzzing or ringing is normally how tinnitus is experienced but not always. The sound can be, at times, really loud. However tinnitus manifests for you, this point is most likely true: if tinnitus is bothering you, you might be searching for some new ways to manage your symptoms.
Fortunately, new therapies and treatment options are being developed that aren’t cures for tinnitus but can help you manage it. Your tongue is even involved in certain of those therapies.
The Newest Way to Handle Tinnitus
Possibly the newest tinnitus therapy to hit our radar appears to offer a lot of potential, even if it sounds a little strange at first. Both the tongue and the ear are stimulated with this device designed at the Trinity School of Medicine in Dublin. The technical term is bi-modal neuromodulation.
Based on the first tests of this device, the results were rather striking. Most people underwent treatments for a duration of twelve weeks or so. Those same people noticed a substantial decrease in their tinnitus symptoms, and the results lasted up to twelve months. But this type of therapy is still in testing and not generally available yet.
How Can I Get Relief From my Tinnitus Now?
Naturally, it takes years for technology to go from research and development to patient availability. So perhaps you’re wondering what can be done now to help control your tinnitus.
Fortunately, there are some newer tinnitus therapy devices on the market today. And one of the best new ways to manage tinnitus is something you’ve probably already heard of: your hearing aid.
It works like this:
Your hearing aid can give you something else to listen to. When you start to lose your hearing, the sounds of the outside world diminish and that can make the internal sounds of tinnitus get louder. A hearing aid can raise the volume on the rest of the audio spectrum. That doesn’t change the volume of your tinnitus, but it could make the ringing less noticeable.
There is a noise masking device similar to a modern hearing aid. A masking device could be the way to go if your hearing loss is mild. A masking device essentially looks like a hearing aid. And most hearing aids can be enhanced with masking technology. This technology can emit sounds designed to mask your tinnitus symptoms. Sometimes this will be a tone, in other cases, it may be some white noise. Whatever is going to best hide the humming in your ears.
Obviously, this is just a starting point. We can help you discover the best option for you so call us for a consultation.