The cause of tinnitus, a constant buzzing or ringing in the ears, is often ambiguous. However, there is one thing experts agree on: you are more likely to develop tinnitus if you also suffer from hearing loss. Up to 90 percent of individuals who are afflicted by tinnitus also have hearing loss according to HIAA.
Your age, lifestyle, and genetics can all take part in the development of hearing loss as you most likely know. Frequently, moderate cases of hearing loss go undetected and hearing loss, in general, isn’t always evident. Even mild cases of hearing loss will raise your likelihood of tinnitus, making the situation even worse.
Hearing Aids Won’t Cure Tinnitus But They Will Help
Tinnitus doesn’t have a cure. However, hearing aids can help you manage both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can minimize symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. Sixty percent of people struggling with tinnitus, in fact, experienced relief of their symptoms, and twenty-two had considerable improvement.
A traditional hearing aid can basically hide the buzzing or ringing associated with tinnitus by strengthening your ability to hear outside sounds, which basically drowns out the ringing. The good news is that there are other, more sophisticated solutions beyond just traditional hearing aids to manage the symptoms associated with tinnitus.
Tinnitus Symptoms Will be Decreased by These Types of Specialized Hearing Aids
Hearing aids work by gathering natural sounds from the environment around you and amplifying them to a level that lets you hear. This simple technology is critical in training your hearing to receive specific stimulation by boosting sounds like the rattle of a ceiling fan or the hum of a dinner party.
You can take an even more comprehensive approach to your tinnitus treatment by augmenting hearing aids with other techniques, like stress reduction, sound stimulation, and counseling.
Fractal tones and irregular rhythms are even being utilized by some hearing aid manufacturers. The consistent tone of tinnitus can be interrupted by the uneven tones of these inconsistent rhythms.
Other specialized devices attempt to blend your tinnitus in with the natural sounds you’re hearing. This strategy will commonly utilize a white noise signal that a hearing professional can adjust to guarantee correct calibration for your ear and your condition.
Whether you use sound therapy, blending, or a white noise mechanism, all of these specialized technologies have a common goal of distracting the attention 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 decrease 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