Scientists still haven’t identified the cause of tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in the ears. However, there is one thing that all hearing specialists agree on, you are more likely to experience tinnitus if you also cope with hearing loss.
As you probably know, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all contribute to the progression of hearing loss. And while many people think of hearing loss as being obvious, the truth is that some slight hearing loss can go unnoticed. Unfortunately, your risk of developing hearing loss increases with even mild cases of hearing loss.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help treat the symptoms
Tinnitus can’t be cured. However, hearing aids can treat both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can reduce symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. In fact, the similarities between hearing loss and tinnitus are rather remarkable.
The pitch or frequency of the ringing one hears when dealing with tinnitus is often in sync with the type of hearing loss that person encounters. As an example, if someone has hearing loss in the high-frequency range, they will frequently hear a high-pitched ringing from tinnitus. Some individuals believe this parallel to be a result of the brain attempting to compensate for a lack of acoustic stimulation at that level by producing a similarly pitched tone of its own.
A traditional hearing aid can effectively hide the ringing or buzzing connected with tinnitus by replacing it with the appropriate sounds. Fortunately, tinnitus symptoms can be managed in other more advanced ways than traditional hearing aids.
Specialized hearing aids to decrease tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids detect environmental sounds and boost frequencies you can’t hear very well. Even though it might be simple in design, that amplification of noise, be it the hum of a dinner party or the rattle of a ceiling fan, is crucial in training your brain to receive particular stimulations once more.
But other combinations of methods like sound stimulation, counseling, and minimizing stress can also be utilized to enhance those amplification efforts and supply a more comprehensive treatment approach.
Some manufacturers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to decrease the symptoms of tinnitus. These rhythmically inconsistent tones can detract from the consistent and regular tones tinnitus sufferers hear. While white noise devices are available, the most prevalent fractal tones sound somewhat like wind chimes that provide a pleasant sound that drowns out the ringing.
Other specialty devices try to mix your tinnitus in with the outside sounds you’re hearing. A white noise generator will be used in this approach, which can be calibrated by a hearing specialist to help lessen your specific tinnitus symptoms..
The common intent of these approaches is to help the user ignore tinnitus symptoms whether it’s through the use of white noise mechanisms, sound therapy, or blending.
Though tinnitus has no cure, hearing aids can help decrease the severity of the symptoms and improve quality of life, which is an alluring feature for the 50 million people who use hearing aids.
Want to discuss your tinnitus with a hearing professional?
If you’re experiencing ringing or buzzing in the ears, take a look at our tinnitus section for more information on ways to reduce symptoms.