It’s generally not clear what’s triggering tinnitus (a ringing or buzzing in your ears). However, there is one thing experts agree on: you are more likely to develop tinnitus if you also suffer from hearing loss. According to HLAA up to 90 percent of people who are dealing with tinnitus also have hearing loss.
Your age, lifestyle, and genetics can all take part in the development of hearing loss as you most likely know. Often, mild cases of hearing loss go undetected and hearing loss, in general, isn’t always obvious. 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
Tinnitus has no cure. However, hearing aids can treat both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can minimize symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. As a matter of fact, one study revealed that up to 60 percent of tinnitus patients experienced relief when they wore hearing aids, with 22 percent showing substantial relief.
A traditional hearing aid can basically hide the buzzing or ringing associated with tinnitus by strengthening your ability to hear other sounds, which effectively drowns out the ringing. And, fortunately, conventional hearing aids aren’t the only option as more advanced treatment possibilities are being produced.
Types of Specialized Hearing Aids to Reduce Tinnitus Symptoms
Hearing aids boost the level of environmental sounds to the point that you can hear them clearly. Although 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 teaching your brain to receive certain stimulations again.
You can take an even more comprehensive approach to your tinnitus management by augmenting hearing aids with other strategies, like stress reduction, sound stimulation, and counseling.
Fractal tones and irregular rhythms are even being used by some hearing aid makers. These rhythmically inconsistent tones can distract from the constant and regular tones tinnitus sufferers experience.
Blending the normal 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 strategy will use a personalized white noise that will be dialed-in by your hearing specialist.
Whether it’s through sound therapy, blending, or a white noise mechanism, all of these specialized technologies have a common aim of distracting the attention away from the ringing or buzzing of tinnitus.
It’s true that there isn’t any cure for tinnitus, but for at least some, hearing aids help lessen 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