The cause of tinnitus, a constant buzzing or ringing in the ears, is generally ambiguous. But one thing we know for sure is that if you have hearing loss your chance of experiencing tinnitus goes up. Up to 90% of people who are afflicted by tinnitus also have hearing loss according to HIAA.
As you most likely know, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all be involved in the development of hearing loss. Frequently, mild instances of hearing loss go unnoticed and hearing loss, in general, isn’t always apparent. Even mild cases of hearing loss will increase your likelihood of tinnitus, making the situation even worse.
Hearing Aids Won’t Cure Tinnitus But They Can Help
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, your symptoms can be reduced and your life can be improved by wearing hearing aids to treat your hearing loss and tinnitus. Sixty percent of people coping with tinnitus, in fact, experienced relief of their symptoms, and twenty-two had substantial improvement.
When you can suddenly hear outside sounds better because hearing aids have boosted the volume, your tinnitus symptoms will be drowned out. The good news is that there are other, more advanced options beyond just conventional hearing aids to manage the symptoms related to tinnitus.
Types of Specialty Hearing Aids to Decrease Tinnitus Symptoms
Hearing aids increase the volume of environmental sounds to the point that you can hear them clearly. This simple technology is crucial in training your hearing to receive certain stimulation by amplifying sounds like the clattering of a ceiling fan or the hum of a dinner party.
You can enhance those amplification efforts by the combination of other strategies, like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress reduction for a more comprehensive approach to treatment.
Some hearing aid manufacturers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to decrease the symptoms of tinnitus. These rhythmically inconsistent tones can distract from the constant and regular tones tinnitus sufferers hear.
Other specialty devices try to blend your tinnitus in with the normal sounds you’re hearing. This approach will generally use a white noise signal that a hearing expert can adjust to ensure correct calibration for your ear and your disorder.
Whether it’s through sound therapy, blending, or a white noise mechanism, all of these specialized devices have a common aim of distracting the user away from the buzzing or ringing of tinnitus.
It’s true that there isn’t any cure for tinnitus, but for at least some people, 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