It’s generally not clear what’s causing 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 have tinnitus also have hearing loss.

As you most likely realize, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all play a role in the development of hearing loss. And while many individuals think of hearing loss as being obvious, the reality is that some minor hearing loss can go undetected. Even mild 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 will treat both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can decrease symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. As a matter of fact, one study showed that as much as 60 percent of tinnitus patients saw relief when they used hearing aids, with 22 percent showing appreciable relief.

A conventional hearing aid can basically hide the ringing or buzzing associated with tinnitus by improving your ability to hear other sounds, which essentially drowns out the ringing. Luckily there are other, more sophisticated options beyond just conventional hearing aids to manage the symptoms associated with tinnitus.

Types of Specialized Hearing Aids to Decrease Tinnitus Symptoms

Hearing aids work by collecting natural sounds from the environment around you and boosting them to a level that lets you hear. Even though it might be simple in design, that amplification of sound, be it the rabble of a dinner party or the rattle of a ceiling fan, is critical in training 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 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 irregular tones of these inconsistent rhythms.

Other specialized devices attempt to blend your tinnitus in with the normal sounds you’re hearing. Your condition and ear have very personal needs and this approach will use a customized white noise that will be dialed-in by your hearing specialist.

All of these strategies, from white noise therapies to sound therapies, use specialized hearing aid technology to distract the attention of the user away from paying attention to tinnitus noises.

It’s true that there isn’t any cure for tinnitus, but for at least some people, hearing aids help lessen symptoms and improve your quality of life.

Call Today to Set Up an Appointment

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