It’s generally unclear what’s triggering tinnitus (a buzzing or ringing in your ears). But one thing we know for sure is that if you have hearing loss your chance of developing tinnitus rises. Up to 90% of individuals 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 cases of hearing loss go undetected and hearing loss, in general, isn’t always apparent. Even worse, even a minor case of hearing loss raises your risk and probability of developing tinnitus.
Hearing Aids Won’t Cure Tinnitus But They Can Help
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, your symptoms can be minimized 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, saw relief of their symptoms, and twenty-two had substantial improvement.
A traditional hearing aid can basically hide the ringing or buzzing caused by tinnitus by strengthening your ability to hear other sounds, which basically drowns out the ringing. The good news is that there are other, more advanced solutions beyond just conventional hearing aids to manage the symptoms related to tinnitus.
Types of Specialized Hearing Aids to Reduce Tinnitus Symptoms
Hearing aids work by gathering natural sounds from the world around you and boosting them to a level that allows you to hear. This simple technology is critical in teaching your hearing to receive certain stimulation by amplifying sounds like the rattle of a ceiling fan or the rabble 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.
Some hearing aid manufacturers even use the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to minimize the symptoms of tinnitus. 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 natural sounds you’re hearing. Your condition and ear have very personal needs and this technique will use a customized 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 devices have a common aim of distracting the user away from the ringing or buzzing of tinnitus.
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.
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