It’s often unclear 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. Up to 90 percent of people who experience tinnitus also have hearing loss according to HIAA.
As you probably know, your genetics, age, and lifestyle can all play a role in the development of hearing loss. Frequently, mild cases of hearing loss go unnoticed and hearing loss, in general, isn’t always apparent. Worse, even a slight case of hearing loss increases your risk and likelihood of developing tinnitus.
It’s Not a Cure, But Hearing Aids Can Help Treat Tinnitus
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing aids can treat both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can reduce symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. Sixty percent of people dealing with tinnitus, in fact, saw relief of their symptoms, and twenty-two had substantial improvement.
A conventional hearing aid can basically hide the buzzing or ringing caused by tinnitus by improving your ability to hear outside sounds, which effectively drowns out the ringing. The good news is that there are other, more sophisticated options beyond just conventional hearing aids to manage the symptoms associated with tinnitus.
Tinnitus Symptoms Will be Reduced by These Types of Specialized Hearing Aids
Hearing aids work by collecting natural sounds from the world around you and amplifying them to a level that lets you hear. This simple technology is critical in teaching your hearing to receive specific stimulation by amplifying sounds like the rattle of a ceiling fan or the rabble of a dinner party.
You can augment those amplification efforts by the combination of other strategies, like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress reduction for a more comprehensive approach to treatment.
Fractal tones and irregular rhythms are even being used by some hearing aid manufacturers. These rhythmically inconsistent tones can distract from the constant and regular tones tinnitus sufferers experience.
Other specialty devices try to blend your tinnitus in with the natural sounds you’re hearing. This approach will generally utilize a white noise signal that a hearing expert can adjust to ensure correct calibration for your ear and your disorder.
All of these approaches, 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 is no cure for tinnitus, but for at least some people, hearing aids help decrease symptoms and improve your quality of life.
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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