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 experience tinnitus if you also suffer from hearing loss. Up to 90% of people who experience tinnitus also have hearing loss according to HIAA.
As you most likely realize, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all be involved in the advancement of hearing loss. Frequently, minor cases of hearing loss go unnoticed and hearing loss, in general, isn’t always apparent. Worse, even a minor case of hearing loss increases your risk and likelihood of developing tinnitus.
Hearing Aids Won’t Cure Tinnitus But They Will Help
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing aids will help you manage both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can decrease symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. Sixty percent of people dealing with tinnitus, in fact, experienced relief of their symptoms, and twenty-two had significant improvement.
When you can suddenly hear outside sounds better because hearing aids have raised the volume, your tinnitus symptoms will be drowned out. And, fortunately, conventional hearing aids aren’t the only solution as more sophisticated treatment possibilities are being produced.
Types of Specialized Hearing Aids to Lessen 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 may 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 training your brain to receive certain stimulations again.
You can take an even more comprehensive approach to your tinnitus treatment by augmenting hearing aids with other strategies, like stress reduction, sound stimulation, and counseling.
Fractal tones and irregular rhythms are even being utilized by some hearing aid manufacturers. These rhythmically inconsistent tones can distract from the persistent and regular tones tinnitus sufferers hear.
Other specialty devices try 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 personalized white noise that will be dialed-in by your hearing professional.
Whether it’s through sound therapy, blending, or a white noise mechanism, all of these specialized technologies have a common goal of distracting the user away from the ringing or buzzing of tinnitus.
Hearing aids can improve quality of life and reduce symptoms of tinnitus even if there isn’t any cure.
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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