The cause of tinnitus, a constant buzzing or ringing in the ears, is generally unclear. However, there is one thing researchers agree on: you are more likely to experience tinnitus if you also are dealing with hearing loss. According to HLAA as much as 90 percent of individuals who have tinnitus also have hearing loss.
Your age, lifestyle, and genetics can all play a role in the development of hearing loss as you most likely know. And while many people think of hearing loss as being obvious, the reality is that some mild hearing loss can go unnoticed. Even worse, even a minor case of hearing loss raises your risk and probability 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 help you manage both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can minimize symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. In fact, one study revealed that as much as 60 percent of people suffering from tinnitus saw relief when they wore hearing aids, with 22 percent showing significant relief.
When you can suddenly hear outside sounds better because hearing aids have boosted the volume, your tinnitus symptoms will go into the background. And, fortunately, conventional hearing aids aren’t the only option as more advanced treatment methods are being produced.
Tinnitus Symptoms Will be Reduced by These Types of Specialty Hearing Aids
Hearing aids boost the volume of environmental sounds to the point that you can hear them clearly. Although it might 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 teaching your brain to receive certain stimulations again.
You can augment those amplification efforts by the combination of other methods, like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress reduction for a more complete approach to treatment.
Some hearing aid makers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to reduce the symptoms of tinnitus. The constant tone of tinnitus can be interrupted by the uneven tones of these inconsistent rhythms.
Other specialty devices try to blend your tinnitus in with the normal sounds you’re hearing. This approach will generally utilize a white noise signal that a hearing specialist can adjust to ensure proper calibration for your ear and your condition.
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 focusing on tinnitus noises.
Hearing aids can improve quality of life and lessen symptoms of tinnitus even if there isn’t any cure.
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
