The cause of tinnitus, a persistent buzzing or ringing in the ears, is generally ambiguous. But one thing we know for certain is that if you have hearing loss your probability of experiencing tinnitus rises. Up to 90% of people who suffer from tinnitus also have hearing loss according to HIAA.
Your lifestyle, age, and genetics can all take part in the development of hearing loss as you most likely know. Often, mild cases of hearing loss go undetected and hearing loss, in general, isn’t always apparent. Even slight cases of hearing loss will raise your chance of tinnitus, making the situation even worse.
Hearing Aids Won’t Cure Tinnitus But They Will Help
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing aids will treat both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can minimize symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. As a matter of fact, one study showed that up to 60 percent of people suffering from tinnitus saw relief when they used hearing aids, with 22 percent showing substantial relief.
A conventional hearing aid can essentially hide the buzzing or ringing caused by tinnitus by strengthening your ability to hear other sounds, which basically drowns out the ringing. And, fortunately, traditional hearing aids aren’t the only solution as more sophisticated treatment methods are being produced.
Tinnitus Symptoms Will be Reduced by These Types of Specialty Hearing Aids
Hearing aids work by gathering natural sounds from the environment around you and boosting them to a level that lets you hear. Although it might be basic 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 take an even more comprehensive approach to your tinnitus management by enhancing hearing aids with other techniques, like stress reduction, sound stimulation, and counseling.
Some hearing aid manufacturers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to decrease the symptoms of tinnitus. These rhythmically inconsistent tones can distract from the constant and regular tones tinnitus sufferers hear.
Blending the normal sounds you hear with your tinnitus sounds is the objective of other advanced hearing aid options. 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 professional.
All of these strategies, from white noise therapies to sound therapies, utilize 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 is no 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
