The cause of tinnitus, a constant buzzing or ringing in the ears, is often ambiguous. But one thing we know for sure is that if you have hearing loss your probability of developing tinnitus rises. Up to 90% of people who are afflicted by tinnitus also have hearing loss according to HIAA.
Your lifestyle, age, and genetics can all play a role in the development of hearing loss as you probably know. Frequently, moderate cases of hearing loss go unnoticed and hearing loss, in general, isn’t always evident. Even worse, even a slight case of hearing loss raises your risk and likelihood of developing tinnitus.
It’s Not a Cure, But Hearing Aids Can Help Manage Tinnitus
There isn’t a cure for tinnitus. However, hearing aids will treat both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can reduce 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 wore hearing aids, with 22 percent showing substantial relief.
A conventional hearing aid can essentially hide the buzzing or ringing associated with tinnitus by improving your ability to hear outside sounds, which basically drowns out the ringing. Luckily there are other, more sophisticated solutions beyond just traditional hearing aids to treat the symptoms associated with tinnitus.
Types of Specialized Hearing Aids to Decrease Tinnitus Symptoms
Hearing aids boost the volume of environmental sounds to the point that you can hear them clearly. This basic technology is crucial in training your hearing to receive certain stimulation by amplifying sounds like the rattle of a ceiling fan or the hum of a dinner party.
You can enhance those amplification efforts by the combination of other approaches, like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress reduction for a more comprehensive approach to treatment.
Some hearing aid makers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to decrease the symptoms of tinnitus. The consistent tone of tinnitus can be interrupted by the uneven tones of these inconsistent rhythms.
Blending the natural 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 strategy will use a personalized white noise that will be dialed-in by your hearing professional.
All of these approaches, 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 decrease 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