The cause of tinnitus, a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, has long puzzled scientists. Hearing specialists, however, do agree that tinnitus is more prevalent in people who also have hearing loss.
Some of the main factors that play a role in hearing loss are genetics, age, and lifestyle. And while many individuals think of hearing loss as being obvious, the reality is that some slight hearing loss can go unobserved. Unfortunately, your risk of developing hearing loss increases with even slight cases of hearing loss.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help manage the symptoms
Tinnitus can’t be cured. However, hearing aids can manage both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can minimize symptoms and enhance one’s quality of life. As a matter of fact, the similarities between hearing loss and tinnitus are rather remarkable.
The frequency range that a person loses hearing in is usually in sync with the pitch of their tinnitus symptoms. For instance, somebody who hears high-pitched ringing from tinnitus might suffer from high-frequency hearing loss. Some people believe this parallel to be a consequence of the brain trying to compensate for a lack of acoustic stimulation at that level by producing a similarly pitched tone of its own.
A traditional hearing aid can essentially hide the ringing or buzzing connected with tinnitus by replacing it with the appropriate sounds. Here’s the good thing, there are other, more advanced options beyond just traditional hearing aids to treat the symptoms produced by tinnitus.
Specialized hearing aids to decrease tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids work by gathering natural sounds from the environment around you and amplifying them to a level that allows you to hear. Even though hearing aids have a simple concept, they help teach your brain to receive certain stimulation again by boosting noises like the rattle of a ceiling fan or the buzz of a dinner party.
But you can enhance those amplification efforts with a mix of other methods like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress management for a more complete approach to treatment.
Some hearing aid manufacturers attempt to decrease tinnitus symptoms by using irregular rhythms of fractal tones. Tinnitus sufferers typically hear tones that are constant and regular which can sometimes be disrupted by the irregular rhythms of these fractal tones. While white noise devices are available, the most common fractal tones sound somewhat like wind chimes that supply a pleasant sound that drowns out the ringing.
Other specialty devices attempt to mix your tinnitus in with the outside sounds you’re hearing. This approach will generally use a white noise signal that a hearing specialist can adjust to ensure correct calibration for your ear and your condition.
Whether it’s through sound therapy, blending, or a white noise system, each of these specialized devices has a common goal of distracting the user away from the ringing or buzzing of tinnitus.
It’s true that tinnitus can’t be cured, but for at least some of the 50 million dealing with the condition, hearing aids present an attractive possibility to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
Want to talk about your tinnitus with a hearing professional?
For more info on decreasing tinnitus symptoms, check out our tinnitus section or call for a consultation.