Scientists still haven’t determined the cause of tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in the ears. Hearing specialists, however, do agree that tinnitus is more prevalent in people who also have hearing loss.
As you probably know, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all play a role in the development of hearing loss. And while it might seem as if the symptoms of hearing loss would be pretty obvious, when it’s still in the early phases, it often goes unnoticed. Unfortunately, your risk of developing hearing loss increases with even minor cases of hearing loss.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help manage the symptoms
Tinnitus can’t be cured. However, hearing loss and tinnitus symptoms can be improved as well as quality of life by using hearing aids. In fact, the similarities between hearing loss and tinnitus are pretty remarkable.
The frequency range that a person loses hearing in is often in sync with the pitch of their tinnitus symptoms. As an example, if somebody has hearing loss in the high-frequency range, they will often hear a high-pitched ringing from tinnitus. Some people believe this parallel to be a consequence of the brain attempting to compensate for a lack of acoustic stimulation at that level by generating a similarly pitched tone of its own.
A traditional hearing aid can effectively hide the ringing or buzzing associated with tinnitus by replacing it with the appropriate sounds. The good news is, there are other, more advanced solutions beyond just traditional hearing aids to treat the symptoms produced by tinnitus.
Specialized hearing aids to reduce tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids detect environmental sounds and boost frequencies you have trouble hearing. Even though it might be simple in design, that amplification of noise, be it the din of a dinner party or the rattling of a ceiling fan, is critical in training your brain to receive particular stimulations again.
But other combinations of methods like sound stimulation, counseling, and minimizing stress can also be utilized to enhance those amplification efforts and provide a more comprehensive treatment approach.
Some hearing aid manufacturers attempt to decrease tinnitus symptoms with the use of the irregular rhythms of fractal tones. Tinnitus sufferers typically hear tones that are consistent and regular which can sometimes be disrupted by the irregular rhythms of these fractal tones. While white noise devices are available, the most prevalent fractal tones sound somewhat like wind chimes that provide a soothing sound that overwhelms the ringing.
Blending natural sounds from your environment with your tinnitus is the aim of other specialized devices. A white noise generator will be used in this approach, which can be calibrated by a hearing specialist to help lessen your specific tinnitus symptoms..
The common goal of these methods is to help the user disregard tinnitus symptoms whether it’s by employing white noise mechanisms, sound therapy, or blending.
Though tinnitus can’t be cured, hearing aids can help reduce the intensity of the symptoms and enhance quality of life, which is an alluring feature for the 50 million people who use hearing aids.
Want to talk about your tinnitus with a hearing professional?
For more information on decreasing tinnitus symptoms, check out our tinnitus section or call for a consultation.
