The cause of tinnitus, a continual ringing or buzzing in the ears, has long baffled scientists. 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 rather obvious, when it’s still in the early stages, it often goes undetected. Unfortunately, your risk of experiencing hearing loss increases with even slight cases of hearing loss.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help address the symptoms
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing aids can manage both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can decrease symptoms and enhance one’s quality of life. There are some rather remarkable similarities between tinnitus and hearing loss, as a matter of fact.
The frequency range that a person loses hearing in is typically in sync with the pitch of their tinnitus symptoms. As an example, if somebody has hearing loss in the high-frequency range, they will usually hear a high-pitched ringing from tinnitus. The concept is that the brain tries to compensate for the missing frequencies by creating tinnitus sounds in the same frequency range.
A traditional hearing aid can effectively hide the ringing or buzzing connected 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 associated with tinnitus.
Decrease symptoms of tinnitus with specialized hearing aids
Hearing aids detect environmental sounds and boost frequencies you have trouble hearing. Even though hearing aids have a simple concept, they help train your brain to receive particular stimulation again by amplifying noises like the rattle of a ceiling fan or the din of a dinner party.
But you can augment those amplification efforts with a combination of other strategies like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress reduction for a more comprehensive approach to treatment.
Some hearing aid manufacturers attempt to reduce tinnitus symptoms by using irregular rhythms of fractal tones. These rhythmically irregular tones can detract from the constant and regular tones tinnitus sufferers hear. While white noise devices are available, the most common fractal tones sound somewhat like wind chimes that provide a pleasant sound that drowns out the ringing.
Other specialized devices attempt to mix your tinnitus in with the outside sounds you’re hearing. A white noise generator will be used in this approach, which can be calibrated by a hearing specialist to help decrease your particular tinnitus symptoms..
Whether it’s through sound therapy, blending, or a white noise mechanism, 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 provide an attractive possibility to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
Want to discuss your tinnitus with a hearing specialist?
If you’re struggling with ringing or buzzing in the ears, take a look at our tinnitus section for more information on ways to decrease symptoms.