Scientists still haven’t pinpointed 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 most likely know, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all play a role in the progression of hearing loss. And while it might seem like the symptoms of hearing loss would be rather obvious, when it’s still in the early stages, it often goes undetected. Worse, even a mild case of hearing loss raises your risk and likelihood of experiencing tinnitus.
It’s not a cure, but hearing aids can help manage tinnitus
Tinnitus can’t be cured. However, hearing loss and tinnitus symptoms can be improved along with quality of life by using hearing aids. There are some rather remarkable similarities between tinnitus and hearing loss, in fact.
The pitch or frequency of the ringing one hears when coping with tinnitus is typically in sync with the type of hearing loss that person encounters. As an example, if someone has hearing loss in the high-frequency range, they will frequently hear a high-pitched ringing from tinnitus. Some individuals believe this parallel to be a result of the brain attempting to compensate for a lack of acoustic stimulation at that level by producing a similarly pitched tone of its own.
Tinnitus sounds can be effectively “masked” by a hearing aid which can drown out the offending sound and replace it with one that’s supposed to be heard. The good news is, there are other, more advanced options beyond just traditional hearing aids to manage the symptoms produced by tinnitus.
Specialized hearing aids to lessen tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids work by collecting natural sounds from the environment around you and boosting them to a level that allows you to hear. 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 other combinations of strategies like sound stimulation, counseling, and minimizing stress can also be used to augment those amplification efforts and provide a more comprehensive treatment approach.
Some manufacturers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to reduce the symptoms of tinnitus. These rhythmically inconsistent tones can detract from the consistent and regular tones tinnitus sufferers hear. While white noise devices are available, the most prevalent fractal tones sound somewhat like wind chimes that provide a pleasant sound that drowns out the ringing.
Other specialty devices try to mix your tinnitus in with the natural sounds you’re hearing. 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 intent of these strategies is to help the user disregard tinnitus symptoms whether it’s through the use of white noise systems, sound therapy, or blending.
Though tinnitus can’t be cured, hearing aids can help reduce the severity of the symptoms and improve quality of life, which is an alluring feature for the 50 million people who use hearing aids.
Have more questions about tinnitus?
If you’re struggling with ringing or buzzing in the ears, take a look at our tinnitus section for more information on ways to reduce symptoms.