Scientists still haven’t identified 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 contribute to the development of hearing loss. And while it might seem like the symptoms of hearing loss would be fairly obvious, when it’s still in the early phases, it often goes unnoticed. Unfortunately, your risk of developing hearing loss increases with even mild cases of hearing loss.
It’s not a cure, but hearing aids can help manage tinnitus
Tinnitus can’t be cured. However, hearing aids can manage both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can minimize symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. There are some rather remarkable similarities between tinnitus and hearing loss, in fact.
The pitch or frequency of the ringing a person hears when coping with tinnitus is often in sync with the type of hearing loss that person has. For instance, somebody who hears high-pitched ringing from tinnitus might suffer from high-frequency hearing loss. The concept is that the brain tries to compensate for the missing frequencies by producing 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 manage the symptoms associated with tinnitus.
Specialized hearing aids to lessen tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids work by collecting 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 train your brain to receive particular stimulation again by amplifying noises like the rattling of a ceiling fan or the din of a dinner party.
But you can improve those amplification endeavors with a combination of other methods like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress reduction for a more extensive approach to treatment.
Some hearing aid manufacturers attempt to decrease tinnitus symptoms by using irregular rhythms of fractal tones. These rhythmically irregular tones can detract from the consistent and regular tones tinnitus sufferers hear. While white noise devices are available, the most common fractal tones are similar to wind chimes that supply a soothing sound that drowns out the ringing.
Blending natural sounds from your environment with your tinnitus is the goal of other specialized devices. A white noise generator will be used in this approach, which can be fine-tuned by a hearing specialist to help lessen your particular tinnitus symptoms..
The common goal of these approaches is to help the user ignore tinnitus symptoms whether it’s by employing white noise mechanisms, sound therapy, or blending.
It’s true that there is no cure for tinnitus, but for at least some of the 50 million dealing with the condition, hearing aids provide an alluring possibility to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
Want to talk about your tinnitus with a hearing specialist?
If you’re experiencing ringing or buzzing in the ears, check out our tinnitus section for more information on ways to minimize symptoms.