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 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 rather obvious, when it’s still in the early stages, it frequently goes undetected. Unfortunately, your risk of experiencing hearing loss increases with even minor cases of hearing loss.
It isn’t a cure, but hearing aids can help manage tinnitus
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing aids can treat both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can decrease symptoms and enhance one’s quality of life. In fact, the similarities between hearing loss and tinnitus are fairly remarkable.
The frequency range that a person loses hearing in is usually in sync with the pitch of their tinnitus symptoms. For example, somebody who hears high-pitched ringing from tinnitus may suffer from high-frequency hearing loss. Some individuals 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 effectively hide the ringing or buzzing associated with tinnitus by replacing it with the appropriate sounds. Luckily, tinnitus symptoms can be treated in other more advanced ways than traditional hearing aids.
Reduce symptoms of tinnitus with specialized hearing aids
Hearing aids pick up environmental sounds and boost frequencies you can’t hear very well. Even though it may be simple in design, that amplification of noise, be it the din of a dinner party or the rattling of a ceiling fan, is crucial in teaching your brain to receive particular stimulations again.
But other combinations of methods like sound stimulation, counseling, and reducing stress can also be used to improve those amplification efforts and provide a more complete treatment approach.
Some manufacturers even use the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to reduce the symptoms of tinnitus. 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 pleasant sound that overwhelms the ringing.
Blending natural sounds from your environment with your tinnitus is the goal of other specialized devices. This strategy will generally use a white noise signal that a hearing specialist can adjust to ensure accurate calibration for your ear and your condition.
The common intent of these strategies is to help the user ignore tinnitus symptoms whether it’s by employing white noise systems, sound therapy, or blending.
It’s true that there is no cure for tinnitus, but for at least some of the 50 million suffering from the condition, hearing aids provide an attractive possibility to reduce symptoms and live a better quality of life.
Have more questions about tinnitus?
For more information on reducing tinnitus symptoms, take a look at our tinnitus section or call for a consultation.