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.
Some of the principal factors that contribute to hearing loss are genetics, age, and lifestyle. And while it might seem as if the symptoms of hearing loss would be pretty obvious, when it’s still in the early stages, it frequently goes unnoticed. Worse, even a mild case of hearing loss raises your risk and likelihood of developing tinnitus.
It’s not a cure, but hearing aids can help manage tinnitus
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing aids can manage both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can minimize symptoms and enhance one’s quality of life. There are some pretty remarkable similarities between tinnitus and hearing loss, as a matter of fact.
The pitch or frequency of the ringing a person hears when coping with tinnitus is typically in sync with the type of hearing loss that person has. As an example, if somebody has hearing loss in the high-frequency range, they will usually hear a high-pitched ringing from tinnitus. The idea 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 essentially 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 manage the symptoms produced by tinnitus.
Specialized hearing aids to reduce tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids work by gathering 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 teach your brain to experience particular stimulation again by boosting noises like the rattle of a ceiling fan or the buzz of a dinner party.
But you can augment those amplification endeavors with a blend of other methods like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress reduction for a more comprehensive approach to treatment.
Some manufacturers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to decrease the symptoms of tinnitus. Tinnitus sufferers typically hear tones that are consistent and regular which can sometimes be interrupted by the irregular rhythms of these fractal tones. The ringing is overwhelmed by pleasant, wind chime-like sounds generated by the most common fractal tones rather than basic white noise which can also be helpful in some cases.
Mixing natural sounds from your environment with your tinnitus is the objective of other specialized devices. This approach will generally utilize a white noise signal that a hearing specialist can adjust to ensure accurate calibration for your ear and your condition.
Whether it’s through sound therapy, blending, or a white noise system, each of these specialized devices has a common goal of distracting the user away from the ringing or buzzing of tinnitus.
Though tinnitus has no cure, hearing aids can help decrease the intensity of the symptoms and improve quality of life, which is an attractive feature for the 50 million people who use hearing aids.
Have more questions about tinnitus?
For more info on reducing tinnitus symptoms, check out our tinnitus section or call for a consultation.