The cause of tinnitus, a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, has long perplexed scientists. Hearing specialists, however, do agree that tinnitus is more prevalent in people who also have hearing loss.
Some of the primary factors that play a role in hearing loss are genetics, age, and lifestyle. And while it may 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 experiencing hearing loss increases with even slight cases of hearing loss.
It’s not a cure, but hearing aids can help treat tinnitus
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing loss and tinnitus symptoms can be improved along with quality of life by using hearing aids. There are some fairly remarkable similarities between tinnitus and hearing loss, in fact.
The frequency range that a person loses hearing in is usually in sync with the pitch of their tinnitus symptoms. As an example, if someone has hearing loss in the high-frequency range, they will often hear a high-pitched ringing from tinnitus. Some people believe this parallel to be a consequence of the brain trying to compensate for a lack of acoustic activation at that level by generating a similarly pitched tone of its own.
A traditional hearing aid can effectively hide the ringing or buzzing connected with tinnitus by replacing it with the appropriate sounds. Luckily, tinnitus symptoms can be treated in other more advanced ways than traditional hearing aids.
Specialized hearing aids to reduce tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids pick up environmental sounds and amplify frequencies you have trouble hearing. Even though it might be simple in design, that amplification of noise, be it the din of a dinner party or the rattle of a ceiling fan, is essential in teaching your brain to receive particular stimulations again.
But you can enhance those amplification efforts with a mix of other strategies like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress reduction for a more extensive approach to treatment.
Some hearing aid manufacturers endeavor to reduce tinnitus symptoms by using irregular rhythms of fractal tones. Tinnitus sufferers typically hear tones that are constant and regular which can sometimes be interrupted by the irregular rhythms of these fractal tones. While white noise devices are available, the most common fractal tones are similar to wind chimes that provide a pleasant sound that overwhelms the ringing.
Other specialized devices try to blend your tinnitus in with the outside sounds you’re hearing. A white noise generator will be used in this approach, which can be fine-tuned by a hearing specialist to help lessen your specific tinnitus symptoms..
The common objective 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 present an alluring possibility to reduce symptoms and live a better quality of life.
Want to discuss your tinnitus with a hearing specialist?
If you’re experiencing ringing or buzzing in the ears, take a look at our tinnitus section for more information on ways to minimize symptoms.
