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.
As you probably know, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all contribute to the progression of hearing loss. And while many of us think of hearing loss as being obvious, the reality is that some minor hearing loss can go unobserved. Unfortunately, your risk of developing hearing loss increases with even slight cases of hearing loss.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help treat the symptoms
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 pretty remarkable similarities between tinnitus and hearing loss, as a matter of fact.
The frequency range that a person loses hearing in is often in sync with the pitch of their tinnitus symptoms. As an example, if someone has hearing loss in the high-frequency range, they will frequently 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 stimulation at that level by generating 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. Luckily, tinnitus symptoms can be managed in other more advanced ways than traditional hearing aids.
Lessen symptoms of tinnitus with specialized hearing aids
Hearing aids work by collecting natural sounds from your environment and amplifying them to a level that allows you to hear. Even though it may be simple in design, that amplification of noise, be it the hum of a dinner party or the rattling of a ceiling fan, is crucial in teaching your brain to experience particular stimulations again.
But other combinations of strategies like sound stimulation, counseling, and reducing stress can also be used to augment those amplification efforts and supply a more comprehensive treatment approach.
Some hearing aid manufacturers attempt to decrease tinnitus symptoms with the use of the irregular rhythms of fractal tones. Tinnitus sufferers typically hear tones that are consistent and regular which can sometimes be disrupted by the irregular rhythms of these fractal tones. While white noise devices are available, the most prevalent fractal tones are similar to wind chimes that provide a pleasant sound that drowns out the ringing.
Mixing natural sounds from your environment with your tinnitus is the objective 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 decrease your particular tinnitus symptoms..
Whether it’s through sound therapy, blending, or a white noise mechanism, each of these specialized devices has a common objective of distracting the user away from the ringing or buzzing of tinnitus.
It’s true that tinnitus can’t be cured, 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.
Want to discuss your tinnitus with a hearing specialist?
If you’re struggling with ringing or buzzing in the ears, check out our tinnitus section for more information on ways to minimize symptoms.