The cause of tinnitus, a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, has long puzzled scientists. However, there is one thing that all hearing specialists agree on, you are more likely to experience tinnitus if you also cope with hearing loss.
As you most likely know, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all contribute to the progression of hearing loss. And while many people think of hearing loss as being obvious, the reality is that some minor hearing loss can go unobserved. Unfortunately, your risk of experiencing hearing loss increases with even mild cases of hearing loss.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help treat the symptoms
Tinnitus can’t be cured. However, hearing loss and tinnitus symptoms can be improved as well as quality of life by using hearing aids. In fact, the similarities between hearing loss and tinnitus are rather remarkable.
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 attempting to compensate for a lack of acoustic activation at that level by producing 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. Fortunately, tinnitus symptoms can be treated in other more advanced ways than traditional hearing aids.
Specialized hearing aids to decrease tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids pick up environmental sounds and boost frequencies you have trouble hearing. Even though it might be simple in design, that amplification of noise, be it the hum of a dinner party or the rattling of a ceiling fan, is critical in training your brain to receive particular stimulations again.
But other combinations of methods like sound stimulation, counseling, and minimizing stress can also be used to improve those amplification efforts and supply a more comprehensive treatment approach.
Some hearing aid manufacturers endeavor to decrease tinnitus symptoms with the use of the irregular rhythms of fractal tones. Tinnitus sufferers typically hear tones that are constant and regular which can sometimes be disrupted by the irregular rhythms of these fractal tones. The ringing is overwhelmed by soothing, wind chime-like sounds produced by the most prevalent fractal tones instead of basic white noise which can also be helpful in some cases.
Other specialty devices try to blend your tinnitus in with the outside sounds you’re hearing. This approach will generally utilize a white noise signal that a hearing specialist can program to ensure correct calibration for your ear and your condition.
The common goal of these approaches 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?
For more info on reducing tinnitus symptoms, check out our tinnitus section or call for a consultation.