Scientists still haven’t determined the cause of tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in the ears. However, there is one thing that all hearing professionals agree on, you are more likely to experience tinnitus if you also suffer from hearing loss.
As you most likely know, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all play a role in the development of hearing loss. And while it might seem like the symptoms of hearing loss would be pretty obvious, when it’s still in the early stages, it often goes undetected. Worse, even a minor case of hearing loss increases your risk and likelihood of experiencing tinnitus.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help address the symptoms
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing loss and tinnitus symptoms can be improved as well as quality of life by using hearing aids. As a matter of fact, the similarities between hearing loss and tinnitus are rather remarkable.
The pitch or frequency of the ringing one hears when coping with tinnitus is usually 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 often hear a high-pitched ringing from tinnitus. Some people believe this parallel to be a result of the brain trying to compensate for a lack of acoustic activation 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. The good news is, there are other, more advanced options beyond just traditional hearing aids to manage the symptoms produced by tinnitus.
Specialized hearing aids to reduce tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids pick up environmental sounds and boost frequencies you can’t hear very well. Even though hearing aids have a simple concept, they help teach your brain to experience particular stimulation again by amplifying noises like the rattling of a ceiling fan or the din of a dinner party.
But other combinations of strategies like sound stimulation, counseling, and reducing stress can also be used to enhance those amplification efforts and provide 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 usually hear tones that are constant 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.
Blending natural sounds from your environment with your tinnitus is the objective of other specialized devices. This approach will typically utilize a white noise signal that a hearing specialist can adjust to ensure proper calibration for your ear and your condition.
The common goal of these strategies is to help the user ignore tinnitus symptoms whether it’s by employing white noise mechanisms, 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 attractive possibility to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
Want to talk about your tinnitus with a hearing professional?
For more information on reducing tinnitus symptoms, take a look at our tinnitus section or call for a consultation.