Scientists still haven’t pinpointed 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 cope with hearing loss.
As you probably know, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all contribute to the development of hearing loss. And while many of us think of hearing loss as being obvious, the reality is that some slight hearing loss can go undetected. Unfortunately, your risk of developing hearing loss increases with even mild cases of hearing loss.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help address the symptoms
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing aids can manage both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can reduce symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. In fact, the similarities between hearing loss and tinnitus are fairly remarkable.
The frequency range that a person loses hearing in is typically in sync with the pitch of their tinnitus symptoms. For example, a person who hears high-pitched ringing from tinnitus may suffer from high-frequency hearing loss. The idea is that the brain tries to compensate for the missing frequencies by producing 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. Here’s the good thing, there are other, more advanced options beyond just traditional hearing aids to treat the symptoms produced by tinnitus.
Specialized hearing aids to reduce tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids detect environmental sounds and amplify frequencies you can’t hear very well. Even though it may be simple in design, that amplification of noise, be it the din of a dinner party or the rattle of a ceiling fan, is crucial in training your brain to receive certain stimulations again.
But you can augment those amplification efforts with a blend of other techniques like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress management for a more extensive approach to treatment.
Some manufacturers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to reduce 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. While white noise devices are available, the most prevalent fractal tones sound somewhat like wind chimes that provide a pleasant sound that overwhelms 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 reduce your particular tinnitus symptoms..
The common objective of these methods is to help the user disregard tinnitus symptoms whether it’s through the use of white noise systems, sound therapy, or blending.
Though tinnitus can’t be cured, hearing aids can help reduce the severity of the symptoms and improve quality of life, which is an alluring feature for the 50 million people who use hearing aids.
Have more questions about tinnitus?
For more information on decreasing tinnitus symptoms, take a look at our tinnitus section or call for a consultation.
