Scientists still haven’t determined the cause of tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in the ears. 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 play a role in the development of hearing loss. And while many individuals think of hearing loss as being obvious, the truth is that some slight hearing loss can go undetected. Still worse, even a slight case of hearing loss increases your risk and likelihood of developing tinnitus.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help treat the symptoms
Tinnitus can’t be cured. However, hearing aids can manage both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can minimize symptoms and enhance one’s quality of life. As a matter of 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, somebody who hears high-pitched ringing from tinnitus may suffer from high-frequency hearing loss. The concept is that the brain tries to compensate for the missing frequencies by creating tinnitus sounds in the same frequency range.
A traditional hearing aid can effectively 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 solutions beyond just traditional hearing aids to manage the symptoms associated with 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 it may be simple in design, that amplification of noise, be it the hum of a dinner party or the rattle of a ceiling fan, is essential in teaching your brain to receive certain stimulations again.
But other combinations of strategies like sound stimulation, counseling, and decreasing stress can also be used to enhance those amplification efforts and supply a more comprehensive treatment approach.
Some manufacturers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to lessen the symptoms of tinnitus. Tinnitus sufferers usually hear tones that are consistent and regular which can sometimes be disrupted by the irregular rhythms of these fractal tones. The ringing is overwhelmed by pleasant, wind chime-like sounds produced by the most common fractal tones rather than basic white noise which can also be helpful in some cases.
Blending natural sounds from your environment with your tinnitus is the objective of other specialized devices. This strategy will generally use a white noise signal that a hearing specialist can program to ensure accurate calibration for your ear and your condition.
The common objective of these approaches is to help the user ignore tinnitus symptoms whether it’s through the use of white noise systems, sound therapy, or blending.
It’s true that tinnitus can’t be cured, 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.
Have more questions about tinnitus?
If you’re struggling with ringing or buzzing in the ears, take a look at our tinnitus section for more information on ways to reduce symptoms.