The cause of tinnitus, a continual ringing or buzzing in the ears, has long baffled scientists. However, there is one thing that all hearing specialists agree on, you are more likely to experience tinnitus if you also suffer from 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 minor hearing loss can go unnoticed. Unfortunately, your risk of developing hearing loss increases with even minor cases of hearing loss.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help address the symptoms
Tinnitus can’t be cured. However, hearing loss and tinnitus symptoms can be improved along with quality of life by using hearing aids. As a matter of fact, the similarities between hearing loss and tinnitus are fairly remarkable.
The pitch or frequency of the ringing a person hears when coping with tinnitus is normally in sync with the type of hearing loss that person encounters. For example, somebody who hears high-pitched ringing from tinnitus might suffer from high-frequency hearing loss. Some individuals believe this parallel to be a result of the brain attempting to compensate for a lack of acoustic stimulation at that level by generating a similarly pitched tone of its own.
A traditional hearing aid can essentially hide the ringing or buzzing connected with tinnitus by replacing it with the appropriate sounds. The good news is, there are other, more advanced options beyond just traditional hearing aids to treat the symptoms associated with tinnitus.
Specialized hearing aids to decrease tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids work by picking up natural sounds from the environment around you and amplifying them to a level that allows you to hear. Even though it may be simple in design, that amplification of noise, whether it’s the din of a dinner party or the rattling of a ceiling fan, is essential in training your brain to experience particular stimulations once more.
But you can enhance those amplification efforts with a blend of other methods like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress reduction for a more comprehensive approach to treatment.
Some manufacturers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to lessen 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. The ringing is drowned out by soothing, wind chime-like sounds generated by the most prevalent fractal tones instead of simple white noise which can also be helpful in some cases.
Mixing natural sounds from your environment with your tinnitus is the objective of other specialized devices. This strategy will typically use a white noise signal that a hearing specialist can program to ensure proper calibration for your ear and your condition.
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 there is no cure for tinnitus, but for at least some of the 50 million dealing with the condition, hearing aids present an alluring possibility to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
Have more questions about tinnitus?
For more info on decreasing tinnitus symptoms, take a look at our tinnitus section or call for a consultation.
