Scientists still haven’t identified 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.
Some of the primary factors that play a role in hearing loss are genetics, age, and lifestyle. And while many people think of hearing loss as being obvious, the reality is that some mild hearing loss can go unnoticed. Still worse, even a slight case of hearing loss increases your risk and likelihood of experiencing tinnitus.
It’s not a cure, but hearing aids can help treat tinnitus
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing loss and tinnitus symptoms can be improved along with quality of life by using hearing aids. There are some pretty remarkable similarities between tinnitus and hearing loss, as a matter of fact.
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 often hear a high-pitched ringing from tinnitus. The concept is that the brain tries to compensate for the missing frequencies by creating tinnitus sounds in the same frequency range.
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 solutions beyond just traditional hearing aids to manage the symptoms associated with tinnitus.
Specialized hearing aids to lessen 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 din of a dinner party or the rattle of a ceiling fan, is critical in training your brain to receive certain stimulations again.
But other combinations of methods like sound stimulation, counseling, and decreasing stress can also be used to augment those amplification efforts and provide a more comprehensive treatment approach.
Some hearing aid manufacturers attempt to decrease tinnitus symptoms with the use of the irregular rhythms of fractal tones. 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 drowns out the ringing.
Blending 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 specific tinnitus symptoms..
Whether it’s through sound therapy, blending, or a white noise system, each of these specialized devices has a common goal of distracting the user away from the ringing or buzzing of tinnitus.
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?
If you’re experiencing ringing or buzzing in the ears, take a look at our tinnitus section for more information on ways to reduce symptoms.