The cause of tinnitus, a continual ringing or buzzing in the ears, has long perplexed scientists. 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 principal factors that contribute to hearing loss are genetics, age, and lifestyle. And while many individuals think of hearing loss as being obvious, the truth is that some minor hearing loss can go unobserved. Still worse, even a minor case of hearing loss increases your risk and likelihood of developing tinnitus.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help manage the symptoms
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing aids can treat both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can reduce symptoms and enhance one’s quality of life. In fact, the similarities between hearing loss and tinnitus are pretty remarkable.
The frequency range that a person loses hearing in is typically in sync with the pitch of their tinnitus symptoms. For instance, someone who hears high-pitched ringing from tinnitus might suffer from high-frequency hearing loss. The idea is that the brain tries to compensate for the missing frequencies by creating tinnitus sounds in the same frequency range.
Tinnitus sounds can be essentially “masked” by a hearing aid which can drown out the offending sound and replace it with one that’s supposed to be heard. Luckily, tinnitus symptoms can be treated in other more advanced ways than traditional hearing aids.
Specialized hearing aids to lessen 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, whether it’s the hum of a dinner party or the rattle of a ceiling fan, is critical in teaching your brain to receive certain stimulations once more.
But you can improve those amplification efforts with a combination of other strategies like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress management 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 usually hear tones that are consistent and regular which can sometimes be disrupted by the irregular rhythms of these fractal tones. While white noise devices are available, the most common fractal tones are similar to wind chimes that provide a soothing sound that drowns out the ringing.
Blending 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 adjust to ensure proper calibration for your ear and your condition.
Whether it’s through sound therapy, blending, or a white noise system, 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 suffering from the condition, hearing aids present an attractive possibility to reduce symptoms and live a better quality of life.
Want to discuss 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.