The cause of tinnitus, a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, has long perplexed 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 most likely know, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all contribute to the progression of hearing loss. And while it might seem as if the symptoms of hearing loss would be rather obvious, when it’s still in the early stages, it often goes undetected. Unfortunately, your risk of developing hearing loss increases with even slight cases of hearing loss.
It’s not a cure, but hearing aids can help manage tinnitus
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing aids can manage both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can decrease symptoms and enhance one’s quality of life. There are some fairly remarkable similarities between tinnitus and hearing loss, as a matter of fact.
The frequency range that a person loses hearing in is typically in sync with the pitch of their tinnitus symptoms. For instance, a person 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. Here’s the good thing, there are other, more advanced options 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 hearing aids have a simple concept, they help teach your brain to receive certain stimulation again by amplifying noises like the rattling of a ceiling fan or the din of a dinner party.
But other combinations of strategies like sound stimulation, counseling, and reducing stress can also be utilized to enhance those amplification efforts and supply a more complete treatment approach.
Some manufacturers even use the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to reduce the symptoms of tinnitus. These rhythmically irregular tones can detract from the consistent and regular tones tinnitus sufferers hear. The ringing is drowned out by soothing, wind chime-like sounds generated by the most prevalent fractal tones rather than simple white noise which can also be helpful in some cases.
Other specialized devices try to mix your tinnitus in with the environmental sounds you’re hearing. This strategy will typically utilize a white noise signal that a hearing specialist can adjust to ensure accurate 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 goal of distracting the user away from the ringing or buzzing of tinnitus.
It’s true that tinnitus can’t be cured, but for at least some of the 50 million dealing with the condition, hearing aids present an attractive possibility to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
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 minimize symptoms.