Scientists still haven’t pinpointed 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 suffer from hearing loss.
Some of the primary factors that contribute to hearing loss are genetics, age, and lifestyle. And while it may seem as if the symptoms of hearing loss would be pretty obvious, when it’s still in the early phases, it often goes unnoticed. Unfortunately, your risk of experiencing hearing loss increases with even mild cases of hearing loss.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help manage the symptoms
Tinnitus can’t be cured. However, hearing aids can manage both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can minimize symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. There are some fairly remarkable similarities between tinnitus and hearing loss, in fact.
The frequency range that a person loses hearing in is typically in sync with the pitch of their tinnitus symptoms. As an example, if someone has hearing loss in the high-frequency range, they will usually hear a high-pitched ringing from tinnitus. The idea 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 essentially hide the ringing or buzzing connected 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 treat the symptoms associated with tinnitus.
Specialized hearing aids to reduce tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids pick up environmental sounds and amplify frequencies you have trouble hearing. 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 critical in teaching your brain to experience certain stimulations once more.
But other combinations of strategies like sound stimulation, counseling, and minimizing stress can also be used to improve those amplification efforts and supply a more complete treatment approach.
Some manufacturers even utilize the irregular rhythm of fractal tones to reduce the symptoms of tinnitus. Tinnitus sufferers typically hear tones that are constant 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 supply a pleasant sound that overwhelms the ringing.
Other specialized devices try to mix your tinnitus in with the natural sounds you’re hearing. 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..
The common goal of these methods is to help the user ignore tinnitus symptoms whether it’s by employing 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 provide an alluring possibility to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
Want to discuss your tinnitus with a hearing specialist?
For more information on decreasing tinnitus symptoms, take a look at our tinnitus section or call for a consultation.
