Scientists still haven’t determined the cause of tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in the ears. Hearing specialists, however, do agree that tinnitus is more prevalent in people who also have hearing loss.
Some of the principal factors that play a role in hearing loss are genetics, age, and lifestyle. And while many individuals think of hearing loss as being obvious, the truth is that some mild hearing loss can go unobserved. Worse, even a minor 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 aids can treat both hearing loss and tinnitus in ways that can minimize symptoms and enhance one’s quality of life. 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 usually in sync with the pitch of their tinnitus symptoms. For example, a person who hears high-pitched ringing from tinnitus may suffer from high-frequency hearing loss. The concept 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 effectively hide the ringing or buzzing connected with tinnitus by replacing it with the appropriate sounds. Luckily, tinnitus symptoms can be managed in other more advanced ways than traditional hearing aids.
Lessen symptoms of tinnitus with specialized hearing aids
Hearing aids pick up environmental sounds and amplify frequencies you have trouble hearing. Even though hearing aids have a simple concept, they help train your brain to receive particular stimulation again by boosting noises like the rattling of a ceiling fan or the buzz of a dinner party.
But you can improve those amplification endeavors with a mix of other methods like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress management for a more extensive approach to treatment.
Some manufacturers even use 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 produced by the most prevalent fractal tones instead of basic white noise which can also be helpful in some cases.
Other specialty devices try to mix your tinnitus in with the environmental 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 decrease your particular tinnitus symptoms..
Whether it’s through sound therapy, blending, or a white noise mechanism, 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 decrease the severity of the symptoms and enhance quality of life, which is an alluring feature for the 50 million people who use hearing aids.
Want to talk about your tinnitus with a hearing specialist?
If you’re experiencing ringing or buzzing in the ears, take a look at our tinnitus section for more information on ways to decrease symptoms.