The cause of tinnitus, a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, has long puzzled scientists. Hearing specialists, however, do agree that tinnitus is more prevalent in people who also have hearing loss.
As you probably know, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all play a role in the development 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 phases, it often goes undetected. Still worse, even a mild case of hearing loss increases your risk and likelihood of developing tinnitus.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help treat the symptoms
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, hearing loss and tinnitus symptoms can be improved along with quality of life by using hearing aids. As a matter of fact, the similarities between hearing loss and tinnitus are rather remarkable.
The pitch or frequency of the ringing one hears when dealing with tinnitus is usually in sync with the type of hearing loss that person has. As an example, if somebody has hearing loss in the high-frequency range, they will frequently hear a high-pitched ringing from tinnitus. Some individuals believe this parallel to be a result of the brain attempting to compensate for a lack of acoustic activation at that level by generating a similarly pitched tone of its own.
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 treated in other more advanced ways than traditional hearing aids.
Specialized hearing aids to reduce tinnitus symptoms
Hearing aids work by gathering natural sounds from your environment and boosting them to a level that allows you to hear. Even though hearing aids have a simple concept, they help train your brain to receive certain stimulation again by amplifying noises like the rattle of a ceiling fan or the buzz of a dinner party.
But you can augment those amplification endeavors with a combination of other techniques like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress management for a more comprehensive approach to treatment.
Some manufacturers even use 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. The ringing is drowned out by pleasant, wind chime-like sounds generated by the most common fractal tones instead of basic white noise which can also be helpful in some cases.
Other specialty devices attempt to mix your tinnitus in with the environmental sounds you’re hearing. This strategy will typically use a white noise signal that a hearing specialist can program to ensure proper calibration for your ear and your condition.
The common objective of these approaches is to help the user ignore tinnitus symptoms whether it’s by employing white noise systems, sound therapy, or blending.
Though tinnitus has no cure, hearing aids can help decrease the severity of the symptoms and enhance quality of life, which is an attractive feature for the 50 million people who use hearing aids.
Want to talk about your tinnitus with a hearing professional?
If you’re experiencing ringing or buzzing in the ears, check out our tinnitus section for more information on ways to decrease symptoms.