Scientists still haven’t determined 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 cope with hearing loss.
As you most likely know, your age, genetics, and lifestyle can all play a role in the progression of hearing loss. And while many individuals think of hearing loss as being obvious, the reality is that some minor hearing loss can go undetected. Unfortunately, your risk of developing hearing loss increases with even slight cases of hearing loss.
Hearing aids can’t cure tinnitus, but they can help manage 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 pretty remarkable.
The frequency range that a person loses hearing in is often 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 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 treated in other more advanced ways than traditional hearing aids.
Decrease symptoms of tinnitus with specialized hearing aids
Hearing aids work by picking up 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 teach your brain to receive certain 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 techniques like counseling, sound stimulation, and stress reduction 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 disrupted by the irregular rhythms of these fractal tones. The ringing is overwhelmed by pleasant, wind chime-like sounds generated by the most prevalent fractal tones rather than basic white noise which can also be helpful in some cases.
Blending natural sounds from your environment with your tinnitus is the aim of other specialized devices. 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 mechanism, 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 suffering from the condition, hearing aids provide an alluring possibility to reduce symptoms and live a better 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 decrease symptoms.
