Around one in seven people are estimated to deal with tinnitus. That puts the overall number in the millions. In some countries, the numbers are even higher and that’s pretty alarming.
Sometimes tinnitus is temporary. But if you’re dealing with chronic tinnitus symptoms it becomes imperative to find a solution as soon as possible. Fortunately, there is a treatment that has proven to be rather effective: hearing aids.
There are some connections between tinnitus and hearing loss but they are in fact distinct conditions. you can have hearing loss without tinnitus or tinnitus without hearing loss. But if you’re going through the two conditions simultaneously, which is pretty typical, hearing aids can treat both at the same time.
How Can Tinnitus be Treated by Hearing Aids?
Hearing aids have, according to one study, been reported to give relief of tinnitus symptoms for up to 60% of participants. Roughly 22% of everyone surveyed went so far as to report considerable relief. However, hearing aids are not manufactured specifically to treat tinnitus. The benefits appear to come by association. So if you have tinnitus along with hearing loss then that’s when your hearing aids will most effectively treat the tinnitus symptoms.
Here’s how tinnitus symptoms can be decreased with hearing aids:
- Everything gets a little bit louder: When you experience hearing loss, the volume of the world (or, at least, certain wavelengths of the world) can fall away and become quieter. When that occurs the ringing in your ears becomes a lot more obvious. It’s the loudest thing you’re hearing because it is not diminished by your hearing loss. A hearing aid can increase that surrounding sound, helping to drown out the ringing or buzzing that was so forefront before. Tinnitus becomes less of an issue as you pay less attention to it.
- It becomes less difficult to have conversations: Modern hearing aids are particularly good at identifying human speech and amplifying those sounds. This means carrying on a conversation can become much easier once you’re regularly wearing your devices. You can follow the story Carl is telling at happy hour or listen to what Sally is excited about at work. The more you connect with others, the more social you are, the less you’ll detect your tinnitus. At times, tinnitus is worsened by stress so being able to socialize can helps in this way too.
- The enhanced audio stimulation is keeping your brain fit: When you have hearing loss, those regions of your brain charged with interpreting sounds can frequently suffer from stress, fatigue, or atrophy. Tinnitus symptoms you might be experiencing can be decreased when the brain is in a healthy flexible condition and hearing aids can help keep it that way.
The Benefits of Modern Hearing Aids
Modern hearing aids are smart. To some degree, that’s because they integrate the latest technologies and hearing assistance algorithms. But it’s the ability to customize a hearing aid to the specific user’s needs that makes modern hearing aids so effective (they can even detect the amount of background noise and automatically adjust accordingly).
Customizing hearing aids means that the sensitivity and output signals can effortlessly be calibrated to the particular hearing levels you might have. The buzzing or humming is more likely to be successfully masked if your hearing aid is dialed in to work best for you.
The Best Way to Get Rid of Tinnitus
This will probably depend on your level of hearing loss. If you haven’t experienced any hearing loss, you’ll still have available treatments for your tinnitus. Cognitive behavioral therapy, a custom masking device, or medication are some possible options.
But, hearing aids might be able to take care of both situations if you have tinnitus and hearing loss at the same time. Stop tinnitus from making your life miserable by managing your hearing loss with a good pair of hearing aids.