Tinnitus is not new. But it might be the first time you have had to cope with it. Usually, though not always, tinnitus presents as an incessant buzzing or ringing in the ears. Often, the sound is really intense. Symptoms vary considerably, but this is the point: you are most likely looking for new ways of dealing with your tinnitus if it’s something that’s bothering you.
The good news is that new therapies and treatments are being formulated that aren’t cures for tinnitus but can help you deal with it. Your tongue is even involved in certain of those treatments.
Newest Approaches to Tinnitus
One of the newest therapies for tinnitus sounds somewhat weird at first but does seem to show some hope. Both the tongue and the ear are stimulated with this device developed at the Trinity School of Medicine in Dublin. Bi-modal neurostimulation is the technical term for this approach.
As outlined by the first tests of this device, the results were pretty striking. 12 weeks was about the duration that most individuals were treated. Over those 12 months, those same individuals observed a dramatic reduction in tinnitus symptoms. But until the testing phase is complete it won’t be extensively available.
What Can I do Now to Find Tinnitus Relief?
Unfortunately, it will most likely be quite some time before novel solutions such as this are widely accessible. So maybe you’re wondering what you can do now to help manage your tinnitus.
Fortunately, there are some newer tinnitus management devices on the market now. And one of the best new ways to manage tinnitus is something you’ve most likely already heard of: your hearing aid.
Here’s the way it works:
External sounds are boosted by hearing aids. One reason why tinnitus is more obvious as your hearing wanes is that the ringing is the only thing that stays loud while everything else becomes quieter. The volume of the exterior world is raised by hearing aids. By raising the volume of outside sounds, your tinnitus sounds will often vanish into the background.
There is a noise masking device comparable to a modern hearing aid. A masking device may be the answer if your hearing loss is mild. A hearing aid has a comparable appearance to a masking device. And masking technology can be combined with modern hearing aids. This technology will produce sounds specially designed to mask your tinnitus symptoms. Whatever sound will best mask the ringing in your ears will be used, from white noise to a specific tone.
Needless to say, this is just a starting point. We can demonstrate devices that work best with tinnitus. Give us a call.