Most estimates put the number of people impacted by tinnitus in the millions or about one out of every seven people. In some countries, the numbers are even higher and that’s pretty alarming.
Sometimes tinnitus is goes away on it’s own. But in those instances where buzzing, ringing, or humming in your ears is difficult to shake, finding an effective treatment can very quickly become a priority. Fortunately, there is a treatment that has proven to be quite effective: hearing aids.
Hearing loss and tinnitus are connected but separate conditions. you can have hearing loss without tinnitus or tinnitus without hearing loss. But both conditions coexist often enough that hearing aids have become a practical solution, managing hearing loss and stopping tinnitus all at once.
How Can Tinnitus be Helped by Hearing Aids?
According to one study, 60% of individuals with tinnitus noticed some amount of relief when they began using hearing aids. For 22% of those people, the relief was significant. In spite of this, hearing aids are actually designed to manage hearing loss not specifically tinnitus. Association seems to be the main reason for this benefit. So if you have tinnitus and 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 outside world (or, at least, particular wavelengths of the world) can fall away and become quieter. The ringing in your ears, in that situation, is a lot more obvious. It’s the loudest thing you’re hearing because it is not diminished by your hearing loss. The buzzing or ringing that was so obvious will be obscured when your hearing aid boosts the external sound. As you pay less and less attention to your tinnitus, it becomes less of an issue.
- Conversations become less difficult: Contemporary hearing aids are particularly effective at identifying human speech and amplifying those sounds. So once you’re using your hearing aids on a regular basis, carrying on conversations gets a lot easier. You will be more involved with your co-worker’s story about their kids and better able to participate with your spouse about how their day went. The more you socialize with others, the more social you are, the less you’ll notice your tinnitus. In some cases, tinnitus is worsened by stress so being able to socialize can helps in this way too.
- Your brain is getting an auditory workout: Hearing loss has been confirmed to put a strain on mental function. Tinnitus symptoms you may be experiencing can be decreased when the brain is in a healthy pliable condition and hearing aids can help keep it that way.
Modern Hearing Aids Come With Several Advantages
Smart Technology is incorporated into modern hearing aids. They come with cutting edge hearing assistance algorithms and the latest technology. But the effectiveness of modern hearing aids is accomplished in part because each device can be customized and calibrated on a patient-per-patient basis (they can even sense the level of background noise and automatically adjust accordingly).
Whatever your specific hearing levels are, personalized hearing aids can effortlessly be calibrated to them. The humming or buzzing is more likely to be effectively masked if your hearing aid is dialed in to work best for you.
The Best Way to Get Rid of Tinnitus
This will likely depend on your degree 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.
However, if you’re one of the many people out there who happen to have both hearing loss and tinnitus, a set of hearing aids could be able to do the old two-birds-one-stone thing. Stop tinnitus from making your life miserable by treating your hearing loss with a good pair of hearing aids.