Around one in seven individuals are estimated to deal with tinnitus. That puts the total number in the millions. In some countries, the numbers are even higher and that’s pretty alarming.
Sometimes tinnitus is goes away on it’s own. But if you’re coping with chronic tinnitus symptoms it becomes crucial to find a treatment as soon as you can. Fortunately, there is a treatment that has proven to be really effective: hearing aids.
Hearing loss and tinnitus are related but distinct conditions. you can have hearing loss without tinnitus or tinnitus without hearing loss. But if you are going through the two conditions simultaneously, which is fairly typical, hearing aids can treat both at the same time.
How Can Tinnitus be Managed by Hearing Aids?
Hearing aids have, based on one survey, been documented to give relief of tinnitus symptoms for up to 60% of participants. Roughly 22% of those surveyed went so far as to report significant relief. However, hearing aids aren’t designed specifically to treat tinnitus. Association appears 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 successfully treat the tinnitus symptoms.
Here’s how hearing aids can help reduce tinnitus symptoms:
- External sounds are boosted: When you experience loss of hearing, the volume of the world (or, at least, certain wavelengths of the world) can fade away and become more silent. When that occurs the ringing in your ears becomes much more obvious. Hearing loss is not affecting the ringing so it becomes the most pronounced thing you hear. A hearing aid can enhance that surrounding sound, helping to mask the buzzing or ringing that was so forefront before. As you pay less and less attention to your tinnitus, it becomes less of an issue.
- It becomes less difficult to have conversations: Amplifying human speech is something modern hearing aids are particularly good at. This means carrying on a conversation can become much easier once you’re regularly using your devices. You can follow the story Carl is telling at happy hour or listen to what Nancy is excited about at work. When you have a balanced interactive social life tinnitus can appear to fade into the background. Sometimes, 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: Hearing loss has been confirmed to put stress on cognitive function. Tinnitus symptoms you may be experiencing can be decreased when the brain is in a healthy flexible condition and hearing aids can help keep it that way.
The Perks of Modern Hearing Aids
Smart Technology is built into modern hearing aids. They include innovative hearing assistance algorithms and the newest technology. But it’s the ability to personalize a hearing aid to the distinct user’s requirements that makes modern hearing aids so effective (sometimes, they recalibrate according to the level of background noise).
Whatever your specific hearing levels are, personalized hearing aids can easily be calibrated to them. The better your hearings aid works for you, the more likely they are to help you cover up the buzzing or humming from tinnitus.
The Best Way to Get Rid of Tinnitus
This will likely depend on your level of hearing impairment. There are still treatment solutions for your tinnitus even if you don’t have any hearing loss. Medication, cognitive behavioral therapy, or a custom masking device are some possible solutions.
However, if you’re one of the many people out there who happen to have both hearing loss and tinnitus, a pair of hearing aids could be able to do the old two-birds-one-stone thing. Stop tinnitus from making your life difficult by treating your hearing loss with a good set of hearing aids.