Most estimates put the number of individuals affected by tinnitus in the millions or around one in every seven people. In some countries, the numbers are even higher and that’s pretty alarming.
True, tinnitus isn’t always chronic. But if you’re coping with chronic tinnitus symptoms it becomes imperative to find a treatment as soon as you can. Fortunately, there is a treatment that has proven to be quite effective: hearing aids.
There are some connections between hearing loss and tinnitus but they are in fact separate conditions. It’s possible to have tinnitus with normal hearing or to have hearing loss without also developing tinnitus. But if you are experiencing the two conditions simultaneously, which is fairly typical, hearing aids can treat both at the same time.
How Hearing Aids Can Help Tinnitus
Hearing aids have, according to one survey, been documented to give relief of tinnitus symptoms for up to 60% of participants. For 22% of those people, the relief was considerable. In spite of this, hearing aids are actually made to manage hearing loss not specifically tinnitus. The benefits seem to come by association. As such, hearing aids seem to be most practical if you have tinnitus and hearing loss.
Here’s how tinnitus symptoms can be decreased with hearing aids:
- Outside sounds are enhanced: When you experience loss of hearing, the volume of the world (or, at least, particular frequencies of the world) can fade away and become more silent. The ringing in your ears, then, is much more obvious. It’s the loudest thing you hear because it is not impacted by your hearing loss. The ringing or buzzing that was so prominent will be obscured when your hearing aid enhances the external sound. As you pay less and less attention to your tinnitus, it becomes less of an issue.
- It becomes less difficult to engage in conversations: Contemporary hearing aids are particularly effective at identifying human speech and raising the volume of those sounds. This means having a conversation can be much easier once you’re regularly wearing your devices. You can keep up with the story Carl is telling at the restaurant or listen to what Sally is excited about at work. When you have a balanced interactive social life tinnitus can seem to fade into the background. Interacting socially also helps reduce stress, which is associated with tinnitus.
- Your brain is getting an auditory workout: When you experience hearing loss, those regions of your brain tasked with interpreting sounds can frequently suffer from stress, fatigue, or atrophy. Tinnitus symptoms you may be experiencing can be reduced when the brain is in a healthy limber condition and hearing aids can help keep it that way.
The Benefits of Modern Hearing Aids
Modern hearing aids are smart. They include cutting edge hearing assistance algorithms and the latest technology. But it’s the ability to customize 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).
Personalizing hearing aids means that the sensitivity and output signals can conveniently be calibrated to the specific hearing levels you might have. The buzzing or humming is more likely to be successfully hidden if your hearing aid is dialed in to work best for you.
The Best Way to Get Rid of Tinnitus
This will most likely depend on your level of hearing loss. If you haven’t had 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 individuals out there who happen to suffer from both hearing impairment and tinnitus, a set of hearing aids may be able to do the old two-birds-one-stone thing. Managing your hearing loss with a good pair of hearing aids can often stop tinnitus from making your life miserable.