Most estimates put the amount of people affected by tinnitus in the millions or around one out of every seven people. In a few countries, the numbers are even higher and that’s pretty startling.
Sometimes tinnitus is temporary. But in those instances where buzzing, ringing, or humming in your ears is tough to get rid of, finding an effective treatment can very quickly become a priority. Luckily, there is a treatment that has proven to be quite effective: hearing aids.
There are some links between tinnitus and hearing loss but they are actually 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, treating hearing loss and stopping tinnitus all at once.
How Hearing Aids Can Treat Tinnitus
Hearing aids have, based on one survey, been reported to give tinnitus relief to up to 60% of participants. Approximately 22% of those surveyed reported considerable relief. In spite of this, hearing aids are actually designed to deal with hearing loss not specifically tinnitus. Association seems to be the main reason for this benefit. As such, hearing aids appear to be most effective if you have tinnitus and hearing loss.
Here’s how hearing aids can help get rid of tinnitus symptoms:
- Outside sounds are boosted: When you experience loss of hearing, the volume of the outside world (or, at least, certain frequencies of the world) can fade away and become more silent. When that happens the ringing in your ears becomes a lot more noticeable. 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 masked when your hearing aid boosts the outside sound. As you tune out your tinnitus, it becomes less of an issue.
- Conversations become easier: Contemporary hearing aids are particularly good at identifying human speech and raising the volume of those sounds. This means carrying on a conversation can become much easier once you’re routinely using your devices. You will be more engaged with your co-worker’s story about their children 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.
- The increased audio stimulation is keeping your brain fit: When you have hearing loss, those portions of your brain charged with interpreting sounds can frequently suffer from stress, fatigue, or atrophy. Tinnitus symptoms you might be experiencing can be reduced when the brain is in a healthy pliable condition and hearing aids can help maintain this.
The Perks of Modern Hearing Aids
Smart Technology is built into modern hearing aids. They come with cutting edge hearing assistance algorithms and the newest technology. But the efficiency of modern hearing aids is attained in part because each device can be customized and calibrated on a patient-per-patient basis (sometimes, they recalibrate according to the level of background noise).
Customizing hearing aids means that the sensitivity and output signals can effortlessly be calibrated to the specific hearing levels you might have. The better your hearings aid works for you, the more likely they are to help you drown out the humming or buzzing from tinnitus.
What is The Best Way to Get Rid of Tinnitus?
Your degree of hearing impairment will determine what’s best for you. If you haven’t experienced any hearing loss, you’ll still have available treatments for your tinnitus. Medication, cognitive behavioral therapy, or a custom masking device are some possible solutions.
However, hearing aids might be able to take care of both situations if you have tinnitus and hearing loss at the same time. Treating your hearing loss with a good pair of hearing aids can often stop tinnitus from making your life miserable.