Around one out of every seven individuals are estimated to suffer from 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 temporary. But in those cases where ringing, buzzing, or humming in your ears is difficult to shake, finding a reliable treatment can very quickly become a priority. Luckily, there is a treatment that has proven to be really 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 frequently enough that hearing aids have become a dependable solution, managing hearing loss and stopping tinnitus in one fell swoop.
How Hearing Aids Can Treat Tinnitus
Hearing aids have, according to one survey, been documented to give tinnitus relief to up to 60% of participants. Approximately 22% of those surveyed went so far as to report significant relief. In spite of this, hearing aids are actually made to deal with 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 hearing aids can help get rid of tinnitus symptoms:
- External sounds are enhanced: When you have hearing loss, the volume of the world (or, at least, particular wavelengths of the world) can fall away and become quieter. The ringing in your ears, in that situation, is much more obvious. It’s the loudest thing you hear because it is not diminished by your hearing loss. A hearing aid can increase that surrounding sound, helping to drown out the buzzing or ringing that was so forefront before. Tinnitus becomes less of a problem as you pay less attention to it.
- It becomes less difficult to engage in 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 routinely using your devices. You can follow the story Fred is telling at the restaurant or listen to what Nancy is excited about at work. When you have a balanced involved social life tinnitus can seem to fade into the background. Sometimes, tinnitus is intensified 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 proven to put stress on cognitive function. Wearing a hearing aid can keep the audio centers of your brain flexible and healthy, which in turn can help decrease some tinnitus symptoms you might be experiencing.
The Perks of Modern Hearing Aids
Modern hearing aids are smart. To some degree, that’s because they incorporate the latest technologies and hearing assistance algorithms. But it’s the ability to personalize a hearing aid to the distinct user’s needs that makes modern hearing aids so effective (sometimes, they recalibrate based on the level of background noise).
Personalizing hearing aids means that the sensitivity and output signals can effortlessly be calibrated to the specific hearing levels you might have. The humming or buzzing is more likely to be effectively masked if your hearing aid is dialed in to work best for you.
What is The Best Way to End Tinnitus?
This will probably depend on your degree of hearing impairment. If you haven’t experienced any hearing loss, you’ll still have accessible treatment options for your tinnitus. Cognitive behavioral therapy, a custom masking device, or medication are some possible solutions.
However, if you’re one of the many individuals out there who happen to have both hearing loss and tinnitus, a set of hearing aids might 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.