Around one in seven individuals are estimated to suffer from tinnitus. That puts the overall number in the millions. In some countries, the numbers are even higher and that’s pretty alarming.
Sometimes tinnitus is temporary. But if you’re coping with chronic tinnitus symptoms it becomes imperative to find a remedy as soon as you can. Fortunately, there is a remedy that has proven to be quite effective: hearing aids.
There are some links between hearing loss and tinnitus but they are in fact distinct conditions. It’s possible to experience tinnitus with normal hearing or to have hearing loss without also getting tinnitus. But if you’re going through the two conditions simultaneously, which is relatively typical, hearing aids can handle both at the same time.
How Hearing Aids Can Help Tinnitus
Hearing aids have, according to one survey, been reported to give relief of tinnitus symptoms for up to 60% of participants. For 22% of those individuals, the relief was significant. In spite of this, hearing aids are actually made to deal with hearing loss not specifically tinnitus. Association seems to be the principal reason for this benefit. So if you have tinnitus along with hearing loss then that’s when your hearing aids will most effectively treat the tinnitus symptoms.
Here’s how hearing aids can help get rid of tinnitus symptoms:
- Everything gets a little bit louder: The volume of some of the wavelengths of the world become quieter when have hearing loss. The ringing in your ears, then, is much more noticeable. Hearing loss is not decreasing the ringing so it becomes the loudest thing you hear. A hearing aid can increase that surrounding sound, helping to mask the ringing or buzzing that was so forefront before. Tinnitus becomes less of an issue as you pay less attention to it.
- Conversations become less difficult: Amplifying human speech is something contemporary hearing aids are particularly good at. This means having a conversation can become much easier once you’re regularly using your devices. You can follow the story Fred is telling at happy hour or listen to what Nancy is excited about at work. The more you interact with other people, the more social you are, the less you’ll detect your tinnitus. In some cases, 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 shown to put stress on mental function. Tinnitus symptoms you may be experiencing can be decreased when the brain is in a healthy limber condition and hearing aids can help maintain this.
The Advantages of Modern Hearing Aids
Smart Technology is built into modern hearing aids. To some extent, that’s because they feature the newest technologies and hearing assistance algorithms. But the efficiency of modern hearing aids is attained in part because each device can be refined and calibrated on a patient-per-patient basis (they can even detect the level of background noise and automatically adjust accordingly).
Customizing hearing aids means that the sensitivity and output signals can easily be adjusted to the particular hearing levels you may 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.
The Best Way to Get Rid of Tinnitus
This will probably depend on your level of hearing impairment. If you haven’t experienced any hearing loss, you’ll still have available 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 people out there who happen to suffer from both hearing impairment 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 managing your hearing loss with a good pair of hearing aids.