You’ve probably heard some ringing in your ears at one point in your life or another. That ringing is called tinnitus. At any given time 15-20% percent of people, according to many studies, experience tinnitus. Normally, it’s not lasting. But chronic tinnitus, a ringing that won’t go away, can be annoying and upsetting. The most prevalent treatment for tinnitus is, thankfully, relatively simple: hearing aids.
Dealing With Persistent Tinnitus
Some of the many reasons why tinnitus happens are pretty simple to figure out, others not as much. Tinnitus can also manifest as a wide variety of subjective and objective noises, from thumping to clanging to metallic buzz-saw noises, whatever loud symphony your ears can produce.
And tinnitus becomes more obnoxious as the sounds become louder. Difficulty communicating, mental health declines, and interruption of your day to day life can be the eventual result.
Hearing Aids And Tinnitus
While hearing aids don’t necessarily “cure” tinnitus they are very good at dealing with some of the more pronounced symptoms. Hearing aids are able to accomplish this in several ways.
Bringing The Ringing to a Less Noticeable Level
Tinnitus and hearing loss commonly manifest hand in hand. Occasionally, they have the same underlying cause, but often they don’t. But it’s quite likely that your tinnitus will worsen as your hearing loss declines. There’s less competition, and that ringing or buzzing can really be noticeable (it’s like winning American Idol in a year with sub-par contestants).
When you’re using hearing aids the sounds of the outside world will be turned up. Once again your tinnitus will, to your relief, disappear into the background. This can help you give attention to and enjoy the day-to-day.
Canceling Out The Noise
Naturally, overwhelming your tinnitus is not the same thing as masking your tinnitus. So to help manage your ringing and buzzing, many modern hearing aids use a type of noise cancellation technology. Certain white noise frequencies can be programmed into your hearing aids that can help minimize tinnitus symptoms. Using this type of technology, you will be less aware of tinnitus noises.
This capability isn’t provided on all hearing aids, so you’ll need to check with us to find out what will work best for you.
Most kinds of chronic tinnitus can’t be cured. But you can still find ways to handle it. A precisely calibrated hearing aid can enable you to live your life more fully and experience the joys of the world without being overcome by buzzing, ringing, or any other tinnitus-related sounds. For most people who live with tinnitus, hearing aids are a good choice.
