Around one out of every seven people are estimated to suffer from tinnitus. That puts the overall number in the millions. In a few countries, the numbers are even higher and that’s pretty startling.
True, tinnitus isn’t always chronic. But if you’re dealing with chronic tinnitus symptoms it becomes crucial to find a solution as soon as possible. One of the most effective of such solutions is already quite common: hearing aids.
There are some connections between hearing loss and tinnitus but they are actually distinct conditions. you can have hearing loss without tinnitus or tinnitus without hearing loss. But the two conditions coexist often enough that hearing aids have become a dependable solution, treating hearing loss and ending tinnitus in one fell swoop.
How Hearing Aids Can Help Tinnitus
According to one survey, 60% of individuals with tinnitus reported some measure of relief when they began using hearing aids. For 22% of those people, the relief was considerable. Despite this, hearing aids are actually designed to deal with hearing loss not specifically tinnitus. Association seems to be the principal reason for this benefit. As such, hearing aids seem to be most effective if you have tinnitus and hearing loss.
Here’s how tinnitus symptoms can be decreased with hearing aids:
- Outside sounds are boosted: The volume of certain wavelengths of the world become quieter when have hearing loss. When that occurs the ringing in your ears becomes a lot more obvious. It’s the loudest thing you hear because it is not impacted by your hearing loss. A hearing aid can increase that ambient sound, helping to mask the buzzing or ringing that was so prominent before. Tinnitus becomes less of an issue as you pay less attention to it.
- It gets easier to engage in conversations: Modern hearing aids are particularly effective at identifying human speech and raising the volume of those sounds. This means carrying on a conversation can be much easier once you’re regularly wearing your devices. You can follow the story Carl is telling at happy hour or listen to what Sally is excited about at work. The more you socialize with other people, the more social you are, the less you’ll detect your tinnitus. Socializing also helps minimize stress, which is related to tinnitus.
- The increased audio stimulation is keeping your brain fit: When you have hearing loss, those portions of your brain charged with interpreting sounds can often suffer from fatigue, stress, or atrophy. Using a hearing aid can keep the audio centers of your brain flexible and healthy, which as a result can help minimize some tinnitus symptoms you might be experiencing.
The Perks of Modern Hearing Aids
Modern hearing aids are intelligent. They come with cutting edge hearing assistance algorithms and the latest technology. But the effectiveness of modern hearing aids is attained in part because each device can be refined and calibrated on a patient-by-patient basis (they can even sense the level of background noise and automatically adjust accordingly).
Whatever your specific hearing levels are, customized hearing aids can easily be calibrated to them. The buzzing or humming is more likely to be effectively hidden if your hearing aid is dialed in to work best for you.
What is The Best Way to End Tinnitus?
Your level of hearing loss will determine what’s right for you. If you haven’t had any hearing loss, you’ll still have accessible treatments for your tinnitus. Cognitive behavioral therapy, a custom masking device, or medication are some possible options.
But, hearing aids may be able to take care of both situations if you have tinnitus and hearing loss at the same time. Stop tinnitus from making your life difficult by managing your hearing loss with a good pair of hearing aids.