Most estimates put the amount of people affected by tinnitus in the millions or around one in every seven people. That’s… a lot of people, both in absolute terms and in relation to the general population, and in a few countries, the amount of the population who experience tinnitus is even more startling.
True, tinnitus isn’t always recurring. But if you’re coping with persistent tinnitus symptoms it becomes imperative to find a treatment as soon as you can. One of the most beneficial of such remedies is already rather common: hearing aids.
Tinnitus and hearing loss are connected but distinct conditions. you can have hearing loss without tinnitus or tinnitus without hearing loss. But the two conditions occur together frequently enough that hearing aids have become a practical solution, treating hearing loss and stopping tinnitus in one fell swoop.
How Can Tinnitus be Helped by Hearing Aids?
Hearing aids have, according to one survey, been documented to give relief of tinnitus symptoms for up to 60% of participants. Approximately 22% of those surveyed reported considerable relief. Despite this, hearing aids are actually made to deal with hearing loss not specifically tinnitus. The benefits seem to come by association. So if you have tinnitus and hearing loss then that’s when your hearing aids will most successfully treat the tinnitus symptoms.
Here’s how hearing aids can help get rid of tinnitus symptoms:
- Outside sounds are boosted: When you experience hearing loss, the volume of the world (or, at least, specific frequencies of the world) can fade away and become quieter. When that happens the ringing in your ears becomes much more noticeable. Hearing loss is not decreasing the ringing so it becomes the most pronounced thing you hear. The buzzing or ringing that was so prominent will be obscured when your hearing aid enhances the outside sound. As you pay less and less attention to your tinnitus, it becomes less of a problem.
- It becomes less difficult to engage in conversations: Increasing the volume of human speech is something contemporary hearing aids are particularly good at. So once you’re using your hearing aids on a regular basis, having conversations becomes a lot easier. You can keep up with the story Carl is telling at happy hour or listen to what Sally is excited about at work. The more you interact 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 enhanced audio stimulation is keeping your brain fit: Hearing loss has been proven to put a strain on mental function. Using a hearing aid can keep the audio regions of your brain flexible and healthy, which in turn can help reduce certain tinnitus symptoms you may be experiencing.
Modern Hearing Aids Come With Several Advantages
Modern hearing aids are smart. They include cutting edge hearing assistance algorithms and the newest technology. But it’s the ability to personalize a hearing aid to the specific user’s needs that makes modern hearing aids so effective (sometimes, they recalibrate according to the amount of background noise).
Whatever your particular hearing levels are, customized hearing aids can easily be calibrated to them. 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 Stop Tinnitus
Your degree of hearing impairment will determine what’s best for you. There are still treatment options for your tinnitus even if you don’t have any hearing loss. That could mean custom-made masking devices, medication, or cognitive behavioral therapy.
But, 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. Treating your hearing loss with a good set of hearing aids can often stop tinnitus from making your life miserable.