Around one in seven people are estimated to suffer from tinnitus. That puts the overall number in the millions. That’s… a lot of people, both in actual terms and relative to the general population, and in a few countries, the percentage of the population who experience tinnitus is even more alarming.
Sometimes tinnitus is goes away on it’s own. But in those instances where ringing, buzzing, or humming in your ears is hard to shake, finding an effective treatment can very quickly become a priority. Fortunately, there is a remedy that has proven to be quite effective: hearing aids.
Hearing loss and tinnitus are related but distinct conditions. It’s possible to experience tinnitus with average hearing or to have hearing loss without also developing tinnitus. But the two conditions occur together frequently enough that hearing aids have become a practical solution, managing hearing loss and ending tinnitus all at once.
How Can Tinnitus be Helped by Hearing Aids?
According to one survey, 60% of people with tinnitus noticed some amount of relief when they started using hearing aids. Approximately 22% of everyone surveyed reported considerable relief. However, hearing aids aren’t designed specifically to treat tinnitus. Association appears 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 hearing aids can help stop tinnitus symptoms:
- Outside sounds are boosted: The volume of some of the wavelengths of the world become quieter when you are suffering from hearing loss. When that occurs the ringing in your ears becomes much more noticeable. It’s the loudest thing you hear because it is not impacted by your hearing loss. The ringing or buzzing that was so obvious will be obscured when your hearing aid enhances the outside sound. Tinnitus becomes less of a problem as you pay less attention to it.
- It becomes less difficult to have conversations: Increasing the volume of human speech is something modern hearing aids are particularly good at. So once you’re wearing your hearing aids regularly, having conversations becomes much easier. You can follow the story Fred 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 notice your tinnitus. Socializing also helps reduce stress, which is related to tinnitus.
- Your brain is getting an auditory workout: Hearing loss has been confirmed to put stress on cognitive function. Wearing a hearing aid can keep the audio regions of your brain limber and healthy, which in turn can help decrease certain tinnitus symptoms you may be experiencing.
The Perks of Modern Hearing Aids
Modern hearing aids are smart. To some degree, that’s because they integrate the latest 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-by-patient basis (sometimes, they recalibrate according to the amount of background noise).
Personalizing hearing aids means that the sensitivity and output signals can easily be calibrated to the particular hearing levels you may have. The better your hearings aid works for you, the more likely they are to help you cover up the buzzing or humming from tinnitus.
What is The Best Way to Get Rid of Tinnitus?
This will probably depend on your degree of hearing loss. There are still treatment options for your tinnitus even if you don’t have any hearing impairment. That could mean custom-created masking devices, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or medication.
However, hearing aids might 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 miserable by managing your hearing loss with a good set of hearing aids.