Around one out of every seven individuals are estimated to suffer from tinnitus. That puts the overall number in the millions. That’s… a lot of people, both in absolute terms and in relation to the general population, and in a few countries, the percentage of the population who experience tinnitus is even more startling.
Sometimes tinnitus is goes away on it’s own. But in those cases where buzzing, ringing, or humming in your ears is hard to get rid of, finding a reliable treatment can very quickly become a priority. One of the most beneficial of such remedies is already rather common: hearing aids.
Hearing loss and tinnitus are connected but distinct conditions. It’s possible to experience tinnitus with average hearing or to have hearing loss without also getting tinnitus. But if you’re experiencing the two conditions simultaneously, which is fairly typical, hearing aids can treat both at the same time.
How Hearing Aids Can Treat 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. Despite this, hearing aids are actually designed to treat hearing loss not specifically tinnitus. Association appears to be the principal reason for this benefit. As such, hearing aids seem to be most practical if you have tinnitus and hearing loss.
Here’s how hearing aids can help get rid of tinnitus symptoms:
- Outside sounds are boosted: The volume of some of the wavelengths of the world become quieter when have hearing loss. When that occurs the ringing in your ears becomes a lot more noticeable. Hearing loss is not reducing the ringing so it becomes the loudest thing you hear. A hearing aid can boost that surrounding sound, helping to mask the buzzing or ringing that was so forefront before. Tinnitus becomes less of an issue as you pay less attention to it.
- Conversations become less difficult: Contemporary hearing aids are particularly effective at identifying human speech and raising the volume of those sounds. So once you’re using your hearing aids regularly, carrying on conversations becomes much easier. You will be more involved with your co-worker’s story about their kids and better able to participate with your spouse about how their day went. When you have a healthy involved social life tinnitus can seem to fade into the background. Socializing also helps decrease stress, which is associated with tinnitus.
- The increased audio stimulation is keeping your brain fit: Hearing loss has been confirmed to put a strain on cognitive function. Tinnitus symptoms you may be experiencing can be decreased when the brain is in a healthy limber condition and hearing aids can help keep it that way.
Modern Hearing Aids Come With Several Benefits
Smart Technology is built into modern hearing aids. They include cutting edge hearing assistance algorithms and the latest technology. But the effectiveness of modern hearing aids is accomplished in part because each device can be customized and calibrated on a patient-per-patient basis (they can even sense the amount of background noise and automatically recalibrate accordingly).
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 mask the humming or buzzing from tinnitus.
The Best Way to Get Rid of Tinnitus
Your degree of hearing impairment will dictate what’s best for you. There are still treatment solutions for your tinnitus even if you don’t have any hearing loss. That could mean custom-made masking devices, medication, or cognitive behavioral therapy.
However, if you’re one of the many individuals out there who happen to suffer from both hearing loss and tinnitus, a pair of hearing aids could be able to do the old two-birds-one-stone thing. Managing your hearing loss with a good set of hearing aids can often stop tinnitus from making your life miserable.