How Do Hearing Aids Help with Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a common auditory symptom experienced by numerous Americans across the country. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, about 15% of the general population experiences some form of tinnitus. Although tinnitus is not regarded as a disease, it can affect your daily activities significantly. Fortunately, there are various treatments to help you deal with the sensation of tinnitus and help put your life on track – a common one being hearing aids. This article takes a quick look at how hearing aids help tinnitus.

What is Tinnitus?

Before discussing how hearing aids help tinnitus, it is essential to look at what tinnitus is, its causes and its symptoms. Tinnitus is the ringing of the ear. Many living with tinnitus also describe hearing a hissing, whistling, roaring or clicking sound. Usually, it is assumed that experiencing tinnitus is an indication of pending hearing loss. However, this is quite untrue as many experts have noted that this symptom is associated with hearing loss and necessarily the cause of it. 

The causes of tinnitus are vast. In many cases, a lifestyle of being exposed to constant loud noises such as working on a construction site or listening to music at high volumes has been a cause of tinnitus. Certain antibiotics, aspirin and anti-inflammatory medications have been known to cause tinnitus. 

Another common cause of tinnitus is old age. As you age, your ear health declines as various parts of the auditory system, such as the cochlea, begin to deteriorate. Various diseases such as allergies, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes can also create the sensation of tinnitus. 

In many cases, people experiencing tinnitus would feel a ringing, clicking, hissing or buzzing sound that no one else can hear. These sounds may be loud and could be for a short period or an entire day. 

Tinnitus is treatable using various techniques and devices, such as hearing aids.

How Do Hearing Aids Help with Tinnitus?

Although hearing aids have been a great solution to helping people with hearing loss, various properties of these devices make them a great solution for tinnitus. Hearing aids give the wearer the ability to control the amount of noise around them. This is advantageous for people experiencing tinnitus as they can amplify the sounds around them to drown out the ringing in their ears. This is because the brain is forced to focus on clearer background noises and not the ringing. 

Another way hearing aids help with tinnitus is that it offers tinnitus therapy. Over the years, hearing aids have been upgraded to make the life of wearers easier and enjoyable. Certain hearing aids produce white sounds to drown out or decrease the sound of the tinnitus. This, in turn, helps the brain tone down the effects of the tinnitus symptoms every day.

The type of hearing aids you would need would depend on several factors, such as your age, the type of tinnitus and its severity. You should speak to an audiologist for expert advice and consultation.