At its worst, living with tinnitus can be debilitating. Making matters worse is the notion that there’s nothing you can do about it. Here at Bay Area Audiology, we want you to know that there are ways to reduce the symptoms of tinnitus, and to help you get your life back. Audiologists are more equipped to address these concerns than ever before. Today, we’ll explain how hearing aids help tinnitus.
Can Hearing Aids Help You?
Simply put, if you have hearing loss in addition to tinnitus, hearing aids will likely be a big help for you. In fact, if you do have tinnitus, the odds are very good that you have some degree of hearing loss as well. This is because tinnitus is generally caused by damage to the sensitive auditory cells on the hairs of the inner ear—also one of the primary causes of hearing loss.
Even if you’re not sure if you are a sufferer of hearing loss yourself, the statistics about how hearing aids help tinnitus are encouraging. One study found that 60% of tinnitus suffers experienced relief with the help of hearing aids. Among these, as many as one-fifth reported they experienced “major relief.” Fewer than 40% experienced no relief at all.
How Exactly Do They Help?
To the uninitiated, it might not be immediately obvious how hearing aids help tinnitus. After all, isn’t all they do amplify sound? The fact of the matter is that hearings aids help tinnitus precisely by amplifying environmental noise.
If you have hearing loss, the base level of sound you hear is somewhat reduced. This causes the symptoms of tinnitus to be more noticeable in the absence of other noise. Here is where hearing aids come in. Because they make it easier for you to hear outside noise, your brain will have something to focus on other than your tinnitus. Note that this effect is especially pronounced if your tinnitus is in the same frequency as your hearing loss.
Don’t believe what you might have read or heard about there being no solution to tinnitus. The truth is that there are a wide variety of ways audiologists can help. Among these, hearing aids remain one of the best solutions.
Contact Bay Area Audiology Today
Ready to change the way you look at hearing loss? Our Doctor of Audiology, Dr. Trisha A. Bents Muth, is exceptionally experienced in the art of audiology and is dedicated to providing the absolute best solutions. Bay Area Audiology has been working to give patients a comfortable environment with thorough evaluations. We are independently owned, and unbiased when it comes to finding you the care you need.
You can always come into the office or contact us in advance to set up an appointment. We also provide updates on our social media websites. You can check out our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest to keep up with Bay Area Audiology.
Don’t hesitate–we can help.