Do Hearing Aids Help with Tinnitus?

Over time many patients will face hearing loss as this is a common occurrence for people over the age of 50. Tinnitus is a very common symptom of this age-related hearing loss too. While it can happen at any age and for many reasons it occurs, the most common occurrence is due to aging. Many patients will find relief with tinnitus by using a hearing aid or other sound amplification devices.  While there have been a lot of debates between hearing health professionals out there, many agree that hearing aids are one of the best treatments for tinnitus.

How do hearing aids help with tinnitus treatment?

During the process of hearing loss, many patients will hear external sounds. These auditory hallucinations are unexplained sounds such as ringing, humming, hissing, but they also come in the form of a melodic noise or even be in sync with the heartbeat. Hearing aids are known for helping with tinnitus whether it’s caused by age-related hearing loss or hearing loss due to exposure to loud sounds.

Hearing aids are a common treatment that a hearing health professional will bring up as an option for treatment. This could be a treatment on its own, especially if the patient is experiencing hearing loss or it can be used as a supplement for other tinnitus treatments such as sound therapy. Hearing aids with masking will allow for people with hearing loss to improve their hearing while blocking out the sound that tinnitus makes. Simply put; this will allow the patient to hear sounds that are maybe missing while also effectively covering up the ringing.  This can bring a lot of relief to patients facing hearing loss as tinnitus is one of the symptoms that contribute to the complications of hearing.

Do hearing aids work for everybody?

Unfortunately, the use of hearing aids for tinnitus doesn’t immediately work for everybody. This case is an unlikely occurrence. The combination of tinnitus retraining therapy and hearing aids can create a highly desirable outcome. While hearing aids can be ineffective at masking out the sound, many go on to ignore the tinnitus. It’s important to discuss with your hearing specialist what type of combination of treatments could help with tinnitus such as medication, sound masks, counseling, sound therapy, and so much more. Even if one treatment doesn’t help a patient, the hearing care provider will be open to looking at other options for treatment.

What’s the treatment combination for tinnitus?

Sound therapy and hearing aids are very effective combinations that many patients receive. The best hearing aids for masking out tinnitus are programmed to contract the internal sound that tinnitus is produced from. This in turn helps the brain focus much better on picking up outside sounds. This allows the patient to hear much better and it has the potential to slow down age-related hearing loss as well.  These special hearing aids are perfect for tinnitus masking as they are very strong for patients who have hearing loss in the same frequency range as their tinnitus.