Do hearing aids help with tinnitus?
If you've ever heard a frustrating sound like a ringing in the ears, you might have experienced tinnitus, a condition that can cause distracting noises in one or both ears. Tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss, so you may be wondering if hearing aids can help. Short answer: Yes, and when you buy hearing aids over the counter -- say, via one of the companies below -- you can also save quite a bit.
While not a guaranteed solution (symptoms and severity of tinnitus can vary from person to person) for everyone with tinnitus, quality hearing aids -- including prescription-grade devices and over-the-counter, or OTC hearing aids -- can offer relief thanks to sound amplification, customizable programs, and other sound therapy features.
Do hearing aids help with tinnitus?
While they don't cure or reduce the severity of tinnitus, hearing aids are considered by experts like those at the National Council on Aging (NCOA) to be a leading treatment option for relief from the condition.
The best hearing aids for tinnitus can help with managing symptoms, thanks to features like customizable hearing programs and advanced sound-processing capabilities. Some quality hearing aids can effectively mask the persistent sounds that come with tinnitus, distracting users from the most persistent symptoms of tinnitus.
Some prescription-grade hearing aids let users fine-tune sound settings on the fly, which is ideal for dealing with tinnitus symptoms that come and go or change in severity over time. Some of the latest hearing aid models from Eargo, like the discreet Eargo 7, let users make easy adjustments in-app using the Sound Adjust plus control.
What does tinnitus sound like?
Tinnitus is an auditory issue where one hears "phantom sounds" that don't have a real outside source. These sounds can come and go and can be tricky to pinpoint, since symptoms can vary significantly from one person to the next. These are most often described as a ringing sound, but could also present as a roaring, buzzing, whistling, clicking, or low hum sound. They can be temporary -- and may even go away over time -- but in some cases the issue lingers and worsens over time.
Symptoms of tinnitus may be present in one or both ears. Common causes that have been linked to tinnitus include:
- Exposure to loud noises, such as a concert
- A head or neck injury that damages the ear
- Ear infections
- Earwax buildup
- Age-related hearing loss
If you have experienced one or more of these symptoms or suspect you have tinnitus, schedule a visit with your doctor to discuss possible evaluation from a hearing specialist.
How can hearing aids help tinnitus?
While there is no known cure for tinnitus, hearing aids can be a powerful tool for finding relief from the worst of the condition's symptoms. Constant distraction from an annoying sound can be stressful, and unfortunately elevated stress levels have been linked to worsened tinnitus symptoms. Hearing aids can remove a good chunk of this stress from everyday life.
One reason for this is sound amplification: The addition of new and more audible sounds from a hearing aid can provide much-needed distraction from the sounds that come with tinnitus. Other OTC hearing aids offer intuitive sound processing features that can make it easy to mask specific tinnitus symptoms. Several Philips hearing aid devices, such as the robust miniBTE T model, incorporate AI technology to make manual adjustments on the fly by tracking use adjustments and gauging incoming sounds in real time.
Many hearing aids also offer specific features and sound programs to help alleviate the effects of tinnitus. Hearing aid brands like MDHearing offer sound therapy solutions like a noise generator to help mask or manage the symptoms of tinnitus.
