If you experience tinnitus, you know how frustrating it can be—causing you to feel anxious, lose sleep, and have trouble focusing
Tinnitus is a disorder in which people perceive or “hear” sounds even when there are no external sounds present. The sounds are typically a ringing, buzzing, humming, or whooshing sound. It is most common in adults, and it affects around 15-20% of the population. While tinnitus is not a disease, it is typically caused by or associated with other medical conditions. There are three main types of tinnitus: subjective, objective, and pulsatile.
Tinnitus can be very disruptive to daily life, as perceived sounds can cause distraction during conversations or affect a person’s ability to concentrate or focus at work or in their personal lives. It can also cause anxiety, frustration or depression, especially in quiet spaces or when trying to fall asleep, which can therefore cause chronic sleep disturbances. Overall, the disorder can negatively affect a person’s quality of life.
Tinnitus symptoms manifest as different sounds: people report hearing buzzing, ringing, roaring, clicking, pulsing, whooshing, or humming in their heads, either constantly or intermittently.
Symptoms also vary with the different types of tinnitus. With subjective tinnitus, the most common type, the sounds are only heard by the person with the condition. In objective tinnitus, the rarest type, the sounds can be heard by other people at close range (often a doctor using a stethoscope or doing an ear exam). When tinnitus occurs as a rhythmic pulsing or whooshing in time with the heartbeat, it’s called pulsatile tinnitus.
The specific sounds and whether they’re low- or high-pitched can offer clues as to what’s causing the problem, so it’s important to speak with a hearing care provider about the kinds of sounds you hear.
Those looking for solutions often ask, “Do hearing aids help tinnitus?” Luckily, the answer is yes, hearing aids can often be beneficial for tinnitus. Learn more about hearing aids for tinnitus below, along with information on how they help with this disorder.
Hearing aids help manage tinnitus through specifically designed programs. Some hearing aids for ringing ears work by masking symptoms through the delivery of sounds into your ears—such as static or ocean waves—which can override the perceived sounds of tinnitus. Another option, called notch therapy, does not use sounds but instead trains the brain to ignore the tinnitus. Noise-canceling hearing aids may also help.
You can consult your audiologist or Miracle-Ear hearing care professional (HCP) about your options. Where possible, they will work with you to calibrate device settings to help you find relief.
You may not think of sound therapy when you think of hearing aids, but that’s exactly what using hearing aids for tinnitus masking can deliver. Hearing aids are made to amplify sound, so when somebody with tinnitus uses them, external noise will become as loud as or louder than the perceived ringing in their ear.
Some hearing aids also offer additional sounds like white noise that continuously run in the background to mask your tinnitus symptoms. With this increased auditory stimulation, it’s harder to notice the ringing. Hearing aids for tinnitus masking are especially great for people who have tinnitus related to hearing loss, as they solve two problems simultaneously.
Notch therapy is another hearing aid treatment option for those with tinnitus. Rather than masking tinnitus symptoms, notch therapy relies on the brain’s neuroplasticity to help a person become desensitized to the sound of the ringing or buzzing in their ears.
A hearing aid specialist will program your hearing aids to remove sounds at the specific frequency of your symptoms. This reduces auditory stimulation at that frequency and helps encourage your brain to ignore the sounds.
Noise reduction technology in hearing aids has come a long way and continues to evolve. Newer hearing aids have an improved ability to block out background noise and elevate conversation. But given that tinnitus is a perceived sound, rather than an actual sound, it can’t be muffled in the same way background noise can.
That said, noise-canceling hearing aids for tinnitus offer relief through auditory stimulation. The hearing aids’ amplification of sound will override the ringing sensation and make it less noticeable.
Wondering what type of hearing aid is best for tinnitus? We have good news: At Miracle-Ear, all of our hearing aids offer tinnitus-masking programs. You can talk to your HCP about your tinnitus symptoms, and they can help you choose a hearing aid that will best help you, with tinnitus symptoms, your personal level of hearing loss, and your lifestyle needs.
It is unlikely that hearing aids will worsen your tinnitus symptoms. Even if your hearing aids don’t have specific tinnitus programs available, the amplification of all sounds should help reduce the sensation of tinnitus symptoms. However, if you find your symptoms worsening with hearing aids, talk to your HCP about potential solutions.
A hearing aid for tinnitus costs the same as standard hearing aids, but there is a wide price range to choose from. What you pay for hearing aids depends on multiple factors, including their built-in features, advanced technology, brand, and hearing aid type. More high-tech features, such as Bluetooth® capabilities, rechargeable batteries, or directional microphones, can add more cost.
Hearing aids are an investment that can enhance your quality of life. While over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids are a cheaper option, they don’t offer the personalized support you get by working with a hearing care professional—and generally don’t offer tinnitus-masking programs. A hearing care professional will help define your hearing needs, educate you about types of hearing aids, and ensure you get the best option for your budget. Plus, they’ll custom-program your hearing aids to suit your personalized hearing needs—which can include tinnitus-masking programs.
Anyone suffering from both tinnitus symptoms and hearing loss can benefit from hearing aids for tinnitus. Prescription hearing aids for tinnitus and hearing loss can be programmed to mask tinnitus symptoms while amplifying pitches and sounds you’re missing due to your hearing loss.
If you think you have tinnitus, book an appointment to see a Miracle-Ear HCP. They will ask specific questions to better understand your symptoms and perform an exam, including checking your ears for wax or fluid buildup. No matter the cause of your tinnitus, your HCP will work with you to find the best hearing aids and programming options to manage your symptoms.
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