Tinnitus - Hearing aids

Tinnitus is a hissing, buzzing, clicking, humming, ringing, or even pulsating sensation in the ear that only you can hear, and there is no external source to the noise. The sound can be constant or it can come and go. The intensity and type of noise varies from person to person and it can be a deep, high-pitched, low-pitched, or even tone that changes.

While the sound can vary from mild to severe, occasional, or all the time, it can affect all aspects of your everyday life and stop you from being able to concentrate, sleep, and hearing what you want to hear.

Anyone of any age and background can develop tinnitus, but people are more at risk as they get older or if they’ve had a lot of exposure to loud noises. Tinnitus can happen anywhere and at any time, while you are at work, sitting quietly or talking on the phone. There are a variety of causes of tinnitus, including:

• Exposure to loud noise (also linked with noise-induced hearing loss)
• Certain medications
• Aging
• Earwax blockage
• Injury to the ears, head or neck
• Neurological disorders
• Deterioration of bones in the middle ear
• Upper respiratory infections

Tinnitus and hearing loss can often go hand in hand. Around 80% of people experiencing tinnitus also having hearing loss. Hearing loss can affect the signals sent from the ear to the brain, which can result in unwanted activity in the brain, known as tinnitus. The perceived sound of tinnitus can be acutely distracting and make it hard to concentrate on other sounds. Hearing aids for tinnitus masking enables you to hear everything going on around you, while at the same time providing relief from the internal sounds of tinnitus. This makes hearing aids an effective treatment for both tinnitus and hearing loss.

While not all hearing aids have tinnitus maskers and not all tinnitus maskers are hearing aids, the best hearing aids for tinnitus can do both jobs very effectively. Some hearing aids feature a tinnitus masker that produces broadband or narrowband noise at a low level which masks the sound of tinnitus. This type of masking noise is often called white noise. By combining the technology of hearing aids and tinnitus maskers, you can enjoy the benefits of both without having to switch between two devices.