When discussing tinnitus hearing loss there are a lot of numbers thrown around but
it is said that anywhere between 80-90 percent of people who suffer from any form of tinnitus have a certain level of hearing loss. Though hearing aids may give assistance in regards to the loss of hearing there is not direct correlation that would lead us to believe that it would ultimately cure your tinnitus. With that said many people are opting for hearing aids as they have advanced drastically both in appearance and functionality making it more socially acceptable to have a hearing aid at a younger age.
When going in to get your ears tested there are several things that your audiologist will be looking for and these are good to know before going for a visit. First off, they will look at your history and the noise exposure that you have been around throughout your life. This gives the doctor a baseline to go by for the severity and longevity of the issue which ultimately allows them to better diagnosis and treat. The next thing they will do is look into your ears; they do this to see if there are any abnormalities in your ear cannel or with your ear drum. After that they will most likely put you in a sound booth and be administering several sound tests, this helps the audiologist determine what type of hearing loss you are experiencing. Then the test will move to speech tests which will help them understand the level of speech that you are both able to hear and understand. After all of this they can make there assessment and recommendation
The audiologist will make three suggestions; hearing aid, tinnitus masker and tinnitus instrument:
Hearing Aid
The hearing aid is mainly for people that have suffered hearing loss and minimal tinnitus. In many cases simply using a hearing aid will reduce the symptoms and possibly remove the symptoms caused by the tinnitus.
Tinnitus Masking
Tinnitus maskings devices are typically recommended to those people who do not have significant hearing loss and mainly just suffer from tinnitus. It produces a sound that is more soothing to the brain then the sound of tinnitus and because it is constant and at an acceptable frequency a lot of the times this drastically reduces tinnitus for many sufferers.
Tinnitus Instrument
The tinnitus instrument is a mix between the hearing aid and the tinnitus masking device. This is highly recommended due to the fact that many tinnitus sufferers have some level of hearing loss but still are looking for a device to mask the sounds they are hearing and experiencing. This does both and gives relief to many people dealing with tinnitus on a daily basis.
When choosing a device always consult friends, reviews on the internet, and do you research. The choice you make can make a difference in your day-to-day routine living with tinnitus.