In the United States, tinnitus affects 20 percent of the entire population, and hearing loss exists in 90 percent of the cases.
With such a strong relationship between tinnitus and hearing loss, you would think that people would be much more likely to seek treatment for one or both conditions.
But believe it or not we find the reverse. Among those who refuse treatment for hearing loss, 39 percent (9 million people) do so because they believe nothing can be done about their tinnitus.
That’s 9 million people that are suffering unnecessarily when a treatment plan is available that could both enhance hearing and relieve tinnitus concurrently.
That treatment method is the professional fitting of hearing aids.
In a recent survey of hearing health specialists, it was found that 60 percent of patients confirmed some extent of tinnitus relief when wearing hearing aids, while 22 percent confirmed substantial relief.
Based on these figures, if the 9 million who have given up on tinnitus used hearing aids, 5.4 million would attain some extent of alleviation and about 2 million would enjoy substantial relief.
But how do hearing aids alleviate the intensity of tinnitus?
The scientific consensus is that hearing loss brings about decreased sound stimulation reaching the brain. In reaction, the brain undergoes maladaptive neurological changes that generate the perception of sound when no exterior sound source is present.
It’s this very subjective character that makes tinnitus so difficult to diagnose and treat, and why prescription drugs or surgical procedures tend to have little to no effect. There’s simply no physical structure to repair or chemistry to modify.
But there is a way to reach the perception of sound, a way to help the brain adjust or reverse its response to reduced sound stimulation.
With the help of hearing aids, amplified sound can help readjust the brain to healthy levels of sound stimulation and in the process supply a masking effect for the sounds of tinnitus.
For patients with hearing loss, tinnitus is more bothersome because the tinnitus is louder relative to the volume of exterior sound. By turning up the volume on external sound, tinnitus can disappear into the background.
Additionally, some hearing aids can furnish sound therapy directly to the individual, which can be personalized for each patient.
Hearing aids, in conjunction with sound and behavioral therapy, are right now the best tinnitus treatment options available. Most patients describe some measure of relief and many patients report substantial relief.
Are you ready to give hearing aids a chance? Schedule an appointment today!