Treating Tinnitus with Hearing Aids

Posted by HearingAids on November 17, 2010 under Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss | Be the First to Comment

Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease.  It is the sensation or perception of sound that is not in the environment.  It can be described as buzzing, hissing, whooshing, rushing, roaring, ringing, clicking or like crickets or steam.  It can be localized to one or both ears.  It can be constant, pulsating or intermittent and can change in pitch and intensity.  It may or may not be associated with a hearing impairment.  There are approximately 50 million Americans suffering from Tinnitus.  It is estimated that 90% of those patients have some degree of hearing loss.

Two major clinical studies used hearing aids in tinnitus treatment:

◊            The Better Hearing Institute sent their newsletter subscribers an online survey on Tinnitus in August 2008.  230 Hearing Care Professionals responded with results suggesting that six out of ten patients (60%) experience minor to major relief of their Tinnitus when wearing hearing aids.  One in five (22%) receive major relief.  Less than 2% of patients had a worsening of their Tinnitus and 39% received no benefit.

◊            The Hearing Review published a study conducted in August 2006, “Using Open-Ear Hearing Aids in Tinnitus Therapy”, concluding that patients with mild to moderate sloping hearing loss in the 2-6kHz frequency range may experience benefit from open- fit hearing aids.  The pitch of tinnitus is often perceived in the range of 2-6 kHz, and because open fit hearing aids do not occlude the canal and amplify low frequencies, good amplification with 2-6 kHz can be achieved.  Sometimes 10-15dB is all that is needed to mask out the tinnitus.

There are ongoing studies, one with a target date of December 31, 2009 from a major hearing aid manufacturer.  This company is examining a program originally designed for relaxation that has been used as a tool for tinnitus treatment.  The open-fit technology uses a high frequency sound input for its relaxation program.  This program has tones, melodies and other sounds that can be adjusted by the user.  Data is being collected from hearing care professionals trained in tinnitus management on individuals who have used this program for 3 months or more and those who discontinued use because of no benefit.

Hearing aids may be used as a choice for tinnitus relief by:

◊            Amplifying outside sounds, which make the tinnitus less obvious.

◊            Distracting the patient away from the tinnitus by hearing other sounds.

◊            Decreasing the sensation of tinnitus by increasing the background noise.

◊            Increasing amplification of low level sounds for treatment.