Is the ringing in your ears so disruptive that you find it difficult to concentrate, relax, or enjoy a quiet conversation? 

Chronic tinnitus interrupts the lives of everyone it affects. “People often mistake that loud tinnitus, rather than hearing loss, interferes with their hearing,” according to the American Tinnitus Association. In reality, about 90 percent of people who experience chronic tinnitus also have hearing loss. 

Hearing aids often help relieve tinnitus symptoms by augmenting external sounds, which diverts attention away from the perception of tinnitus noise. 

I understand the frustration the ringing in your ears is causing you, so I want to dedicate this blog to understanding how hearing aids can help bring relief to those who experience tinnitus along with hearing loss. 

Do Hearing Aids Help With Tinnitus?

How Do Hearing Aids Help?

Masking and Attentional Effects

Hearing aids help by augmenting the volume of external sounds to the point that they cover (mask) the sound of tinnitus. Since it becomes more difficult to consciously perceive tinnitus, this helps shift the attention of your brain from the tinnitus to outside ambient noises.  

For those who experience hearing loss in the same frequency range as their tinnitus, the masking impact of hearing aids is particularly effective in helping provide greater relief.

Auditory Stimulation in a Quiet Environment

Increasing the volume of external noise by use of hearing aids also increases the amount of auditory stimulation received by the brain. However, this becomes more of a challenge in a quiet environment. 

Dr. Nathan Bouman, the inventor of the first open-ear in-the-canal tinnitus device, provides an excellent illustration of how hearing aids help with tinnitus in an interview with Audiology Online in 2008.  

“A little bit of light in a very dark room is perceived as an extremely bright light; however, if you take the same light and present it in a lighter room, the same light is not perceived as being as bright.” 

Dr. Bauman continues to explain how open-fit hearing aids allow a person to be immersed in an auditory environment in such a way that the right amount of amplification, even in a quiet room, makes it possible for a person to become less aware of the tinnitus sounds. 

Improved Communication

One of the frustrations of individuals with tinnitus is their struggle during conversations. Hearing aids that are properly programmed to help control background noise and improve speech clarity augment the external conversation, reducing the frustration and social isolation that often accompany chronic tinnitus and hearing loss. 

A Comprehensive Hearing Assessment Is Your First Step to Tinnitus Relief

Although tinnitus can have an impact on individuals without hearing loss, the overwhelming majority (90 percent) of those who experience tinnitus also demonstrate some level of hearing loss.

Because hearing loss is so common among tinnitus sufferers, the first step toward tinnitus relief involves ruling out or confirming hearing loss as the primary contributor to your condition.