Getting Your Hearing Back Does Help Tinnitus — I Got My Hearing Aid

I received my hearing aid a couple of days ago, and I have had the two quietest days in the last 10 years.

My tinnitus has not left me, but the sound of the outside world is totally masking the 8 kHz tone. When I'm at home TV, central air fan is covering it up. When I'm outside on the road it's buried in the outside noise, road noise.

If I think about it hard, it can come to the surface, but then fades right away. I just hope it's not a fluke, and just had a couple of really good days.

I don't wear the hearing aid while sleeping, and the tinnitus has also been quieter through the night. Kind of loud when I get up first thing, however when I put the hearing aid in and turn on the TV, the tinnitus settles down and fades away so I can forget it...

It's amazing, I'm really excited. It's only been a couple of days, I just hope the quiet continues.

I want to THANK all you here. The info here helped me move in the right direction for getting this nuisance fixed.

Maybe this will be a success story. Too early to tell for sure. We will see.

I also have a question,

Do you think my brain will get the idea that it doesn't need to remind me I can't hear out of that ear, and give up its annoying tone for good, now that I have some sound coming into that ear?

Thanks again.

 

Congratulations on slaying the beast, at least whilst you're wearing the aids. In a sense, you're fortunate that your tinnitus tone is within the capacity of the hearing aid's amplification range. I wish it was technically possible for hearing aids to amplify higher frequencies, but sadly it's not. Can you tell me what make and model your aids are?

 

I was reading in the ATA publication that they are issuing hearing aids in the VA even for very mild hearing loss. So many more people than we think are eligible.

 

I know my frequency is so high I doubt any hearing aid would help. Do you think it is all about frequency then with hearing aids? @Fabrikat?

 

I'm no expert in this regard @Candy, but I do know that some people whose tinnitus is down in the speaking frequencies below 8khz, seem to be able to almost cancel their tinnitus noise out altogether with hearing aids. Maybe because the hearing aid fills in the missing sound that has been lost or damaged.

The other theory attached to hearing aids for tinnitus, is that the aids simply amplify external ambient sounds and give the brain more sound to listen to, so that tinnitus is pushed a little to the background. I don't know how valid that theory is. My tinnitus is very high pitched too. I guess it's something one could experiment with, especially since hearing aid companies these days let you trial them for a period of time without financial obligation.

Signia claims to have a hearing aid that supposedly ranges up to 12khz. My audiologist says, however, that in reality, the claim is not entirely true because there is a marked drop off in amplification from around 8 or 9 kHz. By 12kHz, the aids amplification is very low. Something to do with the physics of sound amplification in such a tiny device.

Is the VA providing hearing aids for vets to help them with their hearing loss or to relieve their tinnitus? What do you think is the rationale in doing so?

 

Apologies for the quality of the photos. I don’t have the magazine.

 

I have one Miracle Ear Genius 3.0 for the right ear. This one runs about $3300. They are also able to program masking sounds into the hearing aid, like waves, white noise etc, but I'm not using that, the external environmental sounds are enough.

Also now I have another good morning, I still have the tone, I notice it when I first get up, just like usual. Put in the hearing aid, turn on the TV and the tinnitus fades away, so I can forget about it. Usually my tinnitus is heard above all noise, road noise, vacuum cleaners etc. So the hearing aid is pretty much burying the tone, because the outside sounds coming in are just over powering the tinnitus.

 

Happy for you. I also have hearing loss. My decline is starting at 4 kHz and at 8 kHz is already -70 dB. That would make one think that I am good candidate for hearing aids and it would help my tinnitus. But unfortunately that is not the case with me at all. My tinnitus is very reactive it is spiking a lot. My tinnitus just competes with the amplified sound from the hearing aid and if I wear it for long it will make my tinnitus worse. My tinnitus spikes from driving a car with double hearing protection (earplugs + earmuffs), it spikes from sounds as quiet as 30 dB.

 

I am getting hearing aids next week after five years of tinnitus. I have been putting the tinnitus down to a neck problem, which I do have, but after treatment with physio, acupuncture, exercises and tablets for neuropathic pain, that is finally started to improve.
The tinnitus isn’t though.
My daughter ordered me to have a hearing test, in the nicest possible way, so I went and found out that all my hearing range is below normal, and for some sounds markedly so.
The audiologist assures me that hearing aids will help the tinnitus by making background noise louder to mask the sound in my ear.
Yes, one ear.
Even if they don’t, at least I will be able to turn the TV down.
I will keep you posted on what happens.
Fingers crossed.

 

Same situation. I've tried about 4 different kinds and all they do is amplify the tinnitus. We've been trying to treat it as hyperacusis with sound therapy, but it doesn't help.

 

Your post is encouraging. I have a hearing aid even though my hearing is not that bad. I wear it mostly to stream masking sounds. When I wear it as a hearing aid itself, the increase in volume at my tinnitus level sets off my tinnitus most of the time I'm assuming due to hyperacusis. I'm thinking I might need to use it daily despite the hyperacusis effect and maybe things will settle down in time.

 

Well.......I have my new hearing aids, and have been using them for about three weeks.
So far the tinnitus is about 50% less than it was, although the audiologist thinks it will continue to improve.
I can certainly hear better anyway.
I wish in some respects that I had done it before.

 

Thank you for posting good news... I hope I can follow in your footsteps and enjoy a positive change. Congratulations.

 

Why is it "impossible" to develop a high frequency hearing aid? I always wondered.

A few months after the concert I went to a Widex store and tried on ones. My tinnitus is severe but fluctuating and that day it was moderate, so I could not measure the effect very well.

The audiologist laughed at my almost normal audiogram.

 

Technically it's not possible at the moment within the dimensions of a regular hearing aid. Perhaps the electronics experts on TT could explain the physics required.

I do know that even hearing aid manufacturers that boast frequency amplification up to 12kHz, such as Signia, really only manage to get to about 9kHz before there is a stark drop-off in amplification down to very small levels by 12kHz.

 

I don't think it's technically impossible. It's just that they focus on speech understanding, and therefore focus on amplifying the speech range.

 

I'm on 3 months now with hearing aids. Prior to that some days the tinnitus was screaming. But now I still notice the ringing hissing but it's very mild. The wife and I are now in slovakia on holiday and to my surprise since boarding the flight from Dublin
I have not heard a bit of ringing its all quiet the hearing aids have helped was well worth it I can use the mask app if needed but for 4 days it's quiet

 

WHAT!?!?! Of course it is! You're saying it is impossible to make a hearing aid with a mic and amplifier with a frequency response up to 20khz. That is WROOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGG!!!!!

 

It appears that within the current realm of hearing aid technology available on the market, the devices suffer from poor efficiency once they head into the ultra high frequencies. Even those designed to go beyond the regular speaking ranges.

It'd be great if aids could work properly beyond 8kHz. Beneficial for those with higher pitched tinnitus and for music appreciation too.

 

Okay, just because there arent any on the market doesnt mean it is impossible to make them.

 

Sure! Technology may evolve to solve this issue one day.

 

Errrrrrrrr. The technology exists! It doesn't need to evolve! They just don't make them because there is not a market demand large enough for them to make them! This is like saying that there aren't any V-50 engines in cars because the technology has to evolve first. The technology is definitely there they just don't make them.

 

Why don't they develop them for us? They have a big market here

 

I think it's more than that. I recall my audiologist explaining some technical reasons why it's not done at present, that you'd probably be very familiar with.

It explains why a company like Signia advertises hearing aids supposedly going up to 12kHz, for those wanting to appreciate music better. Yet in practicality, they drop off after 9kHz to produce very minor amplification by 12kHz. You would think if they advertise amplification up to 12kHz for a specific purpose like musical clarity, that's what their devices would do. Yet they don't!

 

I think most of the time standard hearing aids are adequate to lower tinnitus.

 

I hope the hearing aids work for you.
I have had some days when the tinnitus is still mega loud, but on the whole the good effects have continued.
Very profound tonight.
I only hear tinnitus in one ear, the rechargeable battery on that side ran out and suddenly I had tinnitus when I hadn’t had it all the rest of the day.
This has given me confidence that I am on the right track.
Apparently it takes some months to get the full effect as your ears get used to hearing things that they hadn’t heard for some months/ years.

 

Janjo, thanks for the tip.
I am really pleased for you, and am going to try in the new year. Just saving up now.
"Profound" is a stellar word... great news.
I hope you continue to enjoy the benefits of hearing aids...

Sincerely, Daniel