Hearing Aids

I’ll be eagerly watching this forum and other places to see if any new great hearing aids that help us come from this FDA decision.

 

Another cool article about the coming change.

Cheaper Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids Are Coming. Here’s How to Comparison Shop.

 

Diamond Joe.

 

So I am out getting my everything studied at the NIH, and I was seen by one of their leading researcher/Professor of Audiology for hearing and vestibular function testing.

Interesting part is he told me less than 10% of people find improvement in their tinnitus with hearing aids. This doesn't mean the masking doesn't work for some people, but the act of amplification is not helpful in 90% of people. Take it for what it is worth, hearing aids have certainly been useless for me.

 

I just got the Widex Zen2Go hearing aids. I have a 90 day trial where I can return them and get all my money back. I have no hearing loss. My audiologist said these are used mostly just for tinnitus without hearing loss. There’s 3 settings on it. Amplification, white noise, and some Zen noises that we programmed together. I can change them and turn it up and down. I haven’t used them much yet. Cost all in is $3000.

 

Hi @SamRosemary.

It reads on your profile "cause of tinnitus: unknown". Although tinnitus can appear for no reason, usually something causes it. The most common cause is exposure to loud noise or regularly listening to audio through headphones at too high a volume without realizing it. Prior to the onset of the tinnitus, if you regularly used headphones, earbuds, AirPods, headsets, then your tinnitus is probably noise induced.

There is a belief in some circles of the medical profession, a person with tinnitus automatically has hearing loss and therefore the treatment is to prescribe hearing aids which will restore hearing to optimum. With regular use the hearing will improve, and the tinnitus will reduce because the brain no longer has to increase its background activity to hear sounds from the outside environment. In the process, the tinnitus will reduce, enabling the patient to habituate. In theory this is correct, especially if the patient has hearing loss, then hearing aid(s) should be worn.

However, not every person with tinnitus also has hearing loss and therefore, hearing aids are not the correct devices to be worn to treat the tinnitus, because hearing aids amplify sounds from the outside environment and funnel them down the ear canal to the brain.

The correct devices to be worn to treat tinnitus with sound enrichment are white noise generators. White noise generators look very similar to hearing aids but as the name suggests, they only emit white noise.

However, in recent times white noise, pink noise and wave sounds have been incorporated into some hearing aids. These devices serve a dual purpose. They can be used purely as hearing aids to correct hearing or used as sound generators to treat tinnitus and hyperacusis. They can also be used as hearing and sound generators to treat a patient that has hearing loss and tinnitus. At the time of fitting the audiologist will be able to configure these devices via computer to the patient's specific needs.

Even though you don't have hearing loss, your Widex Zen2Go hearing aids serve a dual purpose, because they are fitted with white noise and probably pink and wave sounds can be programmed into them too via computer by your audiologist. They are similar to the Oticon hearing aids that I was recently fitted with. Since I don't have hearing loss, my audiologist disabled the hearing aids via computer and the devices work only as sound generators. They connect to my phone by Bluetooth allowing me to select white noise, pink noise and wave sounds via an app. There are a host of other features.

In your case the Widex Zen2Go hearing aids could be helpful, especially if your tinnitus is noise induced and you may have some oversensitivity to sound or hyperacusis which often accompanies this type of tinnitus.

To get the best from using sound generators to treat tinnitus, they should be used alongside counselling with an audiologist that is trained in the treatment of tinnitus and hyperacusis. Although counselling is not always necessary, if the person is new to tinnitus as in your case, counselling is advised. This can be incorporated into TRT or CBT.

Please go to my started threads and read my TRT threads, where white noise sound generators and the benefits of counselling are explained in more detail.

All the best,
Michael

 

I have those too. I have hyperacusis so I made sure the amplification was set low at the office, and the hearing aid part in all the tones she added was set to mute as I don't want anything amplified in my ears.

 

Do they provide any hearing protection while the amplification is turned down/off?

 

Hi Michael,

Thank you for taking the time to provide all that information!

Yes, my cause is unknown. I never used headphones, never had had noise trauma, ear issues, infections, etc. Had 2 hearing tests and my hearing seems to be fine. So can’t exactly pinpoint the issue.

My audiologist is actually the first healthcare professional that I’ve seen that’s been knowledgeable about tinnitus. My hearing aid is mostly being used as just an ear level noise generator. I have some amplification, but have found it to cause reactivity so far. I go back Tuesday to adjust my sounds. I’m hopeful it will help with habituation.

In a way my audiologist is providing TRT. I’ve had 2 appointments with her and we spoke for two hours each time. She also provided me with some good apps. I do get CBT, but it’s not specific to tinnitus. My psychotherapist is aware of my tinnitus and taking it into consideration though.

I will definitely check out your threads! Thanks, appreciate it.

 

Hi @SamRosemary. You are welcome. The additional information you have given is very helpful.

The fact that you don't use headphones is good and therefore, it's possible your tinnitus isn't noise induced. Tinnitus can appear for no reason, so once exposure to loud noise or headphone use are ruled out, stress and medication are something to be considered as potential causes for tinnitus onset, providing there isn't an underlying medical problem somewhere within your auditory system which would have been revealed during tests at ENT.

I have taken the liberty of reading the instruction manual for your Widex Zen2Go devices and like them a lot. They work in a similar way to my Oticon sound generators which I believe to be excellent. Widex say they are specifically made for treating tinnitus and come with a variety of sounds to choose. $3000 is a lot of money so the decision to purchase them is up to you. Therefore, the advice I am about to give is based on many years living with tinnitus, wearing sound generators and having tinnitus counselling as part of TRT.

Widex give very good advice on the best way to get maximum benefit from using their Widex Zen2Go devices. They advise counselling is given when using them. This is something I mention in many of my posts when people ask for my advice on wearable sound generators. I get the impression you have a good audiologist and since you are seeing a psychotherapist, you are probably having a good amount of counselling.

Although it helps for the therapist giving counselling to a tinnitus patient to be also living with the tinnitus (many of them do), it is not always essential because there are many factors that encompass tinnitus, which are mostly to do with stress and the way one lives their life. Life is problematic and we all have problems. As I have mentioned in many of my posts, stress makes tinnitus worse, and tinnitus makes stress worse. It can become a vicious cycle. Once stress is brought under control, either by self-help or with counselling and possibly medication if needed the tinnitus often reduces. The key is to incorporate positivity into one's life and this is where counselling can help a person affected by tinnitus.

I think wearing sound generators are one of the best ways to provide sound enrichment to the auditory system and manage tinnitus when combined with counselling. They should be introduced slowly, something that Widex also advise. My TRT threads mention how to introduce the sound generators. Whatever sound the person uses, the volume should always be kept below the tinnitus, it should not mask or cover up the tinnitus so it can't be heard.

The sound generators should be worn for 8 to 10 hours a day, which takes time and must not be rushed. Over time the brain will habituate to the sound generators and slowly push the tinnitus further into the background. This is not a quick fix and can take 12 to 24 months of continuous use. The benefits will be realised providing the patient sticks to the treatment. When retiring to bed at night, don't wear the sound generators - place a sound machine by the bedside for sound enrichment and keep the volume slightly below the tinnitus so it is not drawing attention to itself.

The wearable sound generators will also help to treat hyperacusis or any oversensitivity to sound a person has by desensitizing the auditory system over time. Always keep the volume of the sound below the tinnitus to avoid irritation.

All the best,
Michael

 

No they don't. They are filtered so sounds don't get trapped in the ear and let natural sounds in too.

 

This was one guideline I always thought funny with this treatment, how could you possibly make something loud enough to cover the sound of tinnitus without damaging the ear?

 

Tinnitus comes in many forms and intensities and no two people will experience it the same. Peruse some of the posts in this forum. People have said: the only way I get any peace is to completely mask my tinnitus with another sound. Some frequent posters advise that tinnitus should be masked using sound enrichment, which can be in various forms: white noise, pink noise, wave sounds etc.

White noise generators that are worn behind the ear were formally called "maskers" until the name was discontinued by audiologists and hearing therapists that work with tinnitus patients. Therefore, it is possible to cover up tinnitus so it cannot be heard depending on how loud a person perceives it. However, this isn't what I mean when I say: Always keep the volume of the sound below the tinnitus to avoid irritation.

Michael

 

Good News (perhaps):

Yesterday I visited my Audiologist to receive my new pair of "Widex Moment" hearing aids with a white noise masker.

Although these are at best only partially successful when I have a spike, without them I would very probably not have been around this long (and, in the good old USA, the $3,150.00 price will not be covered by Medicare, Blue Cross, or any other Health Insurer).

However, I mentioned Dr. Shore's new device and the Audiologist was very familiar with it; in fact, the clinical trial results seem to be very much awaited by the Medical Community.

I recall that 2 years ago an ENT Doctor in this Practise said that it showed a real degree of promising science, but had not yet been tried on a sufficient number of applicants to have reached any real conclusion regarding its effectiveness.

I told my Audiologist that when their Practice offered it I would surely want to be notified; at this point, I frankly don't care how much it will cost or that it will be uninsured.

This condition has ravaged my life for almost 9 years.

 

I need advice please. I have to make a decision this week. I’ve put it off for three weeks as I tried to read everything I could in the subject.

My ENT said the hearing aids are in order for my hearing loss and they will possibly help my noise induced and worsening tinnitus.

I am seeing an audiologist who supposedly knows how to treat tinnitus to some degree with hearing aids. She showed me the Signia Pure Charge and Go with Notched Therapy.

Does the Notched Therapy help tinitus or can it make things worse?

She also told me about the Phonak with all its amazing processing and sound therapies.

I’ve decided against the Widex and the other three major companies. I have read I should go for the highest level I can afford for hearing features like compressing loud ambient noise and motion sensors etc.

Please share your thoughts.

 

Hi @Bob Kinetic.

If you have straightforward noise-induced tinnitus with or without hyperacusis and have hearing loss, I think the Widex Zen2Go hearing aids are excellent for treating you. Please read my two posts above to the member Sam Rosemary.

The Signia Pure Charge and Go with Notched Therapy, that you mention, also seem like good devices for treating hearing loss and tinnitus. I have taken a brief look at their website but haven't been able to read their instruction manual but I have read the one for Widex Zen2Go. I don't know much about Notched Therapy fitted into hearing aids for treating tinnitus and I advise you to be careful, because treating tinnitus can be complex and if you also have hyperacusis or some oversensitivity to sound, it can complicate things further.

I note that you have had noise-induced tinnitus with hearing loss since 1990. If your hearing has got worse over the years, then updating your hearing aids is the right thing to do, because hearing impairment can make tinnitus worse. However, if your tinnitus has increased due to further loud noise exposure or you have been using any type of headphones, treating it can also be complex, as this may require counselling with an audiologist that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis treatment, in addition to using hearing aids fitted with sound therapy such as white/pink noise.

Please go to my started threads and read my post: Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus?

All the best,
Michael

 

Hey @Bob Kinetic - I went to three different audiologists to try hearing aids, and they all suggested different brands. The first suggested Signia. I found that they made sounds sound too punchy and artificial. The second suggested Phonak. I didn't try them though because my insurance wouldn't cover as much, since that audiologist was out of network. The third was in-network, and suggested Widex, but allowed me to also try Oticon as well as Widex. The Oticons made sounds sound pretty natural. So did the Widex.

I ended up getting Widex because their app was better (more options to control the experience) and they have good customer support and have some features for tinnitus (the Zen modes play these soothing chime sounds) and I can stream audio via Bluetooth.

Re: notched therapy, the first audiologist tried to configure the Signias for notched therapy but it was a bust because the pitch of my tinnitus varies quite a bit day by day and even second by second (it waves about like someone constantly trying to tune a radio). I suppose notched therapy is better suited if your tinnitus is a single tone. It was comical watching the audiologist try her best to target my pitch and I kept telling her "nope, higher... no, now lower... higher... no, lower..."

 

Joe, your description of Signia and notched therapy has really helped me. My tinnitus is similar to white noise but the basic frequency level changes, like early this morning I was awakened to the sounds of a high speed dental drill in addition to the white noise but all the volumes were at a ten! Maybe notched therapy won’t work.

The Phonak sounds like a great hearing aid because of the processors and other features.

Concerning the Widex, as a musician, I am wondering if the chime-like sounds would interfere with what runs through my head all day, i.e. melodies and songs. Your thoughts?

Thank you for the reply. I empathize with your tinnitus and wish you didn’t have to deal with it.

 

Interesting. I'm about to get fitted for a pair of Phonak hearing aids that also produce pink noise and are Bluetooth ready. I do have moderate hearing loss in the higher frequencies. I'll see if they make any difference at all. I have 45 days to get a full refund. I was told by the audiologist I'm working with that if they will help, that it should be apparent within a few weeks. Do you have an information on whether that is the case in any studies you've seen or been told about? Thanks!

 

I appreciate that @Bob Kinetic, I wish you didn't have to deal with it either--all of us in fact.

I wish I had tried the Phonaks to compare, they do seem like a solid choice. Very tech forward.

Re: Widex, there are 3 Zen modes. They all play chimes but at different target frequencies. I prefer the highest-pitched chimes. I don't listen to them all the time though. I suppose the chimes might interfere with the melodies that might be running in your head. The interesting thing about the chimes is that they're random, so there's no particular tune. I find that they provide another background noise for my subconscious to mull over. I find that I tune them out after a while. But I'm no musician, so I don't know if they'd irk you.

Hope that helps!

 

No I don't know anything about case studies, but I do know that Audiologists make most of their money by selling hearing aids and associated services. Because of this I think they have an incentive to cite studies that encourage you to buy their product and somewhat less likely to point out studies that would tell you to keep your money in your pocket.

That being said I am all about the throwing spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks when it comes to our mostly untreatable condition. Even if it is 10% are helped by hearing aids, maybe you are one of those lucky 10%.

 

Sorry if this has been addressed already, I haven’t been able to read every post in this thread...

With the Widex hearing aid, do you have the experience of silence? Or is it just that the tinnitus is less annoying? Or is the idea that you would habituate to the tinnitus and then have silence again? My tinnitus is caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.

 

Hi @aurora - Sorry to hear you're experiencing tinnitus from the COVID-19 vaccine. For me, I don't have the experience of silence when I wear my Widex hearing aids. They do make the tinnitus less annoying. It does help me think less about the tinnitus, which I suppose does help towards becoming habituated to it.

I think the reason the Widex hearing aids work for me is that I have mild/moderate hearing loss in the high frequency range. My tinnitus pitch is in the same high frequency range. Wearing the hearing aids provides my ears sounds in that frequency range that I would otherwise not hear so well. And so those sounds help mask the sound of my tinnitus.

I hope that helps, take care.

 

I have read many threads on Tinnitus Talk regarding hearing aids, but I wanted to ask a question about them (with white noise or other ambient noises) for my particular situation.

I am 45, and have been hard of hearing my entire life. My speech recognition is and always has been very poor.

My hearing loss is down to 20 dB at 1 kHz, down to 50 dB at 2 kHz and down to 70 dB at 8 kHz, plus I have had minor balance issues all my life (always tripping over and could not walk in a straight line).

With considerable hearing loss, poor speech recognition and blocked ears full of wax, my central auditory system must have been put on the max straining to hear every dB for years, until an audiologist used a microsuction machine 10 weeks ago to pull out the wax and then irrigated for good measure - the onslaught of sudden noise created severe tinnitus and hyperacusis, as the tinnitus is sound reactive.

It may be worth noting I did a hearing test 2 years ago, and one a week after the microsuction, and both show the same hearing loss.

I have had tinnitus for the past 45 years which has been mild to moderate. Mild enough that I could only hear it indoors and in nature, but not in a busy place - but moderate enough only a couple of years ago for me to go search in the attic for a noise to find out it was me. Unfortunately, as many people know, there is a major difference between moderate and severe, and even more so when it becomes reactive due to hyperacusis.

I have read stories here and other places whereby hearing aids can help reduce the volume of tinnitus by amplifying frequencies the auditory system is not hearing.

I'm not necessarily looking for hearing aids to hear better or improve speech recognition, it would only be if they could somehow reduce the volume of the tinnitus by providing my auditory system more sound in the frequencies it isn't hearing so good in.

Considering I do have, and have had, quite bad hearing loss and poor speech recognition for sometime, could hearing aids help reduce the volume or perception of volume of this new more intrusive multi tonal tinnitus when wearing them?

 

@DeanD, did you have microsuction in both ears? And it left you with bilateral reactive tinnitus?

I have normal hearing in my left ear but my right ear drops to 75 dB at 4 kHz and 90 dB at 6 kHz and 8 kHz. Hearing aids do not help my tinnitus (or hearing) due to:

1) it being reactive
2) hearing loss being severe
3) hearing aids do not work well after 4000 Hz, with limited help at 6000 Hz and no help beyond that.

 

@Nick47 - yes, correct, microsuction in both ears (irrigation in only one) and bi-lateral reactive tinnitus.

The tinnitus is becoming less reactive as weeks are progressing. I can now listen to the TV at low-moderate volume, fridge, microwave, heating etc... without it spiking, which it was doing when any of these were on a few weeks back, although the hyperacusis is still there.

My left ear goes down to 70 dB, but my right ear is only down to 50 dB at 8 kHz.

Thanks for the reply. Doesn't sound as if hearing aids would do much for mine either.

 

Hey @DeanD - I'll give you a data point for you to consider. My hearing loss is symmetric in both ears. It's less than 10 dB to 2 kHz, then starts dropping roughly linearly to 55 dB at 8 kHz.

I have reactivity in both ears. The reactivity used to be quite reactive from about 1 month after onset to about 5 months after onset (onset was 8 months ago). Nowadays, my reactivity fluctuates daily from barely there to sometimes annoying, but never as severe as it was at its peak. I have non-reactive tinnitus in my right ear that also fluctuates daily (independent from the reactive component) and goes from quite bothersome (hear it above everything) to non-existent depending on the day. The non-reactive tinnitus is by far my more intrusive one, seriously wears me down on the day I have it.

I chose to get hearing aids because of 3 reasons. One, I was hoping it would "reduce the contrast" of my non-reactive tinnitus--by providing my ears the sounds it is deprived of, the hope was that my tinnitus would seem less intrusive in comparison. Two, I was tired of not being able to hear people speak, especially in crowded areas. Three, my audiologist told me that it's a good idea to continue to give my auditory nerve stimulation in the region of my hearing loss.

Well, my hearing aids nail the first two for sure, and I guess the third, but there's no way for me to tell if I'm stimulating my auditory nerve sufficiently, who knows. My tinnitus sounds less intrusive on the days I have it. I can hear people a lot easier--the added benefit is that I'm not straining so much to hear people.

As for my reactivity, on days my reactivity is high, my hearing aids demolish my ears in minutes. In under 20 minutes, the extra input the hearing aids boost cause my reactivity to spike for the remainder of the day. So, I've learned not to wear my hearing aids on days I have high reactivity. On days of low reactivity, it's not a problem. Sure, my reactivity reacts, but it calms down in minutes when I'm in a quiet place or I remove my hearing aids.

 

Thanks for the reply @Joe Cuber - this is really helpful to know. Funny how you have replied as reading through your posts I have often seen similarities between our tinnitus.

So would you say the hearing aids perhaps take the volume of the intrusive tones from, say an 8/10, to a 4/10 - or perhaps not as dramatic a drop?

Hopefully continued wearing will help remove the reactive element for you.

 

Hey there @DeanD - It's always good to meet someone who has similarities. My most strong characteristic of my tinnitus is how intermittent it is--it's generally on or off by the day. And when my non-reactive hiss is on, like today, my reactivity tends to be tame. Not sure why it does that.

I don't get 8/10 days these days. Today, my non-reactive hiss has been a 7 all day, and I've been wearing my hearing aids all day. I don't think the perception of it drops so dramatically. It goes to about a 5. However, if I listen to ambient nature noises like rain, the hearing aids complement the masking, so it goes to about a 4.

These days though, I don't bother to play making noises during the day, since I'm starting to habituate. Man, if you told be 6 months ago that I would be habituating to this loud whiny hiss, I would not have believed it.

Yeah I wonder if my reactivity will react less while wearing the hearing aids. My reactivity doesn't react so much without the hearing aids, even on my high reactivity days. But, currently, on high reactivity days, it reacts pretty readily when wearing the hearing aids

 

Hey @Joe Cuber - yes, mine is similar.

It's great though that the hearing aids are working, and it's becoming more manageable for you!