Hearing aids for Tinnitus
 

I know...kind of a long shot but I thought someone here might have had some experience with these....

I've been suffering from Tinnitus in my right ear for a long time...45+ years but in the last 6 months or so the "volume" has gone from a 0.5 to a 3 at times (roughly@7000 HZ)....driving me crazy!

Some history: I've been pretty much deaf in my right ear since early childhood and it now seems that that ear is "fighting back" at me..like it's wanting to be "heard" after all this time...lol!

I've had two bouts of surgery to repair the ear drum (@4 and 18 years of age) but no success in improving my hearing.

I know that my hearing loss is a conductive type hearing loss (my ear drum is heavily scarred = tympanosclerosis) so I'd probably be helped by an aid but since my left one is fine, I've put up with this for 50+ years...but now, this is really annoying me!!

So has anyone tried a hearing aid to specifically address Tinnitus?

I've searched here on PPOT but nothing specific has been found regarding this topic.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Any Ear-Nose-Throat guys/gals on board??

could be me..
except for the Tinnitus..
an aid will perhaps help you hear somewhat better on your bad side....
and perhaps mask the tinnitus noise...
until you remove it..

Rika

I'm far from expert, but I always thought tinnitus was from a loss at a particular frequency, and so the brain is turning up the volume on that frequency straining to try to pick up the noise. I wouldn't think that throwing more noise at it would help, but maybe, making the noise in that particular frequency loud enough, would enable you to hear a little and the brain would turn the volume back down. But then again, cranking the volume up that much sounds like it would be bad for your hearing. Like I said, absolutely not an expert. I have some tinnitus myself.

On a somewhat related note, I've read that some folks that are blind, have something similar (but visual). I guess most folks that can see assume that blind folks live in darkness, but what I read was that some blind folks actually end up living with all sorts of light and bright colors which can actually be very frustrating and bothersome. Like the brain is trying to turn up the volume on any signal that it gets or is creating signals where there are none.

That's what I was thinking...it would probably just mask the "noise" until it's removed. But maybe after some time the brain re-calibrates the auditory signal....?

Do you wear hearing aids Rika? I take it that they're removed at night?

Man if a hearing aid helps with tinnitus I want to know! My ears ring loud enough I swear my kids should be able to hear it.

I recently bought hearing aids and was promised the model had a specific capability to help tinitus.

When I picked them up, the Doctor said "oh, no, you are mistaken". There is no specific function or capability, its just that when you amplify the ambient noise, the tinitus is masked.

Imagine paying $5K and being told I didn't get what I was told I'd get.
This was not some technician, but a PHD audiologist.

Actually they do help some by amplifying the ambient - enough that I definitely noticed.

I bought Oticon.

Had a co-worker who had another brand which did have a specific function to try and condition you out of being bothered by tinitus. He did not recognize that it actually helped him, by the time I retired. Sorry, I don't know the brand.

Most hearing aid technicians / salesmen are nothing but shysters.

If they tell you you can try another pair if you don't like what you initially got, ask them how many times.

Good luck.

I have tinnitus and got hearing aids about two years ago. They have a button on the back that is supposed to help alleviate the ringing. When you push the button they play a faint sort of music but for me it does absolutely nothing. My doctor says there is really nothing that can be done to help with the ringing. On a side note the hearing aids are very price about $4000 and I would say depending on the amount of hearing loss only help slightly.

Random thought:

If the tinnitus is caused by an agitated nerve in the temporal lobe:
Brain (Human Anatomy): Picture, Function, Parts, Conditions, and More
Why not fix the ear itself, provide a type of shield from the offending stimulus, or dull the offending nerve to the brain at the proximal location?

Mine too. He's a good guy, and if there was something out there that even might work for me I'm confident he would recommend that I try it. I'm hearing the ocean here in Ohio as I type this.

WD, LOL! I'm hearing cicadas in the middle of an Alberta winter where it's -7C outside!;)

Oh well.....time for another joint!!

I have thought about getting a third Tympanoplasty as the last one was done when I was 18.....thinking that there have been some improvements in 35 or so years. The hearing aid is a first step for me...so we'll see how that goes....they're currently offering a 30 day "free trial" on hearing aids.....ya, I know :rolleyes::rolleyes:

It's so comforting to know I'm not alone with this ringing.
Really guys.
The only time I don't hear it now is when I'm dead asleep.

^^^Scott, yes it is comforting somewhat....

I've tried to explain to my wife wtf is wrong with me, so I showed her the following link:

Tinnitus hearing-test - Sound therapy helps against tinitus, ringing in the ears

Click on 7000 and 8000 Hz.....

THAT'S WHAT I HEAR 60/60/24/7/4.2/12/365!!

She understood!!:rolleyes:

Don't start getting all mushy on us, Sammy will start a thread mocking you.

Ok I don't know squat, but...
Tinnitus sounds like inflammation and/or over-stimulation to the point of pain.

So shut off the source of the problem.
When does it happen?
It could be a circulatory/allergic/or bad pole transformer or another EMF source if it's constant.
Televisions in the 1980's gave me a headache from downstairs.

I've also experienced Tinnitus briefly, but only at a temporary/minor level.
I do remember having a couple Eustachian tubes implanted and Eczema oil baths as a child.

For most of us it isn't painful, it's "just" annoying to the point of affecting our daily lives and our ability to interact with the outer world. For the various causes try checking with the mayo clinic.

Symptoms and causes - Tinnitus - Mayo Clinic

It could also be Martians singing.

Come on, if you don't know why are you speculating? Not helping.

I have constant ringing, in one ear it actually sounds like a chainsaw in the distance. I guess I am lucky that I can just live with it. My regular hearing is shot too.

Based on that website, my tinnitis is at 11kHz.

I tried it. The sound I hear is at about 4000 hz. I cannot imagine living with 8k 24/7. Holy crap, why have you not shot up a post office or something??

Masraum - I can't hear anything at all above 8k. Nothing.

I once lived in an apartment briefly.
Foggy San Fransisco. 16th and Bryant area.
My room was about 30-50ft away from a corner neighborhood line pole transformer buzzing away.

That thing gave me severe headaches with EMF.

I'd walk ten feet down the hall, and my headache would be gone instantly.

Whenever I mention this condition (that I have) it boggles the mind how many time I have to explain that I'm NOT talking about tendonitis.

Your elbow makes annoying sounds? :D:D

wd.....ya, I know.....But if you hear about a guy goin' postal in Southern Alberta....:mad:

Funny though....4000 Hz sounds worst to me....strange but I guess to each his own!

Masraum, ya I can't hear anything above 9000 Hz either.

We should really all be toasting each other's Hzs.....:p!

Can all others on here check out that link and post their Tinnitus's Hzs range? ....might be kinda fun and soothing at the same time.....kinda like a group hug!

HI, MY NAME IS ALEX AND MY TINNITUS REGISTERS AT 7000 HZ!


;)

I've had tinnitus for about 7 years but recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. They're defiantly related because when my blood sugar is low the volume of my tinnitus turns up to eleven.
When that happens I eat a peach or something similar and about 45 minutes later things get quieter.

Worth getting your blood sugar checked IMO.

Yeah, right. And Sammy will post a photo from one of his favorite homo-erotic web sites.

You may have posted that in jest, but it is a very good point...

What if the symptoms could be quantified and qualified?

If not already, why haven't they already?
For science damnit!!!

Mine seems to be at or around the 5.8K range. I can't hear the 11K frequency.

Wow. Yeah, I was surprised that I was at 11k. I'm only 46, but I thought that most older folks didn't hear much over 10k anyway.

For me the worst part is that it is NEVER quiet anymore.

I don't find it encouraging that the doctors I've spoken to about it don't even agree on how to pronounce the word.

Some say "tin it us"
Some say "tin eye tus"

Anybody know which is correct?

This is quite interesting. My grandmother suffered with serious tinnitus, and after running out of options took the advice of a local herbalist to brew a tea from this plant and drink a small quanity first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

It actually worked, believe it or not, and I guess it probably is due to the plant's "calming effects" on the agitated nerve, being part of the cannabis family.

(My grandma was really cool, but I never thought of her as a recreational drug user... :D)

Now, I am a huge sceptic when it comes to herbal medicine, but I guess anything is worth trying once?

I go with tin eye tus

Per Merriam Webster, they are both correct, but the more common seems to be ˈti-nə-təs

" noun tin·ni·tus \ˈti-nə-təs, tə-ˈnī-təs\ "

OK, after checking Merriam Webster, MacMillan, Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries online, all have that as the primary pronunciation. I think I'll probably still go with tə-ˈnī-təs\ since it is also technically correct. It just makes more sense to me. A single consonant between two vowels usually makes the first vowel long is how I remember it being taught.

Here's something else that I found online that makes sense to me.

I went in for a hearing test and evaluation just last week. I've had increasing tinnitus in both ears for 10 or so years. I always chalked it up to loud music ( and I mean REALLY loud) as a teenager, and then 30 years of power tools. Turns out my hearing is excellent for a person of my age (59).
Ringing is possibly caused by jaw clenching at night (I wear a night guard), caffeine, stress, and aspirin.
OP is correct, as hearing decreases your brain "turns it up" which fills in with white noise. Hearing aids may do the trick. Get a full work up by an ear-nose-throat doc to see if there are underlying causes that can be changed with lifestyle mods.

Willem, you being in SA...can you send some of that Tiger's Tail......that SA weed....:D

I'd love to try it!

Aspirin?!?....interesting! I did start taking a low dose ASA once per day about 4 months ago under the advice of a cardiologist, to supplement my statin drug intake, as we do have a (distant) family history of stroke....

I'll try laying off the ASA for a month or so and see....errr, I mean ....hear what that does! Thanks Charles!

Blood sugar is fine BUT... I do notice that if I don't have something to eat within 20 minutes of a fairly strenuous workout, the intensity does become more pronounced...

Far from it! I've had tinnitus since October 1995. One day at the job I had while i was in engineering school, I used a Ramset (a tool with which I was previously unfamiliar) without hearing protection. Whoops! I appreciate that site that was linked to - this helps me, too, let other people know what I hear. I am hearing 11kHz, at a relatively low volume. Or at least low enough that I got used to it a long, long time ago and have been able to live with it relatively easily. But, as someone else pointed out, it is never, ever truly quiet.

Interesting, I'll watch for that when I eat something. I'm able to keep my A1C at or below 5.5, so I shouldn't have T2 diabetes but I'm getting close. My frequency is in the 4kHz to 5kHz range and I hear the volume varying a bit with my heart beat or moving my head, but it doesn't go completely away - so I was thinking maybe it (tinnitus) has something to do with blood pressure. I take bp medicine and bp measurements show I'm in a normal range.

My tinnitus is between 7 - 8K.
Cannot hear 11K in the test.
Mostly all the time, much louder in evenings.

Will try the devil's lettuce tonight and see if that helps.