Many patients in our business come in to our office and many not be sure how to help with their tinnitus. Here is one patient’s experience with using hearing aids to help.
The tinnitus in my right ear has been helped by hearing aids to the point where I no longer hear the ringing unless I consciously think about it. The tinnitus started when a loud noise went off next to me when I was 25.
The constant noise kept me awake at night and distracted me during the day. This was stressful because my work required me to attend many meetings and I couldn’t understand what was being said. Stress made my tinnitus worse! The ear, nose and throat doctor (ENT) I went to was kind enough to introduce me to his audiologist who tested my hearing and found a mild loss in what she said were the high frequencies. I felt I heard pretty well although I must admit if there was background noise, I didn’t quite understand. The ENT said he couldn’t help me, but the audiologist could. My friends with this problem were told just to live with it, there was no help.
Actually the ENT meant that medicine doesn’t help Tinnitus, as they don’t know the cause. The audiologist said a hearing aid would probably help, but they were expensive and my hearing wasn’t that bad.
Eight years went by and stress caused me to lose patience with my colleagues, friends and family. I was grouchy all the time. Meditation helped with the stress, but the tinnitus was still there.
The hearing loss was progressive and I called the audiologist who told me about a new hearing aid designed just for losses like mine. I’ve been wearing the aid for three months now and I don’t know why I was so stubborn. It is digital and programmable and I found even more relief when I was able to emphasize particular sounds that helped reduce my tinnitus. My audiologist allowed me to try the hearing aid at no obligation for one month, about the time it took to reduce the tinnitus. It also helps me to hear better than I had when there is background noise. I recommend that people with this problem see a local ENT as well as an audiologist and don’t put it off.
There are options for people suffering from tinnitus and ‘’learning to live with it’’ is not necessarily the best advice that can be offered.
For further info please contact Nola Aronson, M.A., Patrice Rifkind, Au.D., Ginny Newman, Au.D., or Laura Liddle, M.S. at 661-288-1400.