It is estimated that 10% to 20% of adults within the United States suffer from tinnitus. Tinnitus is a disorder in which a person perceives a noise that has no external source, in either one or both ears. Each person’s tinnitus can vary in sound (ringing, hissing, clicking, or pulsing), pitch, loudness, and consistency. If tinnitus has become debilitating, hearing aids may be recommended as a treatment plan.
Can Hearing Aids Help Tinnitus?
There is no cure for tinnitus. However, clinical studies have shown hearing aids can give significant relief to patients. Hearing aids alleviate tinnitus by amplifying sounds that cover up the noise perceived with tinnitus. When you are able to hear the natural sounds in the environment by using hearing aids, those sounds provide a “masking effect” for the tinnitus. For example, with hearing aids on, a person should be able to hear the birds chirping in the trees, which they may have otherwise not heard without the hearing aids. Those birds chirping create a natural “mask” to the tinnitus sounds so it is “covered up” or not heard as much.
Roughly 90% of patients that have tinnitus also endure some degree of hearing loss. An audiologist can prescribe hearing aids to treat both tinnitus and any hearing loss that a patient may have.
Nowadays, hearing aids do more than just amplify sounds. They can be programmed to provide sound therapy. Sound therapy is the use of therapeutic sounds, like ocean waves, shaped noise, or music, to mask tinnitus.
In addition to amplification and sound therapy, many hearing aids are also compatible with smartphone apps developed specifically for tinnitus relief. When the hearing aids connect directly with a smartphone or tablet, the sound therapy app can be streamed through the hearing aids. Some examples of these apps are:
- Tinnitus Aid: help ear ringing
- Tinnitus Masker
- Levo System
So, exactly which hearing aids have all these features? We have listed, in no particular order, the best hearing aids for treating tinnitus.
Widex Moment Hearing Aids with the Widex Zen App
The Widex Zen app treats tinnitus through counseling, relaxation techniques, sleep exercises, and sound therapy. Although the Widex Zen app can be used with any bluetooth hearing aid, only Widex hearing aids deliver Zen sound therapy directly through the hearing aids.
More information about the Widex Zen app.
Additional information on the Widex Evoke hearing aids
ReSound Hearing Aids with ReSound Relief
The ReSound Relief app is a user-friendly app that combats tinnitus through a combination of sound therapy, relaxation techniques, and meditation. Any of ReSound’s wireless hearing aids can be used with the ReSound Relief app:
- ReSound ONE
- ReSound LiNX Quattro
- ReSound LiNX 3D
- ReSound ENZO Q
- ReSound ENZO 3D
With ReSound hearing aids, you can create unique “soundscapes,” set timers, and balance sounds between the left and right ears. More information about the ReSound Relief app .
Oticon Hearing Aids with Tinnitus SoundSupport
Tinnitus SoundSupport is accessed via the Oticon ON app. It contains therapeutic sounds that can be played by Oticon hearing aids. Although Tinnitus SoundSupport™ can be used with several Oticon hearing aids, a secondary device is typically needed for wireless connectivity with Android phones. Oticon’s latest and most advanced hearing aid, Oticon More, has direct Bluetooth connectivity for streaming sounds and music with many Androids and iPhones. The Oticon hearing aids which include Tinnitus SoundSupport are:
- Oticon More
- Oticon Opn S
- Oticon Opn
- Oticon Zircon
Learn about the Oticon More hearing aid
Learn about Oticon’s Tinnitus SoundSupport
Signia Hearing Aids with Notch Therapy
Signia is another company that adds sound therapy to their hearing aids. All Signia hearing aids can play either static or ocean sounds to mask tinnitus. If more sounds are desired, a smartphone can be used to stream to any of Signia’s wireless hearing aids with Bluetooth:
- Signia Insio Charge&Go AX
- Signia Insio Nx
- Signia Active
- Signia Active Pro
- Signia Silk X
- Signia Styletto AX
- Signia Styletto X
- Signia Styletto Connect
- Signia Pure Charge&Go T AX
- Signia Pure Charge&Go X
- Signia Pure 312 X
- Signia Motion X
The Signia hearing aids that include sound therapy can be programmed with “notch therapy.” In notch therapy, the specific frequency of your tinnitus is “turned down” and labeled as background noise. In clinical trials, 65% of patients experienced a significant improvement in their tinnitus after starting notch therapy.
Find out more about Signia’s approach to tinnitus
Starkey Hearing Aids with Multiflex Tinnitus Technology
Multiflex Tinnitus Technology is an option found on all the latest Starkey hearing aids:
- Starkey Evolv AI
- Starkey Livio
- Starkey Picasso
With Multiflex Tinnitus Technology, an audiologist programs a custom sound into a patient’s hearing aids to mask their tinnitus. If changes occur to the tinnitus (i.e., pitch or loudness), the audiologist can fine tune the signal emitted by the hearing aid. Starkey also offers the Starkey Relax app which provides educational material and several calming background noises for patients.
Learn more about Starkey’s Multiflex Tinnitus Technology.
What to Expect
Wearing a hearing aid requires an adjustment period. It can take 2-4 weeks, sometimes longer, for the brain to adjust to newly amplified sounds. As you transition into wearing a hearing aid for the first time, it’s not unusual to feel overwhelmed by all the sounds around you. This feeling should go away as you become more acclimated to the hearing aid.
In some situations, immediate relief from tinnitus can be found with hearing aids. Yet no two cases of tinnitus are the same. In some cases, it can take months before any significant change is noticed. If a patient’s quality of life is severely impacted by tinnitus, they must be committed to the treatment plan and determined to stick it out.
Can Hearing Aids Make Tinnitus Worse?
Hearing aids, by themselves, cannot make tinnitus worse. In some instances, patients do not report significant relief with hearing aids alone. It is often recommended that hearing aids be combined with an alternative treatment option to improve results.
Alternative Treatments
Counseling
Counseling is vital for improving tinnitus. Patients with hearing aids are strongly advised to receive counseling of some sort, such as tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
General Wellness
Tinnitus has been shown to worsen in situations of poor health and high stress. General wellness can be maintained through a healthy diet, relaxation techniques, exercise, and good sleep practices.
Sound therapy
Sound therapy refers to the use of therapeutic sounds or music to mask tinnitus. Sound therapy is already offered by many hearing aids, but you do not have to wear hearing aids to take advantage of sound therapy. You can use other sound generators (i.e., sound machines, fans, or phone apps) to find the right noise for you.
Drug Therapy
Antidepressants and antianxiety medication can be used to treat the stress, sleep problems, depression, and anxiety caused by severe tinnitus. When treating stress and negative emotion, you may experience improvement in your tinnitus. When it comes to starting any medication, try to avoid benzodiazepine medications as they can hinder the habituation process for tinnitus.
Neuromodulation
When tinnitus is combined with a severe or profound hearing loss, neuromodulation with the use of a cochlear implant may provide some relief from the tinnitus. A cochlear implant works by electrically stimulating the auditory nerve. Other types of neuromodulation being explored for severe tinnitus cases include transcranial magnetic stimulation and vagus nerve stimulation.
Bimodal Stimulation
Bimodal stimulation as a treatment for tinnitus is using two coinciding stimulation to change the brain through neuroplasticity. The two forms of stimulation are auditory and somatosensory (touch). There are two companies currently offering tinnitus devices using neuromodulation, Lenire and Neosensory.
FAQ’s
Will I need one or two hearing aids?
Studies have shown that two hearing aids work better than one to alleviate tinnitus. However, every person is different. Consult an audiologist on whether one or two hearing aids are needed for your unique situation.
Do I have to wear a BTE hearing aid?
Your hearing aid does not have to be a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid. Several in-the-ear (ITE) and in-the-canal (ITC) hearing aids are built by Widex, Signia, and Starkey and can be used to treat tinnitus.
How much does a hearing aid cost?
The cost of one hearing aid can range from $1,000 to $4,000. The cost varies depending on the amount of technology built into the hearing aid, as well as the professional services included.
Conclusion
Tinnitus is a serious medical condition that can drastically affect a person’s quality of life. Fortunately, patients can receive relief from their symptoms with the use of hearing aids. Visit an audiologist to explore your options and to get the support you need.
Sources
- American Tinnitus Association. www.ata.org. Accessed March 7, 2022.
- Hyun Jee Lee et. al. “Hearing Aid Effects and Satisfaction in Patients with Tinnitus.” Journal of Clinical Medicine, vol. 11, no. 4, Feb. 2022, p. 1096. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11041096.
- Kikidism, Dimitrios et. al. “Hearing Aid Fitting in Tinnitus: A Scoping Review of Methodological Aspects and Effect on Tinnitus Distress and Perception.” Journal of Clinical Medicine, vol. 10, no. 13, Jun. 2021, p. 2896. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10132896.
- Kleinjung, Tobias and Berthold Langguth. “Avenue for Future Tinnitus Treatments.” Otolaryngologic Clinic of North America, vol. 53, no. 4, Aug. 2020, pp. 667–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.otc.2020.03.013.
- Boissonneault, Andrée. “Widex Zen Therapy: What’s New?” October 30, 2017. https://www.widexpro.com/en/blog/global/widex-zen-therapy-whats-new/. Accessed March 9, 2022.
- Resound. “The ReSound Relief App.” https://www.resound.com/en-us/hearing-aids/apps/relief. Accessed March 10, 2022.
- Oticon. “Oticon More™ hearing aids.” https://www.oticon.com/solutions/more-hearing-aids. Accessed March 10, 2022.
- Oticon. “Tinnitus Solutions.” https://www.oticon.com/solutions/other-devices/tinnitus. Accessed March 10, 2022.
- Signia. “What is Notch Therapy, and How Does It Help with Tinnitus?” https://www.signia.net/en/blog/global/2019-04-09-what-is-notch-therapy-and-how-does-it-help-with-tinnitus/. April 9, 2019. Accessed March 10, 2022.
- Starkey. “Tinnitus – Technology Solutions.” https://www.starkey.com/tinnitus/technology. Accessed March 10, 2022.
- Hoare, Derek J. et. al. “Electrical Stimulation of the Ear, Head, Cranial Nerve, or Cortex for the Treatment of Tinnitus: A Scoping Review.” Neural Plasticity, vol. 2016. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/5130503.
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