Bluetooth-Capable Tinnitus Masking Device in the Style of a Hearing Aid?

[Toby1972]

Hello,

Does anyone know a noiser device that appears as a hearing aid (instead of headphones, because of optical reasons and headphones would reduce too many ambient noises...)

Or in other words:
I have tinnitus with mild hearing loss in one ear, so I tested a Signia hearing aid with noiser / masker function.

But it had only some white, pink noises and waves, but nothing that really masks my tinnitus frequency (above 11.000 Hz).

It has Bluetooth function, but just for controls. I would like to have Bluetooth function so I can listen to several different sounds (tinnitus apps sounds, YouTube sounds, own sounds, rain etc...) on my smartphone.

 

[GregCA]

Hello,

Does anyone know a noiser device that appears as a hearing aid (instead of headphones, because of optical reasons and headphones would reduce too many ambient noises...)

Or in other words:
I have tinnitus with mild hearing loss in one ear, so I tested a Signia hearing aid with noiser / masker function.

But it had only some white, pink noises and waves, but nothing that really masks my tinnitus frequency (above 11.000 Hz).

It has Bluetooth function, but just for controls. I would like to have Bluetooth function so I can listen to several different sounds (tinnitus apps sounds, YouTube sounds, own sounds, rain etc...) on my smartphone.

There are hearing aids that can play content/music/sounds/youtube from your smart phone via Bluetooth.

The only thing to keep in mind is that the hearing aids (or anything that you can wear in the ear or behind the ear) are unlikely to be able to reproduce high frequencies appropriately, so even if your content on the phone contains "masking sounds" that target your high frequency T, feeding it to a hearing aid type of device is unlikely to be helpful. Still, you could give it a try.

 

[LindaS]

@Toby1972

I recently acquired Widex Moment hearing aids with the Zen program.

The sounds are "fractal tones designed to provide relaxation and may also be used as sound therapy tool. Music is believed to be helpful in reducing stress because of the wide range of neural structures that are activated".
Your hearing care professional can adjust the Zen program according to your preferences in terms of pitch, tempo and volume".
(their words, not mine.)

They sound like chimes. I would definitely recommend checking out YouTube video sound clips first to see if it something you think you may want. I've gotten used to mine and find that it does sometimes help to lower the tinnitus volume (or perception of lowered tinnitus volume) but I also would like more variety.

Now in the process of returning the remote app (where the audiologist can make adjustments to aids remotely) and trading it in for Bluetooth functionality to my phone.
They also came with the option of a device to listen to TV through my aids (this has made my husband very happy).

Good luck with whatever kind you choose.

 

[Toby1972]

I would definitely recommend checking out YouTube video sound clips first to see if it something you think you may want.

I did so, rain, birds, insects, etc. fit to my T.

 

[The room artist]

I use apple wireless AirPods , I wear just the one and Bluetooth from my phone.

 

[Jason Phillips]

I have just ordered some Nuheara iqBoost wireless buds. A hybrid bluetooth earbud/Hearing aid. Amplify the sounds around you and have full control of how much ambient noise you want to let in. You can also also have some masking sounds playing simultaneously.

 

[slc]

I recently got Phonak hearing aids that play pink noise and also can stream Bluetooth.

I vastly prefer using Bluetooth to play a notched audio Water Mix 2 sound on the TinnitusPlay app. This is much more soothing than pink or white noise -- at least for me. I wear the devices the entire day. I have rechargeable aids that just barely make it through the entire day using Bluetooth. Sometimes, the charge runs out about an hour or two before I go to bed.

These devices were expensive, $2600 through Treble Health, an online tinnitus counseling service -- and that was during a promotion. All that being said, the Water Mix 2 from TinnitusPlay is a balm, lowering my recent tinnitus spike from about 8 to 6.5. As to whether there will be long term benefit in terms of reducing the tinnitus decibel level or so-called habituation, that remains to be seen. (TinnitusPlay is available for iPhone, but even an iPhone 6s, used at 85 bucks will support the app.)

If you have the money, it could be worth trying. If not, Bose makes sports buds that I believe are behind the ear devices with a tube that inserts into the air, similar in form to white noise devices. The reviews on their website (general users, not specifically dealing with tinnitus) are mixed. But that might be a much cheaper way to go in order to safely use a Bluetooth device.

 

[momus]

What worked for me was very simple and inexpensive. There are earbuds that don't go into your ear canal, they stay a little bit suspended by plastic hooks that go around your outer ear, they're shaped like the letter C. You can barely see them.

I plugged those into my tiny FM radio, slipped the radio into my pocket, and tuned it in between stations so that I got that hssss (which you can vary the frequency of by fine tuning the radio). It made things much better. At that time my tinnitus was only in one ear, but it will go back to the other one sometimes, sometimes both ears ring. Those little earbuds allow me to hear background noises as well as the hssss, so it's the best of both worlds. Traffic noise is a good frequency for my tinnitus. When it comes to background sound masking, we can experiment w/ different natural environments to see what works best for us.

Right now I have a box fan running, the vent fan above my stove going and a little sound machine called a HoMedics, model SS-2000 that has different sounds along w/ a volume setting. It was dirt cheap on fleabay, something like $10, and it's still going strong years after I bought it. Just above that background sound level my computer is playing peaceful music. Simply laying a napkin partially over the speaker on top of the sound machine allows lowering or raising the frequency. Next step is to either get a home waterfall or a recording of one and place speakers in different parts of my apt. I suspect that acoustically, a real waterfall will be better though. Tinnitus is an acoustical ear/brain issue, and usually analog remedies work better than electronics.