Can Hearing Aids Prevent Tinnitus?

[fhs]

I haven't seen any threads on this. It's well known that lack of sound can cause tinnitus whether it be in a sound proof room, ear wax impaction, or otosclerosis. Only 20-30% of people with otosclerosis have sensorineural hearing loss but 4/5 have tinnitus.

Why would hearing loss cause tinnitus? There's ambient sound that ranges from about 20-30dB that's everywhere except sound proof rooms. Even in a desert with no wind and hundreds of miles away from a road has 20dB+ of constant sound. A quiet room at night has at least 25dB+ of sound. So people's ears are constantly exposed to sound. What happens when there isn't this background noise? Tinnitus. People in soundproof rooms (for audiograms) consistently get tinnitus while inside. I could personally hear tinnitus within 2 sounds in a soundproof room. It's immediate.

If someone has hearing loss that is roughly 30 dB or more then they won't hear ambient noise. It'll be like the impacted frequencies are in a soundproof room.

I've made a flowchart to get the point across.

Hearing aids could also be effective with sensorineural hearing loss.

So why aren't people without tinnitus being given hearing aids when they have hearing loss (especially low frequency)? Lack of studies. The reason why is because a double blind study would cost millions with the price of hearing aids and cost of fitting them. It also can't be patented so corporations aren't interested in funding it. Also tinnitus research seriously lacks funding and it's not seen as a big issue for people without tinnitus.

I'm curious to know what the average hearing loss was for the onset of tinnitus especially for conductive hearing loss. I'm guessing that it should be about the level of ambient noise or 30 dB. I couldn't find any studies on it.

 

[glynis]

My views would be no !....lots of love glynis

 

[GregCA]

So why aren't people without tinnitus being given hearing aids when they have hearing loss (especially low frequency)?

They are. That's the main reason people are offered hearing aids: to compensate for their hearing loss.
I'm a bit confused with your post.

 

[fhs]

My views would be no !....lots of love glynis

Ok but why though? An ear wax impaction is like an earplug in an ear 24 hours a day. The only impact I see is that it causes the ear drum to vibrate less. There is no nerve damage or anything else that it directly causes. Ear wax impactions can cause tinnitus. This brings me to a logical conclusion. A reduction of sound can very likely cause tinnitus.

If sound is artificially increased then the sound that reaches the cochlea is about the same as someone with normal hearing. Why would that not work?

They are. That's the main reason people are offered hearing aids: to compensate for their hearing loss.

Not true. I went to a doctor and he said that I don't need hearing aids for my mild reverse slope loss because I have a good ear and I could understand what people say. The risk of tinnitus was not considered. There are a complete lack of studies so I don't blame him. He also said that only when it gets worse a couple of years down the line should I get hearing aids or surgery. By that time I'll have permanent tinnitus. Too late.

 

[Jake007]

I'm curious to know what the average hearing loss was for the onset of tinnitus especially for conductive hearing loss.

55db for me

 

[GregCA]

I went to a doctor and he said that I don't need hearing aids for my mild reverse slope loss because I have a good ear and I could understand what people say.

Right. They don't recommend hearing aids unless you have significant loss (i.e. not mild).

I went through the same steps originally: when I first showed up at the ENT after my first audiogram, the doctor said my loss is mild, so no need for hearing aids. She even said "I'm surprised you even notice it", to which I was thinking "How could I not? It's so obvious!". As if 30 dB of difference between right and left was supposed to be unnoticeable.

I guess your point is that, in my case, had I started using hearing aids asap to correct that "mild hearing loss", I would maybe not have developed my T.