Hearing Aids

[dingaling]

Member Viking got super loud tinnitus from hearing aids.

Then clearly, his hearing aids were either not set up correctly or he had them turned up too loud.

Just my thoughts

 

[GregCA]

Then clearly, his hearing aids were either not set up correctly or he had them turned up too loud.

Perhaps he had a reactive kind of T that was irritated by the sounds generated by the HA.

 

[Tinker Bell]

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/my-story.5601/

That is not clear evidence, it's an anecdote. It's likely his hearing aids were set incorrectly or he had reactive tinnitus.

If TT anecdotal information is evidence, then there are far more anecdotes of hearing aids helping members.

 

[KennyS]

I just had my hearing aids programmed a few days ago and I can really tell the difference. I have the Starkey Xino 20 with Tinnitus masker. I bought them from India for $320 ea. and I and I am very satified. When I take them out at night I can hear a difference. I have severe Tinnitus in both ears and these really help.

 

[KennyS]

If you do a search on Ebay, the Starkey Xino 20 will pop up. I had mine programmed at an audiologist

 

[Bobby B]

If you do a search on Ebay, the Starkey Xino 20 will pop up. I had mine programmed at an audiologist

the photo looks like those wooden hearing aids from the 1920's..glad to hear they still work

 

[MajaC]

I was going to search for a tread talking about hearing aids when I've seen this one on the feed.

4 or 5 months ago, I got my second audiogram. The first was ok. Normal hearing on my right ear, but in the limit of the hearing loss and more than normal for the left. The second said that I had a hearing loss in my right and my left was now in the normal range. Both had down. The orl said that he didn't consider my hearing loss like one and doesn't seem to care about my tinnitus.

Now, I sense that my hearing had down again and my tinnitus is worse than when it started so I started to think about hearing aids. Only, I feared that they would say You don't have enough hearing loss like the last time or Why having hearing aids for tinnitus? Like some people had said to me.

What do you think?

 

[just1morething]

This is a more economical hearing aid. You send them your latest audiogram. Not sure if you can get a masker with it?

https://www.audicus.com/pages/hearing-aids


Found the brand on this post:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/regular-hearing-aids-are-curing-my-tinnitus.25523/#post-324053

 

[MajaC]

I will look at it! Thank you!

Edit: Did anyone know about if insurance in Canada pay a part of the hearing aids?

 

[Agrajag364]

Louise -
Many audiologist say that hearing aids can eliminate tinnitus by compensating for the hearing loss at the tinnitus frequencies. I think it's a great idea to try a hearing aid, if you can afford them.

For many of us with tinnitus, it's due to age related hearing loss. At one time I was playing around with a sound generator, and I was amazed that I couldn't hear the sound generator set at 4kHz in my tinnitus ear. 4kHz happens to be the tinnitus tone that I hear. I found this to be quite remarkable.

If you go to Wikipedia, look up "superior ollivary complex". These are brain organs where the signals from both the ears are meeting together. There are two of these organs, one on the left side and one on the right side.The function of the superior ollivary complex is to compare ear signals, to locate a sound source.

If one of your ears has less signal than the other, the superior ollivary complex senses this imbalance. As a result of this imbalance, the superior ollivary complex sends a signal back to the ear along the efferent nerve to "crank up the volume". That's what's causing tinnitus. It's a form of feedback from an efferent nerve that has too strong a signal/current.

If you wear a hearing aid, in theory this will balance the signal of the lost frequency experienced by the superior ollivary complex. Sensing that signals are within a normal balance, the superior ollivary complex does not send a signal back to the ear along the efferent nerve. Voila', the efferent nerve is no longer over stimulated, feedback is reduced or eliminated. That's the theory.

I myself don't have hearing aides, but I've read they can fix tinnitus.

Wow Karl - thank you so much for this information!! I got loud tinnitus in one ear only after going deaf in that ear for 2 months as a result of a misdiagnosed ear wax impaction. When the wax was taken out my hearing was totally restored but my tinnitus remained. I saw an ENT who talked about "auditory gain" and read some papers talking about the same, and understood it as roughly as you say - the brain freaks out and turns up the gain. But interesting it's linked in particular to deafness in one ear as this is what happened to me. This would also explain why so very many people have unilateral tinnitus.

Do you think a person with normal hearing can gain benefit from a hearing aid as this is my theory at present?

 

[Rings-a-Bell]

Wow Karl - thank you so much for this information!! I got loud tinnitus in one ear only after going deaf in that ear for 2 months as a result of a misdiagnosed ear wax impaction. When the wax was taken out my hearing was totally restored but my tinnitus remained. I saw an ENT who talked about "auditory gain" and read some papers talking about the same, and understood it as roughly as you say - the brain freaks out and turns up the gain. But interesting it's linked in particular to deafness in one ear as this is what happened to me. This would also explain why so very many people have unilateral tinnitus.

Do you think a person with normal hearing can gain benefit from a hearing aid as this is my theory at present?

Ouch... this really hurts the case that restoring hearing through something like Frequency Therapeutics will also cure tinnitus.

 

[Agrajag364]

Ouch... this really hurts the case that restoring hearing through something like Frequency Therapeutics will also cure tinnitus.

It helps some people. I think tinnitus is different for everybody. Probably because it's one of these complex multifaceted diseases. Also 24 hrs before I got tinnitus I had been given antibiotics thought not known ototoxic ones (earwax impaction mistaken for infection).so I can't be certain of the cause

I must say we are all a negative bunch but I can't blame us at all!

 

[Agrajag364]

Has anyone heard of a brand of hearing aid that goes all the way up to 14kHz?

I did discover that while my hearing in the normal range is acute, my tinnitus ear cannot hear 14K and my non tinnitus ear can hear it fine. It's possible my brain is still reacting to that and creating the tinnitus.

 

[newarrior]

I just had my hearing aids programmed a few days ago and I can really tell the difference. I have the Starkey Xino 20 with Tinnitus masker. I bought them from India for $320 ea. and I and I am very satified. When I take them out at night I can hear a difference. I have severe Tinnitus in both ears and these really help.

Bro wow good deal on the aids... I live in Thailand close to India---tell me more--how you get them programmed, repaired, replaced if lost?

 

[Contrast]

Ouch... this really hurts the case that restoring hearing through something like Frequency Therapeutics will also cure tinnitus.

cochlear implants can take 3-6 months to reduce tinnitus, it's not an overnight process.

In @threefirefour's case his tinnitus was signifcantly reduced by ear wax removal and I'm sitll convincned he has some undetectable degree of hearing loss caused by TMJ that is being compensated for or muscles in the neck are linked to hearing parts of the brain
https://uppercervicalawareness.com/tmj-disorders-can-lead-tinnitus/

https://blog.medel.com/cochlear-implants-tinnitus-cure/
-
How Quick Does it Work?
What's important to note is that tinnitus won't always disappear right after receiving a cochlear implant. As we so often say, it's important to manage expectations. What studies have shown is that tinnitus levels seem to stabilize at 3–6 months after the first fitting, regardless of how long the recipient had experienced tinnitus before their implantation.7

In my own case when my hearing naturally recovered I got a reduction in tinnitus
it does seem like their are few exceptions, but in the majority of cases CI's seem to reduce the volume.

 

[Karen Simpson]

From what I understand, hearing aids can drastically help tinnitus IF there is some level of hearing loss associated. A hearing specialist I see uses the phrase, "A quiet world makes for louder tinnitus". Many hearing clinics even offer free risk-free trials for hearing aids to see if there are improvements. They key is, however, you have to wear your hearing aids almost constantly. It takes a lot of time for the brain to adjust. Hearing aids are a great option, but there are also other treatment options out there too.

 

[Contrast]

From what I understand, hearing aids can drastically help tinnitus IF there is some level of hearing loss associated. A hearing specialist I see uses the phrase, "A quiet world makes for louder tinnitus". Many hearing clinics even offer free risk-free trials for hearing aids to see if there are improvements. They key is, however, you have to wear your hearing aids almost constantly. It takes a lot of time for the brain to adjust. Hearing aids are a great option, but there are also other treatment options out there too.

How are you able to post as a non registered user?

 

[Grace Bird]

I have Meniere's Disease in my left ear with constant tinnitus and a severe hearing loss in that ear. The right ear does an amazing job of compensating for the loss of hearing in the left ear. I have a hearing aid for the left ear. When I wear it consistently, I notice a significant reduction in the tinnitus. However, I can't wear it in situations where there is a lot of background noise as this seems to knock out my hearing in both ears. It is wonderful if I go to a classical concert or theatre play. My audiologist tells me that it is important to wear it to prevent further loss of hearing.

 

[Shem]

I'll throw my own data point in there in case it's helpful to somebody. Hearing aid has helped my tinnitus substantially.

I had severe single sided sudden hearing loss (idiopathic, just woke up one morning not able to hear out of my left ear) accompanied by tinnitus. Hearing loss was in the higher frequency ranges, >2K, mostly worsening as the frequence went up.

Hearing got slightly better over time with various treatments (steroids, HBOT), but tinnitus remained. Over maybe 4 months, the hearing stabilized with some improvement, but still classified as moderate/severe and I got fairly habituated to the tinnitus to the point where it wasnt a massive problem for me anymore.

Fast forward a few months, and I got a Widex Beyond hearing aid through an audiology group. This was intended to help with the hearing. I had no expectation that it would help with the tinnitus. It took probably a month or so with a few visits to properly tweak the hearing aid settings for my profile and comfort level.

When I am wearing the hearing aid (which is probably 80% of the time), my tinnitus is reduced to the point where I don't notice it at all unless I look for it. There is a slight background hiss when I am wearing the aid, so I'm not sure if that's causing a masking effect, or if it's because it is amplifying the frequencies I can't hear properly, but the end result is that it was definitely a game changer in terms of my tinnitus.

At nighttime I sometimes use it as a masking device (you can program multiple modes) to help fall asleep if things are really quiet, but I always end up taking it out during the night at some point.

Feel free to ping me if you have any questions, happy to help.

 

[GregCA]

Feel free to ping me if you have any questions, happy to help.

Do you mind sharing your audiogram?

 

[Shem]

Sure. I actually created a chart to trace the results over time. The vertical axis is the DB level, the horizontal is the date the test was performed, and each line on the graph is a different frequency. As an FYI, started HBOT around 10/20 IIRC.

Been pretty much flat since the end date of the graph.

 

[Contrast]

So are people with hearing aids interested in the science of hearing restoration?

I mean obviously yes but sadly a lot of them don't "hear" about it. pun intended lol

But seriously there are 3 bio tech firms in active clinical trials and several more to come that are focusing on repairing the cells and synapses in the inner ear and in hopes that it will reduce hearing loss as well as possibly tinnitus. The more people that root on this research the sooner you get real help.

 

[don l]

I am now trying hearing aids, and see if they help. I have read more than one article where they recommend them, I also went to my audiologist through my health plan and to UC Irvine here in California, they both recommended hearing aids to try and offset some hearing
loss and ringing in both ears. so we will see if that helps along with meditation. One thing with tinnitus is even if the audio nerve is cut a person can still have Tinnitus , which tells me it's more of a brain thing than inner ear or hair cell damage.
good luck to us all .

 

[Contrast]

I am now trying hearing aids, and see if they help. I have read more than one article where they recommend them, I also went to my audiologist through my health plan and to UC Irvine here in California, they both recommended hearing aids to try and offset some hearing
loss and ringing in both ears. so we will see if that helps along with meditation. One thing with tinnitus is even if the audio nerve is cut a person can still have Tinnitus , which tells me it's more of a brain thing than inner ear or hair cell damage.
good luck to us all .

the brain is making a phantom noise to compensate for hearing loss. it's a neurological problem but the most common trigger is hearing loss.

 

[Rings-a-Bell]

Tried a hearing aid in an audiologists office for 10 minutes. They were calibrated to match my 60db hearing loss notch at 4khz. The T was undiminished while they were on. Perhaps it is something that takes time to have an effect?

 

[Akk]

Tried a hearing aid in an audiologists office for 10 minutes. They were calibrated to match my 60db hearing loss notch at 4khz. The T was undiminished while they were on. Perhaps it is something that takes time to have an effect?

Yes it can be very individual. For me it took couple of months to adapt. Suffering HFL about one year before HA.

 

[Voice of jack]

Hi, it's been a while since I posted anything. The last thing was about acupuncture, which unfortunately did not help or cure my tinnitus. A few months ago after CT and MRI scans which were all negative I was referred to Audiology Department who diagnosed slight hearing loss in my left ear, the one which is affected by tinnitus. They fitted me with a combination hearing aid which plays white noise to distract from the tinnitus. It works ok and fights with the tinnitus but in general it gives me some comfort, I do not use it all the time and normally put it in when it's very quiet. I have to sleep with white noise playing from my iPhone, as the tinnitus intrudes into my sleep and stops me fallen asleep. Not great news but I thought I would share it as others may have similar hearing aids and any advice would be welcome.

Regards

J.

 

[just1morething]

Hi, it's been a while since I posted anything. The last thing was about acupuncture, which unfortunately did not help or cure my tinnitus. A few months ago after CT and MRI scans which were all negative I was referred to Audiology Department who diagnosed slight hearing loss in my left ear, the one which is affected by tinnitus. They fitted me with a combination hearing aid which plays white noise to distract from the tinnitus. It works ok and fights with the tinnitus but in general it gives me some comfort, I do not use it all the time and normally put it in when it's very quiet. I have to sleep with white noise playing from my iPhone, as the tinnitus intrudes into my sleep and stops me fallen asleep. Not great news but I thought I would share it as others may have similar hearing aids and any advice would be welcome.

Regards

J.

I read that ventilating your ear canal is beneficial while sleeping. My hearing aids/maskers do have holes in the domes but I thought it said to not wear them while sleeping. Using the open type ear buds might be okay for playing white noise, ocean or rain sounds, etc. from your iPhone.

 

[Mike T]

Hearing aids did absolutely nothing for me. I went for expensive Widex ones for tinnitus. Paid over £1500 and they were worth £0 to me.

They helped for a few hours - placebo effect. The sound stimuli from the tones was awful. Much better from YouTube clips and an mp3 player.

Still have a left ear one with controller. Didn't work for me but if you're going to have a go, don't pay the retail cost like I did?

 

[DaveFromChicago]

Please see my 03/19/2019 entry regarding the difficulties I have encountered with White Noise Maskers / Hearing Aids.
The most discouraging aspect is that with reactive tinnitus, in a noisy environment that level of hearing loss that causes this will oftentimes not be covered by maximum amplification but only aggravated by it.
In a very quiet environment, though, maximum amplification will often completely eliminate the tinnitus sound. I can occasionally return to the pure, tear-producing, unconditional bliss of total bona fide silence.
I wear these every minute of the day and night.
I have heard the criticism that white noise merely establishes an artificial tinnitus placed over the actual natural sound.
There is, however, still the fact that the white noise provides a constant, even sound that is far preferable to the insanely multitoned, repetitive, otherworldly tinnitus sound.
There is a current theory that with certain forms of hearing loss, amplification can strengthen the brain's hearing range (or at least arrest further deterioration) just as exercise will do to a muscle. There is also the theoretical possibility that it could in particular circumstances thereby reduce tinnitus.
In a recent New Yorker article, the reporter said that his hearing aids initially created a very uncomfortable sensation of intrusive amplification.
He was, however, told that after one month the brain would successfully adapt to this heightened susceptibility, and that the sensation would become normalized and not bothersome.
Investigate all of these possibilities with your audiologist, especially in regard to choosing the best suited device for you.
Good News: When I visited the Whole Foods Supplement Department, the saleslady said that she had this for five years but that it finally completely faded away (and she has no idea why).
Also, an older man recently told me that he got this from high pitched sound exposure from flying a private plane and had this for seven years, but that it also eventually completely disappeared (with also no apparent explanation). This is even more astonishing, since one would think that tinnitus-induced tissue damage from acoustic trauma would be irreversible and permanent.
So, there are two verifiable examples that this can really, eventually disappear on its own.