Hearing Aids

[Michael Leigh]

Hello Michael,

This is not the case for me, I have mild hearing loss in my left ear and my hearing aid definitely helps with my tinnitus. I know this as my tinnitus always increases in severity when I am not wearing it or the battery goes flat. In fact my hearing aid is the only thing that's ever made a difference to my tinnitus. If my tinnitus increases I always check my hearing aid first.

My hearing aid plays white noise but I never use it as I have habituated.

Simon

Hello chamferman.

We are all different. I am pleased that you have found your hearing aid helpful. If you haven't had your hearing checked within the last year, it might be a good idea to have this done.

All the best
Michael

 

[corza000]

My ENT said that if I wear a hearing aid for a year for at least 8 hours a day that it will minimise my tinnitus.

He said it tricks the brain to get used to it not being there. Apparently based on some German study.

Is this true?

 

[GregCA]

My ENT said that if I wear a hearing aid for a year for at least 8 hours a day that it will minimise my tinnitus.

He said it tricks the brain to get used to it not being there. Apparently based on some German study.

Is this true?

A hearing aid will amplify the parts of the sound that wouldn't otherwise reach your auditory cortex due to hearing loss. More sound means more signal to drown the noise, especially since there is a frequency band correlation between the tinnitus noise and the hearing loss.

My hearing aid does help significantly.

 

[MarkRule]

A hearing aid will amplify the parts of the sound that wouldn't otherwise reach your auditory cortex due to hearing loss. More sound means more signal to drown the noise, especially since there is a frequency band correlation between the tinnitus noise and the hearing loss.

My hearing aid does help significantly.

Thanks Greg.

He said after a year you could stop wearing the hearing aid and the tinnitus would remain low. Haven't found this elsewhere yet.

 

[GregCA]

He said after a year you could stop wearing the hearing aid and the tinnitus would remain low. Haven't found this elsewhere yet.

That part sounds like over-selling. The tinnitus doesn't change for me - it's just that the noise gets drowned by more signal, the same way that your tinnitus is more prominent if you plug your ears. So it is a net benefit, but it's not because the tinnitus diminishes in volume.

 

[Aaron91]

Hello, I have had severe noise-induced tinnitus (many sounds) for 1 year now and mild hyperacusis in my left hear.

I did a tinnitometry and the audiologist said that I don't have any micro hearing loss but I'm bothered by sounds from 12 kHz.
He thus asked me to wear hearing aids that prevent me from being bothered by sounds from 12 kHz.
I also have a tinnitus masker option with the hearing aids.

I've been using these hearing aids for 1 month now with absolutely no difference regarding my tinnitus.
My tinnitus prevents me from sleeping and the hearing aids can't help me sleep better either as I can't sleep with white noise.

There are also many problems with the programming that always change the settings of the hearing aids.
Plus I hear strangely with that hearing aids.

I don't know what to do; my trial period finishes on Saturday, 7th March. The hearing aids cost 3 300 € but with mutual funds I can have them for about 170 € (thanks France!).

Should I buy them? Do you think my tinnitus will go down if I keep using them as long as possible? I was asked to wear them for at least 6 hours per day.

Please give me your opinion!

Thanks in advance.

Has your hyperacusis improved since using the hearing aid?

 

[Pauline W]

Hi

I have suffered a really bad tinnitus spike for about a year now. I finally managed to get an appointment to test and supply hearing aids.

At first it was fantastic, the tinnitus seemed to have gone and it was so peaceful. But a week or so later I find that my tinnitus is appearing once again and not sure why this may be. I also have hyperacusis.

Any comments would be appreciated.
Many thanks,
Pauline

 

[BuzzyBee]

That part sounds like over-selling. The tinnitus doesn't change for me - it's just that the noise gets drowned by more signal, the same way that your tinnitus is more prominent if you plug your ears. So it is a net benefit, but it's not because the tinnitus diminishes in volume.

Over-selling seems like a good way to put it.

Also, where did the one year come from?

 

[Kam75]

Has your hyperacusis improved since using the hearing aid?

I returned the hearing aids after the one month trial period because they were of no use to me.

I have a high frequency hearing loss, so the hearing aids have no effect.

I don't feel that my hyperacusis has improved in two years. I don't think it has gotten any worse either.

However, my tinnitus got much worse a little over 6 months ago because of an anti-inflammatory medication.

You really live in fear when you have tinnitus because anything can make it worse and make life even more unbearable.

 

[Swann36]

Sadly, if hearing aids are going to help the tinnitus, it eases off as soon as you put them in and starts up to normal level a few seconds after you take them out. They will not help to cure the tinnitus in any way, certainly not just because you wear them for hours.

Within a few minutes of putting my hearing aid in (a simple small NHS one), the "loudness" of my tinnitus reduces somewhat. It does not disappear but I get some good relief most days I put it in and the longer I wear it during the day, the better the results often are. My tinnitus is only on one side of my head, and that is the ear where I have my hearing aid in. Oddly, some days the hearing aid seems to aggravate the tinnitus and I have never been able to wear it in the car driving, which I assume is the result of road noise, tyres etc being boosted to annoyed levels for my tinnitus.

Not arguing about your point, simply letting others know hearing aids may be worth a try. They may help a bit.

Having said that, I'm totally in agreement that hearing aids are not a cure.

 

[BeMarie]

Here's what's available to me through my insurance. Are any of these especially good for tinnitus? Name of my insurance company is crossed off.

 

[Christiaan]

Here's what's available to me through my insurance. Are any of these especially good for tinnitus? Name of my insurance company is crossed off.

View attachment 44894

Signia has generally a good name for tinnitus sufferers, as they have a couple of programs for tinnitus (e.g. notch therapy and maskers).

Oticon's OPN S also seems to be well received by a lot of people with tinnitus, according to a recent study done by Arizona Hearing & Balance.

Here's a YouTube link to Arizona's Hearing & Balance study with the Oticon OPN S:

 

[Christiaan]

I returned the hearing aids after the one month trial period because they were of no use to me.

I have a high frequency hearing loss, so the hearing aids have no effect.

I don't feel that my hyperacusis has improved in two years. I don't think it has gotten any worse either.

However, my tinnitus got much worse a little over 6 months ago because of an anti-inflammatory medication.

You really live in fear when you have tinnitus because anything can make it worse and make life even more unbearable.

How high is your high frequency tinnitus @Kam75? There are a few hearing aids that have a larger frequency bandwidth than their competitors, such as Oticon More (10 kHz) and Signia Xperience (12 kHz). Perhaps one of these products could help you out.

 

[Lilah]

Here's what's available to me through my insurance. Are any of these especially good for tinnitus? Name of my insurance company is crossed off.

View attachment 44894

Are these the only options available through TruHearing? I have a $2500 benefit through my insurance also and plan to go through TruHearing. Let us know what your audiologist recommends.

 

[GregCA]

Here's a YouTube link to Arizona's Hearing & Balance study with the Oticon OPN S:

Does she mention the Oticon OPN S in the video? I didn't catch it.

 

[Christiaan]

Does she mention the Oticon OPN S in the video? I didn't catch it.

No, she didn't mention it specifically in the video. We corresponded via e-mail and she mentioned that Arizona Balance & Hearing used Oticon OPN S for this study.

 

[Kam75]

How high is your high frequency tinnitus @Kam75? There are a few hearing aids that have a larger frequency bandwidth than their competitors, such as Oticon More (10 kHz) and Signia Xperience (12 kHz). Perhaps one of these products could help you out.

It's hard to say because my audiologist only tested my hearing up to 12.5 kHz because the sounds in my ears were starting to hurt. At 12.5 kHz I am at -55 dB.

I didn't know that there were hearing aids that went up to 12 kHz! According to what the audiologist told me, if I remember correctly, the standard hearing aids go up to 6 kHz or something like that!

 

[Christiaan]

It's hard to say because my audiologist only tested my hearing up to 12.5 kHz because the sounds in my ears were starting to hurt. At 12.5 kHz I am at -55 dB.

I didn't know that there were hearing aids that went up to 12 kHz! According to what the audiologist told me, if I remember correctly, the standard hearing aids go up to 6 kHz or something like that!

In my personal experience, audiologists normally get in touch with people who have difficulty hearing voices and have moderate to severe hearing loss. They are not used to people who are in need of a hearing aid because they have difficulty hearing music due to hearing loss in the higher frequencies, for instance. So it seems pretty routine for them to advise a standard hearing aid in the range of 100 Hz-6 kHz.

 

[Akk]

I have used Oticon Opn 3, and now testing Oticon More 1.

Opn 3 goes up to 6 kHz, while More 1 goes up to 9 kHz. More 1 has also better (and faster) signal processing. The difference is quite huge, with More 1 my tinnitus almost vanishes, and overall hearing is better.

If you want to try hearing aids, test the best possible model available.

 

[Gb3]

I have used Oticon Opn 3, and now testing Oticon More 1.

Opn 3 goes up to 6 kHz, while More 1 goes up to 9 kHz. More 1 has also better (and faster) signal processing. The difference is quite huge, with More 1 my tinnitus almost vanishes, and overall hearing is better.

If you want to try hearing aids, test the best possible model available.

What does your audiogram look like?

 

[Gb3]

No, she didn't mention it specifically in the video. We corresponded via e-mail and she mentioned that Arizona Balance & Hearing used Oticon OPN S for this study.

What is the technology?

 

[Christiaan]

What is the technology?

Basically using Oticon OPN S HA and some technical adjustments to the device.

You can contact Dr. Susan Schmidt for further details about the specifics of the Oticon HA study, as I don't think it's appropriate to publish the details of our correspondence on Tinnitus Talk.

Here's her email:
Susan@arizonabalance.com

 

[IreneO]

I've had severe tinnitus and hyperacusis since 2015 and got hearing aids in 2018. I wasn't expecting much from them but they have helped me a lot, especially with the hyperacusis. They're definitely worth a try if you can get them and work with a good audiologist to tune them for your needs.

 

[josh77]

I agree. Hearing aids help, but in my case only with some noise such as crickets in the 4-8 kHz frequency range in the background. Without the masking noise the hearing aids don't do much as it seems most sounds in a quiet environment or watching TV is 4 kHz or less.

Strangely, hearing aids with masking work better than just turning up the masking.

 

[Akk]

What does your audiogram look like?

For left ear: 125 Hz/-10 dB, 250/-15, 500/-15, 1k/-35, 1.5k/-40, 2k/-40, 3k/-45, 4k/-65, 6k/-65, and 8k/-90

I now have an 85 dB speaker, it`s hardly enough for 8 kHz and above loss. I think that I can hear roughly up to 6 kHz now, so with extra bandwith up to 9-10 kHz, it has no benefit to me (anymore).

 

[Darrenb111]

I would also like to add my positive experience with Oticon More 1 hearing aids. I have hearing loss in my right ear from 5 kHz and above which leaves me with hyperacusis and tinnitus in that ear. After 5 months of suffering, a private Audiologist in London suggested trying these hearing aids with the range of 6-8 kHz amplified. This instantly helped my hyperacusis and I mean instantly. I have noise reactive tinnitus and whilst wearing the hearing aids, the tinnitus volume has not been so intrusive throughout the day.

We all have different versions of tinnitus so this may not be of help to anyone but it definitely made life more bearable for me.

 

[Lilah]

I finally went to the audiologist today about hearing aids/maskers and was recommended Widex Moment 220 (which I ended up purchasing). She filtered her selection based on whether I have iPhone or Android, and said I don't need hearing aids with a lot of features since I don't have hearing loss issues (took the 8000 Hz test).

 

[Wrfortiscue]

How do we determine if hearing aids would work for us? My ENT said, based on my hearing loss, I should qualify for some. I didn't dig deeper at that time.

I have reactive multiple tone tinnitus.

 

[ajc]

How do we determine if hearing aids would work for us? My ENT said, based on my hearing loss, I should qualify for some. I didn't dig deeper at that time.

By trialing them. Many audiologists offer free trials, or with minimum cost if you decide to return them.

 

[Wrfortiscue]

By trialing them. Many audiologists offer free trials, or with minimum cost if you decide to return them.

Thanks buddy! I'm assuming they are safe to use, correct? In the sense I won't do irreversible damage… or at least shouldn't.