Hearing Aids

[Markku]

Well if that sort of hearing aid that handles frequencies above 8kHz was created and the trials showed that it improved the extreme high-pitched tinnitus in many cases, then I can see no reason why it couldn't hit the market.

Tinnitus is pretty common after all and many would buy such a device, if it reduced their tinnitus.

But... I need to try and look this up some time, because I faintly remember reading somewhere that it is technically pretty tough to create a hearing aid that handles those higher frequencies. There were some big downsides and technical hurdles to overcome.

If anybody knows more about the technical side of creating such a hearing aid, I'm all ears!

 

[Louise]

Yes there's some technical difficulty in calibrating the higher frequencies just for the hearing test I've been told by audiologists. I dont know why this is. Surely this can be sorted out!! It cant be as hard as some other things that have been done in science (getting to the moon for instance ).

 

[Louise]

Don't know what they're called - but she definitely said that the noise is adjusted to align with your T.

Yes, you pitch match apparently but the noise is supposed to be set to partially mask the T very comfortably. I'm surprised your friend got something like this on the NHS as I dont seem to be able to get much. I asked for a noise generator today when I say the NHS Hearing Therapist for my counselling session and was told they arent available on the NHS (they are around £50 - £70 to buy). So one of the very few options we have to help isnt even available free on the NHS. Honestly, it stinks.

 

[click]

Could be the postcode lottery?

 

[Louise]

Could be the postcode lottery?

I think it is. So wrong for a supposed NATIONAL Health Service.

 

[click]

It's actually scary. If we're to believe all the media stories then where you live can definitely decide whether you live or die.

 

[mick]

I'll certainly let you know

I had been taking Magnesium before T to help with another problem. I wasnt taking it religiously then though. I take it orally (Dyno-mins Magnesium) and then read the other day that its very hard to absorb when taken orally and you only get 30% - 50% of what you take absorbed.

I'm going to continue the oral supp and use the oil too.

Louise,

If you don't mind sharing the reason, why were you taking magnesium prior to your tinnitus? I too was taking magnesium before developing tinnitus. In my case I was taking it for pre-ventricular contractions (PVCs) causing heart palpitations. The magnesium worked great for it. I'm curious if there is some common denominator between tinnitus and either minor heart arrythmias or perhaps just taking magnesium. Of course, stress and anxiety can cause trigger PVCs as well as tinnitus, so maybe thats the underlying common cause I'm looking for.

Mick

 

[Louise]

Hi Mick, no I dont mind sharing.... I was taking it along with other supplements and dietary changes to help my Adrenal Fatigue.

Your Magnesium worked for you then Mick for your PVC, was it an oral supplement?

 

[mick]

Hi Mick, no I dont mind sharing.... I was taking it along with other supplements and dietary changes to help my Adrenal Fatigue.

Your Magnesium worked for you then Mick for your PVC, was it an oral supplement?

Yes it was an oral supplement - 250 mg pill. It worked like magic on my PVCs.

 

[Louise]

WIsh the same could be said for ot working fo T

I'm on 500mg oral at night and a transdermal spray as oral is not supposed to absorb very well. No effect on the T, as yet anyway.

 

[Markku]

I had to bring this over from the other thread.

Today I took my next "giant leap for mankind": I called my audiologist and made an appointment to try hearing aids. 45 day return policy. My hearing is good, except at the tinnitus frequency. I hope this will be my last experiment.

I'm so excited for you Karl! When is the appointment, if I may ask? I'm expecting you might notice an immediate reduction, but can't wait to hear how it goes!!

 

[Blair]

I've had the Widex Zen for over 4 months, and while it hasn't had any effect on my tinnitus, it certainly has improved
my quality of life. With the Zen, the tinnitus because barely heard background noise which mostly I just ignore. One more thing. My hearing test definitely showed a hearing loss in the higher frequencies, while the tinnitus ringing
showed up at the lost frequencies.....Personally, I would have paid ten times what the Widex cost for what it has
done for my life.

 

[Markku]

http://www.widex.com/products/thewidexsound/zen/

 

[Louise]

I've had the Widex Zen for over 4 months, and while it hasn't had any effect on my tinnitus, it certainly has improved
my quality of life. With the Zen, the tinnitus because barely heard background noise which mostly I just ignore. One more thing. My hearing test definitely showed a hearing loss in the higher frequencies, while the tinnitus ringing
showed up at the lost frequencies.....Personally, I would have paid ten times what the Widex cost for what it has
done for my life.

Hi Blair,

When you say your hearing loss showed in higher frequencies do you mean higher than 8khz?

Does the T become "barely heard background noise" only when you are playing the Zen tones or all the time you have the aids on?

Kiitos.

 

[Blair]

Hi Blair,

When you say your hearing loss showed in higher frequencies do you mean higher than 8khz?

Does the T become "barely heard background noise" only when you are playing the Zen tones or all the time you have the aids on?

Kiitos.

My hearing loss starts at mid 4k and higher, and you have to have your aids in for the zen to work. One thing I have
noticed is that when I take them out, the Zen chimes can still be heard, as a phantom noise, just not as pronounced.
This is a no brainer. They work, not as a cure or a mask, but as a mental head fake, to take your conscious hearing
where you can ignore the tinnitus. I speak only for myself; they gave me back my life.

 

[Louise]

I understand. Thanks. And I'm glad they work so well for you

 

[Karl]

Markku, Louise,....and the rest The World:

This is your Tinnitus Reporter (and Karl Terzaghi impersonator) reporting back from the field. Today I am wearing very discrete hearing aids.

Yes, I have "seen the light" . There is indeed a difference - at least in my case. When I put these little buggers on, I could finally hear the higher frequencies that I haven't heard for perhaps 5 years. Just to hear these frequencies is amazing.

I'm wearing Widex Zen hearing aids, a sort of "bottom of the line" model: Cost $3000 for both. 45 day return policy. Very small, with a little remote control for volume and Zen background sound options.

Here's the scoop:
1. I had another audiogram. This verified that I still have hearing loss at 4kHz in my right ear. For other frequencies, my hearing is pretty good (in the 10-20db range).

2. My audiologist entered my audiogram into a computer program.

3. The Widex hearing aids were then programmed specifically based on my audiogram, using a Bluetooth connection.

4. There are various additional background sounds that I can listen to. Some of these background sounds are like wind chimes (called "Zen"). The sounds are somewhat random and don't repeat. I chose 3 of these additional sounds. There are perhaps 10 different sounds that I selected from. You don't need to listen to these background sounds.

5. The hearing aids can be reprogrammed in the future, as my hearing changes.

The Big Question: Do the hearing aids suppress my tinnitus? I don't want to mislead people, because we don't each have the same tinnitus. My tinnitus is not that bad. But seriously, it seems that my tinnitus is considerably suppressed. For example, I did not get my morning "buzz" this morning watching TV. Everything is so far, so good.

I have been very persistent in my own ideas about what is causing tinnitus, and hearing aids fit within the theory. It just seems obvious to me that, when we get hearing loss, the brain sends a distress signal back to the ear to "crank it up". That's tinnitus in a nutshell. With hearing loss, some nerves are left "twiddling their thumbs with little to do" - so these nerves make noise. Hearing aids gets these nerves working again, so they don't make noise.

There's an old Steely Dan song, "Through With Buzz", that appears on their Pretzel Logic album. Very cool, short song, that makes me think of tinnitus. I think that many people can benefit from hearing aids so that they can be "Through With Buzz".

 

[mick]

Excellent news! I am glad for you.

My boss has a mild hearing loss and tinnitus and he too said just wearing his hearing aids suppresses his tinnitus. He does not have the Zen stuff. I know another guy who has severe hearing loss and has since he was a child. He says the hearing aids do not suppress his tinnitus, but after 60 something years he has gotten used to it. He said it started for him when he was 6 and he used to cry, and cry because he hated the sound so much. He said now he always hears it, but it just doesn't bother him.

 

[click]

Excellent news Karl (I have trouble recognising you... I thought that this was a new Karl... cos of the pic.. oh dear.. where is the real Karl?)

You said that your morning buzz was down... does this mean you wear the aids at night? 24 hours a day or a different regime? If not 24 hrs... can you tell us what the T is like when the aids aren't in your ears please?

ps. is the new pic permanent?
pps. liked the old pic
ppps. miss the old karl

Jane

 

[Markku]

Super duper super happy Karl for you that they're working so well! I like the Zen feature you described, do you think you'll be listening to those Zen tones a lot? I guess that model hasn't got so much praise for nothing.

Not cheap, but from what you've said they seem to be worth the money! They are very tech-y with the Bluetooth and stuff, modern I guess is the word! Great great.

 

[Karl]

...
ppps. miss the old karl

Jane

You're missing a 10 year old photo of old Karl. Will need to update. Don't have a lot of photos of me. But if you're familiar with how Chevy Chase has changed since the movie "Vacation", that's about like me. (Damn! I forgot to put "Vacation" on my list of favorite movies!)

I didn't wear the hearing aids during sleep. Just put them on when I woke up. My morning buzz is always set off by the sound of the forced air. This morning that didn't happen.

mick (Jagger?)

My boss has a mild hearing loss and tinnitus and he too said just wearing his hearing aids suppresses his tinnitus

That's great news. Several people on this site have expressed the same thing.

Too bad about your other friend who has had it since a child.

I met a young man who was given an antibiotic which saved his life, but it gave him really bad tinnitus. A tragedy that this had to happen.

Markku -
Yeah, the Zen's aren't cheap. But the model that I bought is $2000 less expensive than their other model.

Got to look at the long term picture. There was somebody on this site who said she was so happy with the Zen's she would pay 10 times the price. Her testimony convinced me to make the leap. (I'm in the middle of editing and can't look up her name...but thanks).

 

[Louise]

Karl, I'm really happy for you. Wow, to have found something that works for you, its brilliant.

Can you tell me, do they suppress the T just by you having them on? I mean, dont you also have to be listening to noise? I've read a few people now say they get suppression with aids.

I dont get any suppression from mine at all. I've been told by someone who knows his stuff that this can mean I have loss above 8khz. Ive been trying to find somewhere that cant test my hearing above 8khz to see if this is the case but so far no luck. Or another theory I have is that the girl who fitted them didnt do a good job.

Now then, on the photo front, that's two of us now that want the old pic back because we miss it!! If you dont reinstate it I am going to start one of those poll things for it Look, you can just consider that pic the 'spirit of Karl', the way you feel inside, even if you dont quite look that way on the outside anymore

 

[Karl]

Louise -
"Do they suppress the T by having them on?" After one day, I'm still evaluating. I hate having tinnitus so much that I'm hoping the aids get rid of it. Seems like they help. I'm really sick and tired of obsessing about it, to be honest.

Controlling the volume seems to be an issue I hadn't thought about. I think I had the volume on too loud yesterday, because I was hearing everything. By the end of the day, I was absolutely drained. Today I knocked the volume down two clicks of the remote.

Sometimes I have a hard time adjusting to change. Reminds me of getting new glasses, which always take me time to adjust to. I have 45 44 days left, if I want to return. The pressure is on.

I'll look for one of my Chevy Chase-like photos at home.

Today's lesson in engineering history: Karl Terzaghi (present photo) was one of the greatest engineers of all time. In my list of "engineering heroes", only one other person is his equal: Stephen Timoshenko. Terzaghi had a sense of purpose and destiny in his life, seeing the really big picture of what he had to do. He was one of those rare people in life that come along and really change things, just like Bach and Mozart in music.

If I had a photo of Timoshenko, he wasn't a particularly good looking guy. Stephen Timoshenko came to America from Russia in the 1920's (or 30's?). He taught at University of Michigan and Stanford. Almost single handidly he raised the bar of engineering education in America. His math skills were so up there, it's frustrating to read him. I've used his "Strength of Materials" book so much, it's my engineering bible.

 

[carlover]

Don't know what they're called - but she definitely said that the noise is adjusted to align with your T.

Hi Click ,with respect the NHS will not have these ,they will have digital aids that have a masker on then that makes a shhoooshhh sort of sound, volume can be turned up and down but thats it.

Good Luck ,Pete

 

[Louise]

I hate having tinnitus so much that I'm hoping the aids get rid of it. Seems like they help. I'm really sick and tired of obsessing about it, to be honest.

Controlling the volume seems to be an issue I hadn't thought about. I think I had the volume on too loud yesterday, because I was hearing everything. By the end of the day, I was absolutely drained. Today I knocked the volume down two clicks of the remote.

Sometimes I have a hard time adjusting to change. Reminds me of getting new glasses, which always take me time to adjust to. I have 45 44 days left, if I want to return. The pressure is on.

I'll look for one of my Chevy Chase-like photos at home.

Can so relate to being sick of it and of the obsessing.

I didnt realise they did aids that allowed the volume to be altered. I would think that could cause problems, they are just supposed to give you back only the sound you've lost based on your hearing test, no more, no less.

Hope you get some good results once you're more used to them.

No Chevy-Chase, we want the old Karl pic back!

You certainly love your engineering dont you Karl

 

[Louise]

Hi Click ,with respect the NHS will not have these ,they will have digital aids that have a masker on then that makes a shhoooshhh sort of sound, volume can be turned up and down but thats it.

Good Luck ,Pete

You dont even get that on the NHS Pete. I cannot get combi aids, just plain hearing aids with no masking sound. So not possible to get something from the NHS that will allow you to do TRT. I couldnt even get a noise generator machine out of them. Mind you, I think this may vary between authorities.

 

[carlover]

Iforce myself not to wear my aids during the day.It seems to knock the T out by 50%
I put them on to help me sleep.Apparently your not supposed to ,but the person who made that rule couldnt have had this horrible, sickening ,gutting ,soul destroying , mindbreaking,jet engine their head 24 hours a day.

 

[Louise]

Absolutely Pete. I think the only reason you're not supposed to wear them in bed is because of the risk of crushing them isnt it?

 

[click]

Hi Click ,with respect the NHS will not have these ,they will have digital aids that have a masker on then that makes a shhoooshhh sort of sound, volume can be turned up and down but thats it.

Good Luck ,Pete

I will ask her what sound it made carlover... could have been a shoosh sound - I do know that it didn't work.

 

[carlover]

Ok click ,good luck.
Louise http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/what-are-maskers---and-can-they-help-tinnitus that link shows some audiology depts offer them.Just a matter of going to your GP and asking to be referred to them,easy peasy lemon squeezy......................not!!!!!!!!!!!!! Could be worth a go though.