Living a Normal Life with Tinnitus

Tinnitus is often described as a high-pitched whine or noise in your head that only you can hear. It can be a frustrating condition to deal with and it can come and go depending on the time of day, your body position or even your mood. While it has no clear cure or cause, it affects millions of people in the world on some level and can be challenging to cope with.

Thankfully, it’s entirely possible to live a normal life even with tinnitus. In this post, we’re going to offer some tips on how you can cope with tinnitus.

Using hearing aids to mask tinnitus

Many people find that hearing loss is often accompanied by tinnitus as they are both affected by the nerves in your ear. This means that those with tinnitus or hearing loss will usually have the other condition. As a result, using hearing aids to mask your tinnitus and cope with hearing loss can be a simple way to cope with it and continue living your life as normal.

Your audiologist will likely suggest a hearing aid that contains masking features if they diagnose you with both hearing loss and tinnitus. Most modern hearing aids come with masking features as a standard, but they may need to be activated with a setting or button on the hearing aid itself. If you don’t have hearing loss and only experience tinnitus, then it may still be possible to get hearing aids for the masking features alone or a sound generating device that can be used while sleeping.

There are many ways to cope with tinnitus, but hearing aids are arguably the most convenient if you have hearing loss. If you don’t experience hearing loss but do have tinnitus, then using hearing aids may not be the most practical solution available.

Using sound machines for tinnitus

As mentioned briefly above, sound machines are an alternative to hearing aids for those with tinnitus but not hearing loss. Sound machines work by generating white noise that counteracts your tinnitus, effectively masking it and allowing your brain to lose focus of the high-pitched whine or buzz that is associated with tinnitus.

Sound machines come in a variety of different styles. The most common style of sound machine is a device that can sit on your bedside table, generating the noise to help you fall asleep at night or to be used when you’re relaxing. You can also get portable sound machines that work similarly to hearing aids. They don’t have a microphone and aren’t capable of functioning like a hearing aid, but they are a portable and often discrete way to mask tinnitus. A more modern solution is to use your mobile device to find apps that can act like sound machines, but these require the use of high-quality earphones.

Considering tinnitus retraining therapy

Tinnitus retraining therapy is a way to teach your brain to ignore the sounds of tinnitus. This can require several appointments with your audiologist in order to see the full effect, but it can be an incredibly effective way to cope with tinnitus. Since it’s a method of retraining your brain to avoid the frequencies and sounds of your tinnitus, it can be considered a permanent solution to deal with the condition. Tinnitus retraining therapy is offered by audiologists. Speak to your audiologist and ask if they offer tinnitus retraining therapy as an option.

Earwax removal

Lastly, it’s possible to use earwax removal as a means of dealing with tinnitus. This isn’t always possible depending on what’s causing your tinnitus but can be an effective way to deal with the condition. Impacted earwax is one of the leading causes of tinnitus and is often the result of using cotton swabs and other methods of cleaning your ears that push the earwax further into your ear canal. Your audiologist will examine your ears and decide if it’s possible to use earwax removal to help with your tinnitus. This is often carried out using a small vacuum inside of your ear to remove large clumps of earwax that could be causing unnecessary pressure in your ears, leading to tinnitus.

Contact a professional audiologist today

If you’re tired of trying to cope with your tinnitus and want a practical and effective solution, consider getting in touch with Gavin Audiology and Hearing Aids at (914) 610-3440 today. You’ll be put through to a friendly staff member who will be able to guide you further and help you book an appointment with a professional audiologist.