Tinnitus has been around for a long time. But perhaps it’s new to you, like a loud used car you can’t return. Normally, though not always, tinnitus reveals itself as a ceaseless ringing or buzzing in the ears. The sound can be, at times, very loud. However tinnitus is experienced by you, this point is probably true: if tinnitus is bothering you, you might be searching for some new ways to manage your symptoms.
The good news is that new therapies and treatment options are being formulated that aren’t cures for tinnitus but can help you manage it. Your tongue is even involved in some of those therapies.
The Most Recent Way to Manage Tinnitus
Perhaps the most novel tinnitus therapy to hit our radar appears to offer a lot of promise, even if it appears a little unusual at first. Both the ear and the tongue are stimulated with this device developed at the Trinity School of Medicine in Dublin. Bi-modal neurostimulation is the technical term for this technique.
Based on the first tests of this device, the results were fairly optimistic. 12 weeks was about the duration that most people were treated. Within those 12 months, those same people observed a dramatic reduction in tinnitus symptoms. But this kind of therapy is still in the testing phase and not widely available yet.
How Can I Get Tinnitus Relief Now?
Unfortunately, it will probably be quite a while before novel therapies like this are broadly accessible. So maybe you’re wondering what you can do now to help control your tinnitus.
There are, luckily, some tinnitus management technology that has recently been released. And one of the best new methods of managing tinnitus is something you’ve likely already heard of: your hearing aid.
It works like this:
External sounds are boosted by hearing aids. When you begin to lose your hearing, external get quieter and that can make the internal sounds of tinnitus get louder. A hearing aid can boost the volume on the rest of the audio spectrum. That doesn’t lower the volume of your tinnitus, but it could make the ringing less noticeable.
There is a noise masking device comparable to a modern hearing aid. If your hearing loss is fairly moderate, then a masking device may be the best way to treat your symptoms. A hearing aid has a comparable appearance to a masking device. And most hearing aids can be augmented with masking technology. Your tinnitus symptoms can be obscured by sounds produced by this type of technology. In some cases this will be a tone, in other situations, it may be some white noise. Whatever will best hide the humming in your ears.
This is, naturally, just the beginning. We can help you choose the best choice for you so call us for a consultation.