To Aid or Not to Aid?

"You must be kidding!" This alongside a sceptical look are quite often the reactions I get when suggesting hearing aids or sound based therapy to clients with Tinnitus or sound sensitivity. "Why would I want to replace one annoying sound with another?" Or "Why would I want to turn sound up when I am already sensitive?"

All very sensible questions and here are the answers. Many cases of Tinnitus and some sound sensitivity issues are as a consequence of hearing damage. Consider it as a faulty code resulting from damage to your auditory system. The vast majority of people find that their tinnitus awareness is significantly reduced when wearing their hearing aids. In fact most people find that their tinnitus is less noticeable when they have other distracting sound around them. Hearing aids allow you to hear more of this sound.

If your tinnitus is worse after being in difficult listening situations or while you are sitting watching TV at night. If you find that peoples voice's are unclear or mumbled or if tinnitus seems to get in the way of your ability to hear then you may have a hearing loss which would benefit from hearing aids.

Hands up, it isn't as simple as putting in a hearing aid for a couple of hours and hey presto no more tinnitus. Once you start wearing a hearing aid you will most likely continue to wear it from there on. Over time, the tinnitus awareness will become less of an issue but you will prefer hearing with a hearing aid over with your hearing loss and that is why people continue to wear their aids. Hearing aids also take some time to get used to. Your normal hearing is 'normal' to you and it can take a couple of months to get used to hearing all those sounds you were previously missing again. Hearing aids often sound tinny or robotic to begin with and may be itchy in your ear. You will be aware of more environmental sound around you like clothes rustling, bird song and running taps. All of these however help to focus your attention on external sound rather than your tinnitus.

Modern hearing aids are no long the beige boxes of our grandparents. All aids, both NHS and privately purchased are 'digital'. This refers to the technology inside the aid that allows them to be tuned specifically to your hearing loss. Aids come if different shapes and sizes. NHS devices largely go behind your ear and then the sound is channelled into your ear canal either via a thin tube and ear bud or thicker tube and custom made ear mould depending on the degree of your hearing loss. NHS devices are still largely battery operated although some areas may have switched to rechargeable. Private aids come in more variety of shapes and sizes, including smaller rechargeable behind the ear devices or ones that sit in you ear canal. There tends to also be a selection of different technology levels from basic devices which are primarily for 1-1 conversations in quiet or watching the TV through to more sophisticated AI enabled devices with advanced speech in noise processing for listening in noise places like open plan offices or restaurants. Devices increase in price as you move up the technology levels. Both NHS and private devices are bluetooth enabled for streaming of phone calls and can be controlled by smartphone apps.

Whatever route you go down, it is important that the devices are correctly tuned to your hearing loss and lifestyle. If tinnitus or sound sensitivity is an issue a sound therapy programme may also be of benefit to you. It is important that this is set up by a clinician with experience in using sound therapy for management of these conditions. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Knowledge is power when it comes to tinnitus management.