Do you often hear a ringing in your ears, but there is no explanation for why this sound and sensation is occurring? It’s possible that you have tinnitus – an ear condition that can affect people of all ages, but is more common in adults. While tinnitus can be annoying, it usually is not an indication of a more serious ear condition.
You might find that the tinnitus symptoms go away on their own. Or, if you are tired of listening to the sounds all the time, it might be time to talk to a hearing specialist about your options. The good news is that the FDA has approved several devices that have been shown to help with reducing the symptoms of tinnitus.
Tinnitus is the medical term for “ringing in the ears.” While it often sounds like a ringing noise, some people experience it as buzzing, clicking, hissing, roaring, or humming. The actual sound tends to vary from person to person.
Sometimes, tinnitus sounds drone on throughout the day and never seem to stop. These patients feel like they are constantly living with this noise. Other people don’t notice the noise until they have a quiet moment in the day or lie down at night to sleep. Mild cases of tinnitus don’t cause much of a disruption and people often learn to live with it.
It’s estimated that 10 – 15% of the population experiences tinnitus. Even though it seems to be affecting the ears, researchers have determined that it is likely a neurological issue. The brain is making you experience a noise or sound, but there is no external source of the sound.
For most people, tinnitus is a slight annoyance. But the symptoms can become so severe that they disrupt many aspects of life, causing distress because the sounds never seem to go away. In these severe cases, it results in ongoing stress that has a negative impact on overall quality of life.
Because tinnitus has been categorized as a “phantom” condition for so long, it has been hard to find relief for patients who experience it. For many years, patients simply had to live with the condition and try to find ways to cope with the discomfort in their daily lives.
It can be frustrating to search for a clinical treatment. In most situations, the first step is to visit a general practitioner because that is the initial way to seek medical care. These generalists don’t have experience with this type of condition, so they often refer the patient to visit a specialist, such as an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist. The patient is unable to find answers from the ENT, and is then referred to an audiologist. Or, it might go the other way around by visiting the audiologist first, with a follow-up referral to talk to an ENT.
Since there has been no standard of care for diagnosing and treating tinnitus, it can keep patients going in circles – feeling frustrated because they are unable to find answers. Many people know that the possible solutions are limited, so they don’t attempt clinical care at all.
The good news is that a treatment has been discovered! With the development of technology, researchers have discovered ways to disrupt phantom sound signals and provide relief to people who are experiencing tinnitus.
Even though doctors are still looking for a tinnitus cure, there are technology solutions that can help to alleviate the symptoms of tinnitus. If you are looking for solutions, then you might consider talking to your doctor about one of these options:
When you are using a Lenire device, it sends small electrical currents to your tongue. At the same time, you are listening to sounds through headphones. The combination can treat tinnitus because of the way the brain is affected.
The goal is to stimulate the nerves in the tongue and ears while retraining the brain at the same time. The brain becomes more aware of different types of sounds, which reduces sensitivity to the tinnitus sounds. The symptoms of tinnitus become milder and have a reduced impact on the person’s life.
Recent research looks promising: a large group of tinnitus patients used self-administered treatments using Lenire for 30 – 60 minutes each day. Even though the trial only lasted for 12 weeks of treatment, the patients were monitored for a full year after the treatment finished.
The results speak for themselves: 95% of trial participants reported that their tinnitus symptoms improved! A year after treatments ended, 91% of participants reported that they sustained the improvement in their tinnitus symptoms.
Another tinnitus treatment option is known as Neosensory. This device also uses small sensations, but the delivery method is different. You wear a wristband instead. The wristband syncs with your phone and is run through an app. The wristband has different responses to the frequencies of the app, resulting in bimodal stimulation.
The recommended treatment is to use this wristband for 10 minutes per day for 8 weeks. After 3 weeks, 91% of customers report noticing an improvement from this treatment device. While the recommendation is 10 – 15 minutes of treatment daily, some people choose to use the device for longer during their treatment sessions.
Not only is the Neosensory device backed by science, but many trusted audiologists and reputable institutions also endorse it.
Everyone has 10 minutes a day they can dedicate to treatment. This device is easy to use because of the integrated app, which has guided exercises and daily reminders so that you don’t forget to use the device.
If you are living with tinnitus symptoms, then we invite you to reach out to our team for a consultation. We offer full-service solutions to identify any underlying hearing conditions that might need to be treated. Additionally, we can help you choose the ideal treatment device to alleviate your tinnitus symptoms and help you find relief.
For more information about available services, contact our expert team at Fairfax Hearing Center. We are always here to help.
