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Tinnitus adivice with hearing aids

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I’ve had tinnitus in both ears since my 20’s, now that I’m in my 50’s it seems to be getting worse. The left ear has some mild hearing loss and the right ear seems to be o.k., refer to the in my profie. The internet tells me that by using hearing aid alone, it may help with tinnitus, what’s your experience and will it help with tinnitus on the right ear where there is very little hearing loss. My surgeon is also telling me that it will take 2-3 months after wearing hearing aids to be able to hear the difference as the brain needs to adapt to it, is this true? What about tinnitus maksers? I’ve attempted to use tinnitus playing on my speakers when I go to sleep, however, it kept waking up multiple times during the night due to the sound which is somewhat counter productive. What else have you tried that has helped with your tinnitus?

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My definitely help. I usually don’t notice when wearing them. I have a made-for-tinnitus speaker/player and a speaker pillow which plugs into it for sleep. The sound is a noise I selected from about ten special noise mp3s on the included memory card. I have a noise maker/radio/speaker for the desk too, but rarely need it with HAs in.

When I’m out and about I use widex zen tinnitus app when I get hit hard. They have others, pick what works best for you.

WH

My wife has tinnitus, and also has hearing loss. She recently got her first hearing aids ever, Resound Vivia 6, and they have a masking program for her tinnitus. She said that by the end of day one, she noticed a difference.

@AttilaDaPun said:

masking program

My Phonak’s have an option for that. I tried it before I switched to activevent receivers. (They’re incompatible) I found it didn’t work very well for my tinnitus over what just having the aids in did. My audiologist had programmed a pink noise. It didn’t sound bad but didn’t help much either. I wouldn’t bother getting it back if it became an option.

But it seems like there is a lot of diversity in what different makers can provide.

WH

I’ve had pretty bad (self induced) Tinnitus for many years. It is over several frequencies from around 1k upwards. Hearing tests become very tricky as there’s so many sounds already there. :grinning:

Hearing aids give me tremendous relief, as now those frequencies contain other noises. The Tinnitus is still there, but I rarely notice it. My have a Tinnitus masking programme. I tried it, but it just added more unwanted noise. My wife could hear it across the room!

Now, Hearing Aids work for me, but my loss is substantial. With your loss, it might not be so beneficial, especially in your good ear. Might be worth giving them a try?

Good luck
Peter

Does the hearing aid solution and/or the tinnitus masker solution only work when you have them on? That is if you take them off or turn off the masking at night when you go to bed, the tinnitus returns?

The tinnitus is always there, the aids and masking programs seem to divert your attention from the tinnitus. Once you remove the aids the tinnitus returns.

When I put my aids on in the morning my tinnitus seems to decrease by approximately 20-30%. It is probably because other sounds are now more amplified and my brain doesn’t focus on the tinnitus.

Tinnitus is unique to the individual, what works for me may not work for you. Should you decide to pursue hearing aids this forum will be very helpful. The participants are very knowledgeable and helpful. They have certainly helped me along the way

My tinnitus resides at the edge of my hearing ability, so it’s high-frequency, and for me it’s like phantom pain where you want to scratch a non-existent limb. What helped me was making that range prominent enough and “satiating/saturating” my brain with it. Which is what some masking programs do I guess?

With my loss, the Tinnitus disappears when I put my hearings aids in. Those frequencies become full of real sounds. Obviously it returns if I’m sat in silence.

Personally, Tinnitus masking just doesn’t work for me. The aids create a new sound, which my wife could hear across the room. I disabled it.

Peter

In reply to @djd_oz

My wife says that’s the drawback. I asked if she wanted to try a sound machine or anti-tinnitus speaker pillow, but she said she wouldn’t be able to sleep. She said that those may work for other folks, but she’d find it disruptive.

In reply to @PeterH

@PeterH said:

Hearing tests become very tricky as there’s so many sounds already there.

Yes. This. Last hearing test was about a month ago. Hearing aids out, the quietness of the booth, my tinnitus ramps up. Was that a test tone or my tinnitus?

In reply to @WhiteHat

The little speaker by my bed is a Sound Oasis BST-100. The desk model is also from Sound Oasis.

I’d buy the BST-100 if I had to replace it out of my own pocket. I don’t sit at my desk enough anymore that I’d want the other one replaced if it died.

WH

Edited

In reply to @AttilaDaPun

@AttilaDaPun said:

I asked if she wanted to try a sound machine or anti-tinnitus speaker pillow,

I have also used fans and air cleaners. I have a hard time going to sleep without something now.

Little water garden things with trickling water noise is another thing I’ve heard of people using. Whatever is employed, it should be relatively quiet. Just around the point you hear it at all.

WH

I have tinnitus and have had it for 50 years. I don’t notice it while wearing my aids. Over the years I learned to not pay attention to it. In otherwords I compartmentalize it to the far back of my thoughts. It doesn’t bother me except if i am in a very quiet environment.

In reply to @PeterH

@PeterH said:

With my loss, the Tinnitus disappears when I put my hearings aids in. Those frequencies become full of real sounds. Obviously it returns if I’m sat in silence.

Did the tinnitus disapear when you put on hearing aids imediately when you first tried hearing aids or it took sometime for the brain to adjust?

In reply to @OcramSagev

@OcramSagev said:

Widex Zen worked for me !
It’s hard for me to understand why Widex did not include them with the allures .

Same question, did it work imediately or did it take some time to take effect?

I just listened to the Widex Zen sounds on youtube, it sounds like they added a generative sequencer playing some sound samples into the hearing aid

Not sure why they didn’t include this in the Allures :frowning:

I wear Starkey Edge .
I wore Audible Platinum A4.
I noticed an immediate difference in my tinnitus.
It’s still always there but it’s more bearable.
I sleep with hearing aids at night with the tinnitus masking feature on.
I take out the aids in the am when I get up.
The house is loud enough and I have enough distraction that I can leave then out for a couple hours.
If I want to hear the TV I use headphones.

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