There is currently no cure for tinnitus, but this doesn't mean that you can't rebuild your quality of life. When you have tinnitus, you have a constant or intermittent buzzing or whistling in one or both ears. Sometimes, this can be a mere annoyance in the background of your life. And other times, it can be a devastating condition that leads you to isolation and upset. However, there are treatments out there that can make your tinnitus better, if not cured, and an audiologist can help you to find the right tinnitus treatment.

Health conditions and tinnitus

There are a significant number of health conditions that can trigger tinnitus, and it's essential to understand your tinnitus so that you can get the right tinnitus treatment. However, if you have had health issues related to tinnitus ruled out completely, then you may well have what is known as sensorineural tinnitus. This is something that develops on its own, whether due to hearing loss, loud noise, or other issues. Your audiologist will take you through your symptoms to be able to determine the right tinnitus treatment for you, and this is done with a series of tests.

Tinnitus tests

Some of the tests that you will do with your audiologist to determine if you have tinnitus may include the following:

•    A visual analog scale is a test that perceives loudness in your ears. Sometimes, tinnitus – to the sufferer – is heard much louder than the decibel level that matches in the ear.

•    A pitch match test helps your audiologist to determine the frequency of sound you can hear. You'll compare the sound you hear to other sounds to help to determine the pitch.

•    The loudness match test quantifies the level of the sound that you are hearing, and this can be a whisper or a scream.

Tinnitus treatments options

There are plenty of treatments out there for tinnitus, and you will be assessed carefully by an audiologist to confirm which treatment will be right for you. There are several sound-based therapies that you can be treated with, and we've got some of these listed for you below:

Hearing aids

Sometimes, hearing loss and tinnitus go hand in hand. Hearing aids can be fitted to your needs to help to reduce the sound of tinnitus in your ears. Hearing aids work to treat tinnitus by amplifying the noise of everyday life to overtake the buzzing from the tinnitus. They can help to distract you away from the tinnitus ringing in your ears. Technology has evolved massively over the years, with the hearing aids of today including features to mask the sounds of tinnitus in the ear. You can even use apps on smartphones to learn how to relax and manage the sounds you're hearing.

Tinnitus retraining therapy

This is one of the new treatments that involves learning to cope with tinnitus. It's a therapy that is comparable to the sounds of raindrops on a roof; we notice it when it starts raining, but after a while, you no longer hear the noise. With tinnitus retraining therapy, you'll work very closely with your audiologist to teach your brain to shut out the ringing completely. There are three clear steps in tinnitus retraining therapy, and these include:

•    Learning about you

•    Using devices behind the ears to divert and distract the noise

•    Psychological therapies to teach you to ignore the sound, and this is something that is combined with meditative techniques.

Sound machines

Lastly, another option for tinnitus treatment is sound machines. These noise suppression devices are usually worn inside the ears, and they act very much like a hearing aid. These sound machines produce a constant tonal beat to drown out the ringing in the ears. There are even sound devices out there that can play music to edge out the sound of the tinnitus that you are hearing. You can work with your audiologist to figure out which pitch level you need, and they will set the device with the same tone that is similar to the tinnitus you are perceiving. Tinnitus is something that generally gets worse when the world around you is quiet, but there are white noise machines that stand alone and can fill the room up with other noise to distract you from the ringing in your ears

Making an appointment

If you know that you need tinnitus treatment, then the best thing that you can do is book an appointment with an audiologist. Learn more about Desert Hearing Care by calling (480) 374-1846 today.