Tinnitus has been present for a long time. But it might be the first time you have had to cope with it. A relentless ringing or buzzing is normally how tinnitus is experienced but not always. The sound can be, at times, very loud. Symptoms vary considerably, but here’s the point: you are probably searching for new ways of coping with your tinnitus if it’s something that’s bothering you.
In that, you’re lucky because while tinnitus does not yet have an overall cure, there are a few new treatments that can help you manage symptoms. Some of those therapies even involve your tongue.
The Most Recent Way to Manage Tinnitus
One of the newest treatments for tinnitus seems a bit weird at first but does seem to show some promise. Both the ear and the tongue are stimulated with this device designed at the Trinity School of Medicine in Dublin. Technically, it’s called bi-modal neuromodulation.
As outlined by the first tests of this device, the results were fairly optimistic. Most people received treatments for a duration of twelve weeks or so. Those same people noted a substantial decrease in their tinnitus symptoms, and the results lasted up to twelve months. But until the testing phase is complete it won’t be widely available.
How Can I Get Tinnitus Relief Now?
Of course, it takes years for technology to work their way from research and development to patient availability. So how can you control your tinnitus right now?
There are, luckily, some tinnitus management technology that has recently come onto the market. 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 enhanced by hearing aids. One reason why tinnitus is more obvious as your hearing wanes is that the ringing is the only thing that stays loud while everything else gets quieter. A hearing aid can raise the volume on the rest of the audio spectrum. By boosting the volume of outside sounds, your tinnitus sounds will often fade into the background.
There is a noise masking device comparable to a modern hearing aid. If your hearing loss is fairly minor, then a masking device may be the best way to address your symptoms. A hearing aid has a similar appearance to a masking device. And many hearing aids can be augmented with masking technology. This technology can produce sounds specially designed to mask your tinnitus symptoms. Whatever the best sound is to mask the ringing in your ears will be used, it may be a specific tone or even white noise.
This is, naturally, only the beginning. We can demonstrate devices that work best with tinnitus. Contact us.
