Tinnitus has been around for a long time. But maybe it’s new to you, like a loud used car you can’t take back. Usually, though not always, tinnitus reveals itself as a ceaseless buzzing or ringing in the ears. The sound can be, at times, very loud. Symptoms vary considerably, but here’s the point: you are most likely searching for new ways of dealing 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. Certain of those therapies even concern your tongue.
The Most Recent Way to Manage Tinnitus
Possibly the newest tinnitus treatment to hit our radar appears to offer a lot of potential, even if it appears a little unusual initially. This device, developed at the Trinity College School of Medicine in Dublin, stimulates both the tongue and ear. Bi-modal neurostimulation is the technical term for this technique.
The results were fairly striking with this device based on the first tests. 12 weeks was about the duration that most people were treated. Those same people detected a substantial decrease in their tinnitus symptoms, and the results continued for up to twelve months. But until the testing phase is finished it won’t be widely available.
What Can I do Now to Find Tinnitus Relief?
Of course, it takes years for devices to work their way from research and development to patient availability. So maybe you’re curious about what can be done now to help manage your tinnitus.
Luckily, there are some newer tinnitus therapy devices on the market now. And the most common way to manage your tinnitus is a modern hearing aid.
It works like this:
Your hearing aid can provide you with something else to listen to. One reason why tinnitus is more obvious as your hearing wanes is that the stays loud while everything else gets quieter. A hearing aid can raise the volume on the rest of the audio spectrum. By increasing the volume of outside sounds, your tinnitus sounds will often fade into the background.
Your hearing aid can mask the sound. A masking device may be the answer if your hearing loss is minor. A masking device basically looks like a hearing aid. And some hearing aids can be enhanced with masking technology. Your tinnitus symptoms can be obscured by sounds emitted by this kind of technology. Sometimes this will be a tone, in other cases, it might be some white noise. Whatever will best hide the humming in your ears.
Obviously, this is just a starting point. We can show you devices that work best for tinnitus. Give us a call.