Tinnitus has been present for a long time. But maybe it’s new to you, like a loud used car you can’t return. Usually, though not always, tinnitus reveals itself as a ceaseless buzzing or ringing in the ears. Sometimes, the sound is very overwhelming. Symptoms differ significantly, but here’s the point: if tinnitus is troubling you, you may be looking for some new ways to control your symptoms.
The good news is that new therapies and treatment options are being formulated that aren’t cures for tinnitus but can help you deal with it. Some of those therapies even involve your tongue.
The Most Recent Way to Manage Tinnitus
One of the newest treatments for tinnitus sounds a bit strange at first but does seem to show some promise. Both the tongue and the ear are stimulated with this device designed at the Trinity School of Medicine in Dublin. Technically, it’s called bi-modal neuromodulation.
The results were fairly impressive with this device based on the first tests. 12 weeks was about how long most individuals were treated. Those same people noticed a significant reduction in their tinnitus symptoms, and the results continued for up to twelve months. But until the testing phase is completed it won’t be generally available.
How Can I Get Tinnitus Relief Now?
Regrettably, it will most likely be quite some time before novel treatments like this are broadly available. So maybe you’re curious about what you can do now to help control your tinnitus.
There are, fortunately, some tinnitus management devices that has recently come onto the market. And the most common way to deal with your tinnitus is a modern hearing aid.
It works like this:
Your hearing aid can give you 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 boost the volume on the rest of the audio spectrum. By raising the volume of external sounds, your tinnitus sounds will often vanish into the background.
Your hearing aid can mask the sound. If your hearing loss is relatively minor, then a masking device might be the best way to treat your symptoms. A hearing aid has a similar appearance to a masking device. And masking technology can be combined with modern hearing aids. This technology will emit sounds specially designed to mask your tinnitus symptoms. Whatever sound will best mask the ringing in your ears will be used, from white noise to a specific tone.
Needless to say, this is only a starting point. We can help you choose the best option for you so call us for a consultation.