Tinnitus is not new. But maybe it’s new to you, like a loud used car you can’t take back. A relentless buzzing or ringing is commonly how tinnitus is experienced but not always. The sound can be, at times, extremely loud. Regardless of how tinnitus manifests for you, this point is most likely true: if tinnitus is bothering you, you may be looking for some new ways to manage your symptoms.
In that, you’re in luck because while tinnitus does not yet have an overall cure, there are a few new therapies that can help you deal with symptoms. Your tongue is even involved in certain of those therapies.
Newest Approaches to Tinnitus
One of the latest therapies for tinnitus seems somewhat unusual at first but does seem to show some hope. 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.
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 noticed a significant decrease in their tinnitus symptoms, and the results lasted up to twelve months. But until the testing phase is complete it won’t be publicly available.
How Can I Find Relief From my Tinnitus Now?
Unfortunately, it will probably be quite some time before novel therapies like this are broadly available. So how can you control your tinnitus now?
Fortunately, there are some newer tinnitus therapy devices available today. And one of the best new methods of managing tinnitus is something you’ve most likely already heard of: your hearing aid.
It works like this:
Your hearing aid can give you something else to listen to. When you begin to lose your hearing, the sounds of the outside world diminish and that can make the internal sounds of tinnitus become louder. The volume of the exterior world is boosted by hearing aids. By increasing 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 fairly minor, then a masking device might be the best way to address your symptoms. A masking device essentially looks like a hearing aid. And some hearing aids can be enhanced with masking technology. This technology can emit sounds specially designed to mask your tinnitus symptoms. In some cases this will be a tone, in other situations, it might be some white noise. Whatever will best hide the ringing in your ears.
Obviously, this is just a starting point. We can show you devices that work best with tinnitus. Contact us.