Tinnitus isn’t new. But perhaps it’s new to you, like a loud used car you can’t take back. A constant buzzing or ringing is normally how tinnitus manifests but not always. Sometimes, the sound is very overwhelming. Regardless of how tinnitus manifests for you, this point is probably true: if tinnitus is bothering you, you might be searching for some new ways to control your symptoms.
In that, you’re lucky because while tinnitus does not yet have a universal cure, there are a few novel therapies that can help you manage symptoms. Your tongue is even involved in certain of those therapies.
Newest Approaches to Tinnitus
Arguably the newest tinnitus treatment that we’ve seen does indeed offer quite a bit of potential, even if it appears a little odd 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.
As outlined by the first tests of this device, the results were pretty impressive. Most individuals underwent treatments for twelve weeks or so. Those same people detected a substantial decrease in their tinnitus symptoms, and the results lasted up to twelve months. But this kind of therapy is still in the testing phase and not widely available yet.
What Can I do Now to Find Tinnitus Relief?
Unfortunately, it will most likely be quite some time before novel therapies like this are generally accessible. So perhaps you’re curious about what you can do now to help manage your tinnitus.
Fortunately, there are some newer tinnitus management devices available now. And one of the best new ways to manage tinnitus is something you’ve most likely already heard of: your hearing aid.
Here’s the way it works:
Your hearing aid can provide you with something else to listen to. One reason why tinnitus becomes more apparent as your hearing wanes is that the stays loud while everything else becomes quieter. A hearing aid can boost the volume on the rest of the audio spectrum. That doesn’t change the volume of your tinnitus, but it could make the ringing less obvious.
There is a sound masking device comparable to a modern hearing aid. A masking device might be the answer if your hearing loss is mild. A hearing aid has a comparable appearance to a masking device. And many hearing aids can be augmented 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 ringing in your ears.
This is, obviously, just the beginning. We can show you devices that work best with tinnitus. Give us a call.