“I no longer notice my tinnitus.”
Scott G., Denver, CO
With tinnitus, there are treatment options!
Dr. Cory Cook, Earlux Co-founder/President
Tinnitus can have several causes, but by far the most common is hearing loss. There’s damage to the tiny hairs in the ear that distinguish sounds. The result is less “sound information” reaching your brain. That information is important, and your brain gets confused when it isn’t there. So it invents the missing sound!
You’ve probably heard of phantom limbs, when people who’ve lost an arm or leg feel pain in a limb that isn’t there. It’s the same principle: the brain compensates for a loss of sound to keep the information flowing. With tinnitus, what you’re hearing is phantom noise.
It’s difficult to replace a missing limb, but you can replace that missing sound.
If your tinnitus results from hearing loss — the most likely cause — you want to replace the sound information your brain is looking for.
The best way to achieve that is to treat the hearing loss itself. Today’s technology can give you back much of the everyday sound your brain has been missing, especially the details of speech.
So get your hearing tested and consult an Earlux audiology specialist. They can guide you to the hearing devices that match your needs.
If your tinnitus is not connected to significant hearing loss, there’s another approach that may be right for you: Neosensory Duo.
This is a new technology using a special wristband combined with a phone app. Developed by a Stanford scientist and his team, the Neosensory Duo retrains your brain so that your tinnitus diminishes. It works by sending the vibrations of sound to your ears and to your wrist simultaneously.
Curious? Learn more about Neosensory Duo here:
If your tinnitus is very severe, you may need extra help in the form of sound therapy. The approach here is to play sounds that are very similar to the ringing, buzzing or hissing that your brain has invented. Sound therapy at its simplest can be listening to audio tracks of white noise, or even recordings of the sea. The most advanced hearing devices can stream these tracks from the internet. Better still, they can adjust the sound to closely match your tinnitus.
Your Earlux audiology specialist will advise you if sound therapy is right for you, and how to set it up.
