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Tinnitus and Hearing Aids

I think my my ears adapt after a short time using my hearing aide when listening to my stereo. I think that is what is happening, or am I imaging it? Maybe it doesn't matter
 
rickb119 said:
I tried a pair of Cosco, Phonak hearing aids a while back. They did nothing for my tinnitus, and often made it worse as they amplified the sounds that normally aggravate it. However, it could have been that particular pair. Even though I had complained about hearing distortion, they never offered to replace them, so they were returned.
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I hae a set of Phonak hearing aids with a button for setting an overtone over the regular volume, listening that way for 10 minutes , and returns to regular setting after you press volume button again. It is only supposed to "mask" , not eliminate or cure tinnitus so my doctor says.
 
Pio1980 said:
It's becoming your new "normal".
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This is in fact an accurate assessment. I'm not sure how my mind would react in the absence of tinnitus which, @ varying levels, has been ongoing w/ me since I was in my late 20s. Also, the (so-called) "severity" level changes -- diminishes~increases -- a few times each week, often during the course of a day.
 
I used to have several pair of JBL's (112's and 60's) and they both gave me much listening fatigue and tinnitus and I lucked into a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls and they are just perfect for me. No more fatigue, no more shouty speakers, just a nice smooth sound. I rarely blare the music but I like to feel the bass. They just fill the room with no effort.
 
liamricci said:
What do you like about those?
Did you try them somewhere before ordering?
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I like that they are programmable with 3 preset modes that can be adjusted or changed by the audiologist. You can adjust or change programs on the fly. These are the only ones I’ve tried. Didn’t see a need for much more expensive ones, though at some point down the road I may give some an audition. A whole new rabbit hole.

I bought them outright and went several times back to Costco for adjustments and changes. They were very helpful.
 
Yodathedog said:
And as a side note, all you younger members here need to do whatever is necessary to protect your hearing from overly loud music, just like you protect yourself from the suns harmful rays with sunscreen.

Hearing loss is permanent.
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So true, I thought was being safe wearing protection yet still suffer the constant ringing now. Realize could of done more when younger. Can't wear ear buds at all they really get the ears a ringing.....
 
The mechanism of tinnitus is not known but one theory is that hearing loss can create an abrupt discontinuity between good/ok hearing and poor hearing. One of the things the brain does quite well is to enhance spectral contrast, increasing the relative gain of peaks vs frequency neighboring troughs. This is important for speech perception. This process is done centrally and not at the cochlea. So tinnitus is NOT a ringing in your ear. It’s in your brain (for ringing in the ear look up otoacoustic emissions). Google ‘Mach bands’ in visual perception for a visual analog of what the auditory system is trying to do to enhance spectral contrast. When there is a discontinuity in hearing across frequency these contrast are always present even without a sound and one can (hypothetically) hear a sound at this discontinuity because the brain creates it, similar to the Mach bands (those bright and dark bands are physically not present in the image, the brain create them).

A good analogy is phantom limb sensation where people that have lots limbs can sometimes experience sensations from the missing limb even decades after the loss.

In some cases the fitting of the hearing aid can reduce the discontinuity and thus reduce the tinnitus severity.
 
bluesky said:
My audiologist 'told me' ...

If you are a Veteran, you can go to the VA and get the correct tinnitus frequency canceling hearing aids for free.

I haven't done it yet ~ but I am going to soon.
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interesting. I had tinnitus after 2 years of service in an 8" howitzer battery. When I filed a claim for hearing loss upon discharge, they pretty much told me to pound sand, but that was 33 years ago.
 
Gigantic said:
interesting. I had tinnitus after 2 years of service in an 8" howitzer battery. When I filed a claim for hearing loss upon discharge, they pretty much told me to pound sand, but that was 33 years ago.
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Pretty much the same thing happened to me, 25+ yrs ago. Mine was caused (or at least greatly exacerbated) by berthing directly below the #2 arresting cable, on a carrier. At some point, I may try again.
 
liamricci said:
You can't even imagine how many young people have partial hearing loss these days , just because of the super loud music which they listen in their headphones.
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You can feel the vibrations at stop lights, I often think there's a problem with my van.
Then I realize that there's a young person in the Honda Civic next to me...they all appear to be playing the same song.
 
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