Nola Aronson from Advanced Audiology is discussing a number of ways to manage tinnitus — ringing in the ears — and believes that it is no longer something a person is forced to live with for the rest of their life.
An estimated 80 percent of Aronson’s patients have tinnitus, and though different management methods work for different people, she has been able to help an increasing number of her patients dealing with tinnitus thanks to new technology.
“People have a really hard time because there is no cure per say for tinnitus, but there are now lots of different avenues of things that we can do, especially if you do have a hearing loss,” Aronson said.
At Advanced Audiology, Aronson uses a special machine called a tinnometer that measures the loudness and pitch of up to four kinds of tinnitus, helping her better determine what management options to start with.
“Not everybody has ringing — some people have a seashell noise, some people have a screeching,” she said.
Individuals who don’t have a hearing loss can distract from their tinnitus using apps on their phone to play different sounds, but people with a tinnitus diagnosis usually do have a high frequency hearing loss, according to Aronson.
“If that’s the case, we can help most of the time with a hearing device, with a masking device,” she said. “A lot of times that takes away the sound or lowers the sound when you’re wearing it, but it’s not a cure.”
While the individual’s tinnitus will still be there when they aren’t wearing their hearing or masking device, Aronson explained that by habituating yourself to the sound, it should lessen over time and not bother you as much.
“That’s the point of doing it: so it doesn’t affect your life,” Aronson said, “because some people are affected so drastically that they need counselling… What we try to do is focus in on the counselling aspect and also finding a solution, and not telling people, ‘Well you just have to live with it.’ We don’t tell people that anymore because there’s lots of different choices; there’s lots of different things you can do.”
