Generally, most patients will not need any medical treatment for their tinnitus. For patients who are greatly bothered by tinnitus, they may use some masking techniques such as listening to a fan or radio which would mask some of their tinnitus.
There are many types of hearing aids today, and the style or device is dependent upon the user’s individual needs. There are in-the-ear styles as well as behind-the-ear styles. Also, hearing aid technology has advanced, with many new and improved options to choose from.
Results of the audiometric evaluation are plotted on a chart called an audiogram. Loudness is plotted from top to bottom; top of the graph is very quiet and bottom of the graph is very loud. Frequency, or pitch, from low to high, is plotted from left to right.
Recently an article was published in Scientific American on noisy eyeballs. Yes you read correctly, noisy eyeballs. Often times happy accidents happen in medicine or shall you serendipity in science.
Hearing aids work very well when they are fit and adjusted appropriately to the user’s prescription. Most people do not know that there is an adjustment period for your ears and your brain to reconfigure to incorporate hearing aids (or new hearing aids) into your life. In the beginning this will sound different.
Hearing loss can be due to the aging process, exposure to loud noise, certain medications, infections, head or ear trauma, congenital (at birth) or genetic factors, diseases, as well as a number of other causes.
