Can hearing aids help with tinnitus?

In a 2007 survey of hearing health professionals, respondents self-reported that roughly 60% of their tinnitus patients experienced at least some relief when wearing hearing aids; approximately 22% of patients found significant relief.

Hearing aids are effective for several reasons:

• Masking and attentional effects - Hearing aids can augment the volume of external noise to the point that it covers (masks) tinnitus sound. This makes it more challenging to perceive tinnitus consciously and helps the brain focus on ambient noises. The masking impact of hearing aids is powerful for people with hearing loss in the same frequency range as their tinnitus.
• Auditory stimulation - Increasing the volume of external noise also increases the amount of auditory stimulation the brain receives. There may be benefits to stimulating the brain’s auditory pathways with soft background sounds that might not otherwise be heard.
• Improved communication - Loud tinnitus can make it difficult, or even impossible, to participate in regular communicative and social activities: following a conversation, talking on the phone, watching television, listening to the radio, etc. Hearing aids help by augmenting the external volume of these activities above the perceived volume of tinnitus. As a result, people with hearing loss and tinnitus may feel less personal frustration and social isolation.