Advanced Technologies to Manage Tinnitus

Medically Reviewed by Shelley A. Borgia, CCCA on August 02, 2022
Written by Frances Gatta
4 min read

Tinnitus -- or a ringing, buzzing, or whistling in your ears -- is a common and often frustrating experience. Sometimes it goes away on its own or with the help of a doctor, but other times it is a long-term condition. This noise can be more than distressing. It can cause health problems like anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, and hearing loss. It also can lead to hyperacusis, or high sensitivity to sounds.

Many things can cause tinnitus, so your doctor will try to identify the root of the problem. To do this, they might ask you to take a hearing exam, have an imaging scan like a CT or MRI, or do bloodwork. Because earwax buildup can cause tinnitus, your doctor might try cleaning your ears. They also might treat conditions that can cause tinnitus, like hypertension and TMJ disorders, or adjust any medications you are taking that can cause tinnitus as a side effect. If that doesn’t work, they might prescribe treatment to help relieve tinnitus symptoms and improve your well-being.

Thanks to technological advances, we have more convenient, cost-effective, and unnoticeable options for treating tinnitus than ever before. These technologies tend to work best when used with tinnitus education and counseling. Here are some of the latest and most promising therapies.

Masking devices make soothing background noises like relaxing music, white noise, and nature sounds. These soft audio recordings help cover up the tinnitus sounds and distract you from the discomfort they can cause. You can play masking sounds on earbuds, radios, or smartphone apps whenever you hear ringing in your ears. You can download some apps or sound files for free, or you might want to buy a masking device. A masking device is a small machine that plays sounds to help cover the noise. Many people put masking devices on their bedside table.

Your doctor might recommend using these devices in addition to other treatments. Masking devices are only helpful when you’re using them; they don’t improve tinnitus in the long term. Researchers are still studying how well this therapy works.

Tinnitus retraining devices play customized music to help your brain learn to ignore the ringing in your ears. They combine relaxing music with tiny noises that offset your tinnitus. This form of sound therapy helps your brain get used to hearing the tinnitus sound by retraining it to hear the sound as background or neutral noise, making your symptoms tolerable.

The device looks like a music player with headphones. Your doctor might ask you to wear it for 2-4 hours every day for 6 months to a year. If the tinnitus gets better, you might need to wear it less often. As part of this therapy, you also participate in counseling sessions to help with your emotional reaction to the tinnitus sounds. Some people notice improvements in as little as 3 months. This treatment is often helpful for people who continue to use the device and attend counseling as prescribed.

Hearing aids make outside sounds louder so you can focus on them and not the ringing in your ears. Your doctor might recommend them if you have mild to moderate hearing loss with tinnitus. Hearing aids seem to help with tinnitus, especially in people who are young or haven’t had tinnitus for a long time. But more research is needed to be sure. A pair of hearing aids costs about $4,000 and is not usually covered by insurance.

Cochlear implants are electronic devices for treating severe hearing loss. A doctor surgically places the implant in the inner ear. You also wear a sound processor on the outside of your ear, like a hearing aid. Together, these devices might help you to hear outside sounds more clearly. These devices send sound signals directly to the hearing nerve without going through the damaged parts of the ear. Cochlear implants usually help with tinnitus, but sometimes they can make it worse. They cost about $30,000 to $50,000.

Notched music devices play your favorite music at a modified pitch. The customized audio doesn’t have pitches or tones that sound like your tinnitus. You can play it on smartphone apps or wearable devices. Over time, regular listening can lower the volume of tinnitus sounds. It works best in people whose tinnitus doesn’t have a very high pitch.

Sound and sleep apps might help you sleep better with tinnitus.

These apps play background sounds, masking audio, and notched music. They also provide educational videos about tinnitus and recordings on meditation and mindfulness, hypnosis, and relaxation.

An expert can help you get the most from these apps.

Internet-based therapy provides you with the guidance and support for living a healthy and active life with tinnitus. These programs include online talk therapy, counseling, and peer support to help you cope with tinnitus symptoms. They might use websites, apps, video, or text-based chats. Early studies suggest that internet-based therapy is helpful for managing tinnitus symptoms, but more research is needed.

With this type of therapy, specialized headphones and goggles help you enter a videogame-like world. In this virtual world, you complete visual and auditory tasks that train your brain to ignore tinnitus sounds. So far, there isn’t enough research to show this form of therapy works for tinnitus.