Why tinnitus often occurs with hearing loss
Tinnitus and hearing loss often happen together, although one does not always cause the other. Tinnitus is commonly described as ringing, buzzing, hissing, or humming in the ears. According to the New Zealand Hearing Industry Association, hearing loss affects 10% of New Zealand’s population.
- When hearing is reduced, the brain works harder to fill in missing sound information.
- As part of that effort, the brain can become more sensitive and start noticing signals it would normally ignore.
- Hearing aids can help by restoring access to everyday sounds, which may reduce the brain’s need to overcompensate and make tinnitus less noticeable.
How does amplification help?
Although there is no known cure for tinnitus, there are some things you can do to help manage it.
Over 80% of people with tinnitus also have some level of hearing loss. Not only do hearing aids improve your overall hearing, but they also give your brain more sound to focus on, which can make tinnitus less noticeable.
Built-in sound therapy features
Beyond amplification, many modern hearing aids include dedicated sound therapy programs designed specifically for tinnitus. These typically generate gentle background sounds, such as white noise, nature sounds, or even customisable tones. These can help mask the tinnitus and make it less distracting.
The ReSound Vivia 9 hearing aid, for example, contains a sound generator feature for people with tinnitus. This can be adjusted to suit individual preferences and used alongside or separately from regular amplification.
Getting started: an assessment for tinnitus
Because tinnitus varies so much from person to person, including the type of sound, how often it occurs, and how much it affects daily life, a useful starting point is to have both hearing and tinnitus assessed by an audiologist.
Ear360 by Resonate is a comprehensive assessment, going far beyond testing the sounds you can hear. It also explores how your hearing affects other areas of your health, such as tinnitus, sleep, memory, and fall-risk.
If you’d like to learn more about tinnitus, please read our complete guide: Tinnitus in New Zealand: A Complete Guide, or book an appointment by calling our team on 0800 737 662.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, for many people. Hearing aids can reduce how noticeable tinnitus is by amplifying external sounds. Many modern hearing devices, like the ReSound Vivia 9, also include dedicated sound therapy features for tinnitus relief.
A tinnitus sound generator is a feature built into some hearing aids. It produces gentle background sounds, such as white noise or nature sounds, to help mask or reduce tinnitus.
Yes. ReSound Vivia 9 has a built-in Tinnitus Sound Generator (TSG), which plays various masking sounds directly through your hearing aids. Your audiologist will activate and program the TSG for your specific hearing loss and tinnitus profile. Once programmed, you can easily adjust and customise the sounds directly from your smartphone using the ReSound Smart 3D app.
A standard hearing test focuses on the sounds you can hear. Resonate’s Ear360 assessment goes beyond a quick hearing check, exploring other areas of your health, such as tinnitus, sleep, memory, and balance.
Resonate. The Podcast
Hello! I’m Clara. After 24 years of practising audiology in New Zealand, I still think of myself as a young lady – chatty, curious and loving a good belly laugh. I was born in Zimbabwe 53 years ago and grew up in that wild and lovely country with my two sisters and two brothers. I came to New Zealand in 2002 and settled in Tauranga, where I joined the community choir and enrolled in the local library to enjoy my two life loves: music and reading.