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Hearing Loss Prompts Onset of Tinnitus


Close-up of hearing aid in man's ear; hearing loss prompts onset of tinnitus concept

Why are noises in your head so often linked to hearing loss? 

Dr. Paul Donohue in The Herald Review reminds us that although hearing loss isn't the only cause of tinnitus (trauma to the ear or ear infections and even ear wax being other oft-noted culprits), it is one condition that does prompt the onset of tinnitus

 This is because the everyday assault of background noises to which we are accustomed and which "dampens noises generated by the brain and heard as tinnitus" is lost when hearing acuity diminishes.

Without that auditory input, the inner noise becomes noticeable, and a person has tinnitus.

This is why it is so important for people with tinnitus to have their hearing evaluated and to try different kinds of hearing aids. If the hearing loss is corrected, then the accompanying tinnitus -- caused by the loss of hearing the dampening background noises -- will also be corrected

Read the full article here.
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