At some point in their lives, most people will experience ringing in their ears when there is no source of a sound.
It could be coming home from a loud concert, or resulting from a sudden extreme noise. Unfortunately for many people, this buzzing or ringing sound can be prolonged or – and this is a condition known as tinnitus. For sufferers, such as Marion Hague from Adelaide, this condition can start to affect people’s well-being. The good news is that help is available.
Although hearing loss is often associated with the elderly, there are more Australians of working age living with the condition than there are people over 65 years of age. A few years ago, Marion Hague (53) found that her hearing loss was starting to affect her abilities at work.
“I work at a local council in Administration. I was really struggling to follow conversations during meetings in the council chambers… and the acoustics of the chambers would make problems with hearing even worse.”
While Marion could manage through one-on-one conversations, group conversations and people with thick accents were really difficult. Rather than facing the embarrassment of asking people to repeat themselves, she would often pretend to hear what people said at work and in social situations. In addition to feeling increasingly isolated, her hearing was wearing her down.
“By the end of the working day, I’d be worn down by the effort… and at night when I really needed to wind down, I was suffering from a ringing in my ears that would affect my ability to sleep.”
While there are numerous factors that can cause tinnitus, is most commonly a symptom of sensorineural hearing loss. The rule-of-thumb for treating tinnitus is to first address the underlying cause.
Eventually, Marion realised that she had to do something about it and a couple of years ago she made an appointment to see a hearing specialist. Recently, she saw an advertisement for a new tinnitus treatment, which brought her to Dean Laird from My Hearing Centre.
Dean took a multi-layered approach to treat Marion’s hearing loss and tinnitus, including a mix of counselling and hearing aids that have listening programs that reduce the frustration and stress that tinnitus causes. He recommended that Marion try Beyond Hearing aids featuring ZEN tinnitus therapy. Thankfully for Marion, this approach has transformed her life.
“My hearing is so much better. It is like a huge weight has been lifted and I have so much more energy and confidence at work and socially… I love my music and the sound is so much richer and fuller. It seems to come alive now… The ringing in my ears has been replaced by birds chirping in the morning… Movies are so much easier to enjoy.”
The tinnitus therapies included in her new hearing aids have also made it so much easier to relax.
“When I am trying to wind down before bed, I play the ‘forest sounds’ program that alleviates my tinnitus. And when I am reading, I like to play the ‘water feature’ track, which allows me to enjoy my book.”
Call My Hearing Centre today on 1300 970 558 to arrange your free* consultation and obligation-free trial of ZEN!