In the past, music has been the go to method of masking tinnitus. Many use music to drown out the ringing, buzzing, and whistling only they can hear. But, the downside of listening to music to cover up tinnitus is that it can produce active, rather than passive, listening.
But what’s wrong with active listening? Nothing. Actively listening to music engages you and can be a good distraction. But, listening to music can distract you from doing other things and it can get boring listening to the same songs or same type of songs over and over again. It can also cause earworms (a song that you just can’t get out of your head.)
Passive listening is being exposed to a sound in your environment, but you don’t really paying attention to it. Passive listening can aid in bringing habituation to your tinnitus. Habituation means that you are not bothered by the tinnitus sounds you hear because you are not paying attention to them.
An approach that provides passive listening stimuli while not being repetitive is the use of fractal tones. Fractal tones are pleasing harmonic tones that are not predictable. They are not repetitive and don’t cause earworms. Turn your speakers up an check out this link to hear what fractal tones sound like: https://youtu.be/scMoH_39NwU
Studies have shown that fractal tones have been highly effective in reducing the annoyance that tinnitus can cause. White noise (a noise that has equal intensity at different frequencies such as a fan, TV static, hissing radiator) has also been proven to help those with tinnitus. But even though white noise does help, fractal tones are preferred by tinnitus sufferers for long time use. Several studies have also shown that the use of fractal tones with amplification can be a very effective method in helping tinnitus sufferers who also suffer with hearing loss.
Here at Lemme Audiology Associates, we offer hearing aid technology that includes fractal tones to help those with tinnitus and hearing loss. We also offer technology that can help those with tinnitus that do not have a hearing loss.
To explore or revisit your options, just give us a call at (814) 941-7770 to schedule your tinnitus evaluation and explore what options are available to you!
