Fw: [TheForge]Tinnitus was Hearing aids

[Dan Tull]

This reply from an audiologist.

> Hey Dan,
> I can reply to you and then you can forward to the list.
> In most cases the inner ear is responsible for the ringing sound.In a 
> normal
> hearing ear the occasional ringing is there but not very noticeable due to
> the ambient noise surrounding the person.Damage to the inner ear from 
> noise
> or other causes such as trauma then don't really make the ringing louder 
> but
> make the ambient noise softer.So a hearing loss in the high frequencies 
> can
> make the ringing appear to be louder and more noticeable.The tinnitus can 
> be
> affected by muscle tension, certain food groups and certain medicines.
> For a very large number of persons with tinnitus, correcting the hearing
> loss thru hearing aids is an excellent treatment option.The research shows
> excellent benefits from either masking therapy or desensitization therapy
> for those patients where normal hearing aids won't work.Masking is quick 
> fix
> and desensitization can take up to 24 months.The first step is an 
> evaluation
> by an audiologist to determine if a hearing loss is present.An audiologist
> can be found for your area by going to www.audiology.org.
> For more information go to www.ata.org.
> Tim Winstead,Audiologist
>
>