Sound stimulation

Abstract

Keypoints: 1. There is considerable evidence that many forms of tinnitus are caused by central changes that may occur after peripheral lesions. 2. Auditory stimulation is one of the most employed therapeutic methods for tinnitus, and one of the most beneficial. 3. Sound generators that emulate environmental sounds are small devices that allow a person to select the favorite kind of sound at the most comfortable volume. 4. Custom sound generators, for normal hearing persons, are similar to hearing aids, very light, and to be worn behind the ear. They generate a wide-band sound that can be adjusted to the user's needs. 5. Hearing aids designed for people with tinnitus and hearing loss provide amplification that facilitates auditory stimulation to ameliorate tinnitus. 6. Implantable hearing aids are now used by many people, which made it possible to assess their efficacy in tinnitus treatment. 7. Other devices can be used for tinnitus management for immediate relief before a more complete sound therapy can be initiated. 8. Prosthesis and open-ear hearing aids are preferred for treatment of tinnitus. These devices provide amplification in narrow frequency bands which can be adjusted to coincide with the frequencies of the patient's hearing loss. 9. Sound stimulation has its beneficial effect on most forms of tinnitus by activating neural plasticity, which requires time to develop. The time it takes for sound stimulation to reduce an individual's tinnitus varies and may require a 6- to 8-month time frame. 10. The selection of hearing aids must be tailored to individual patients, based on the patient's clinical picture. 11. The specific guidelines on hearing aid device adaptation are crucial for an effective auditory stimulation of tinnitus-affected patients. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.