An American study published at the end of 2008 by Sergei Kochkin, Director of the Better Hearing Institute in Washington and Richard Tyler from the University of Iowa, confirms that hearing aids can help to treat patients suffering from tinnitus. The two researchers looked into the behavior of 10 to 15% of Americans suffering from chronic or persistent tinnitus and noted that even if half of them consider themselves somewhat handicapped in their daily lives, it is rare for them to contact specialists and attempt to get any type of care for their condition. "This behavior is largely due to the widespread belief that tinnitus is incurable," explains Sergei Kochkin and Richard Tyler.From the study conducted in 2008 by the Better Hearing Institute with 230 hearing professionals, the two researchers were able to note that 60% people with tinnitus feel average to significant relief (for 22% of them) when wearing a hearing aid. Only 2% reported an increase of the noise, while 39% experienced no improvement.Sergei Kochkin and Richard Tyler see two reasons: "Almost all people with tinnitus suffer from hearing loss. Wearing a hearing aid helps them to hear better and therefore to communicate better," and therefore to better reduce their anxiety in facing the tinnitus more effectively. Another reason is that hearing aids, especially open devices, could also be a particularly effective form of sound therapy since they amplify background noises, reducing the prominence of the tinnitus.Source: www.hearingreview.com.