Health Is Everything: A Medical Blog

How Treatment Helps Singers With Tinnitus

Professional singers have a very challenging job that forces them to perform at high levels under some very difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, singers who experience hearing loss may find that they develop tinnitus and struggle to sing as well as they once did. Therefore, it is crucial to get high-quality treatment to manage this problem and keep it from becoming a major issue.

Tinnitus Is Very Uncomfortable

Singers are often exposed to high-volume sounds that can damage their hearing and cause many side effects. For example, tinnitus — or the perception of ringing in the ears — may occur and cause difficulties with a singer's capabilities. Struggles to hear through this perceived ringing are common, particularly if a singer is trying to hit a difficult note and needs all of their concentration to succeed.

Even worse, there is also the potential that the ringing may change the tone a person hears as they sing, which could make it very hard for them to hit the proper note or may even make them sing improper notes, thinking that they are singing the right ones. As a result, it is crucial to get this problem managed as soon as possible. Thankfully, there are many options that singers can consider for this issue.

Ways Treatment Can Help

Singers with tinnitus may want to consider some type of tinnitus hearing treatment to minimize the impact this issue has on their skills. For example, hearing aids can help by decreasing the amount of ringing that they hear and enhancing the quality of their hearing. And sound-masking devices also help by making it harder for different sounds to produce the type of annoyance that tinnitus can cause in a person.

However, others may need some type of behavioral therapy that helps to manage the issues triggered by this health problem. This option is necessary if other treatments don't work and can help a singer handle the ringing more effectively. Some may even have to go through hearing trials and learn how to adjust their singing to handle the changes in tone and pitch that tinnitus may trigger in their ears.

Often, singers with tinnitus also need protection for when they sing, such as headphones or earplugs, that block excessive noise and other problems from impacting them. In this way, they can focus on their performance and achieve a higher level of success even through the challenges of hearing loss.