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Webster Street Hearing 
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Tinnitus is in the top two concerns Nova Scotians have when it comes to hearing


What is tinnitus? How is it caused?

“Tinnitus” is a word to describe any sounds you hear in your ears or in your head that are not caused by an external sound source. It can sound like a ringing, humming, screeching, pulsing, clicking, popping, or something else entirely. It is quite common – 1 in 6 people experience tinnitus and it is the number one disability claim for American veterans.

Tinnitus is the most common symptom of hearing loss but can happen for lots of other reasons as well including concussions, medication side effects, stress, or TMJ issues.


Is there a treatment for tinnitus?

Tinnitus can be diagnosed and prevented, but there's no one-size-fits-all cure. Tinnitus itself cannot be cured, but when a main cause is identified, there are many forms of management available.

The #1 cause for tinnitus is prolonged noise exposure, or a noise-induced hearing loss. Treating a hearing loss can help, which is why a hearing test by a licensed audiologist is always the first step to managing tinnitus.

Audiologists are trained to do tinnitus counselling and to assess if there is an underlying cause for the tinnitus that needs to be assessed by an Ear, Nose & Throat doctor.


Avoiding complete silence is a big step to managing tinnitus. Tinnitus tends to seem louder if you have no other sounds to compete with it. Having some background sounds on can help make your tinnitus less noticeable – white noise is especially good for sleeping and it does not have to be turned up very loud to be effective.


High levels of stress and anxiety can cause tinnitus. Tinnitus tends to be louder during a stressful event/situation, but may lessen once the event has passed. Stress management is key to reducing the severity of tinnitus.


Other methods of management include getting adequate sleep, management of mood disorders, and diet and lifestyle modifications (for example, caffeine and nicotine may worsen tinnitus).

A young woman covering her ears, looking distressed.

How can I prevent tinnitus?

Hearing protection is one of the ways we can prevent tinnitus. If you work in loud environments or have really noisy hobbies, hearing protection is strongly recommended to prevent noise-induced hearing damage. By preventing hearing damage, we can avoid any hearing loss outside of what is expected with the aging process.


How can Webster Street Hearing Boutique help me?

Our licensed audiologists can help you get you one stop closer to diagnosing tinnitus by ruling out hearing loss as a cause. If you are experiencing tinnitus, we recommend scheduling a Tinnitus Assessment. This includes a full audiometric hearing test (including highly specialized tinnitus pitch and intensity matching testing) and a comprehensive consultation with an audiologist to discuss treatment and management options (hearing aid consultation included, if necessary).


Our boutique offers custom-made earplugs, professional tinnitus masking devices, and more!


No more suffering in silence – book your Tinnitus Assessment appointment today!  (902) 678-5550

A photo showing mountains.

Important message to Oticon customers:


"Dear Valued Customer,


Update to Companion app


A performance update for the Oticon Companion app has been released. This update includes behind-the-scenes fixes and improved connection between the app and the hearing aids. In addition, the update will not require Oticon Real™ users to uninstall and reinstall the app to see the new HearingFitness™ and Sound Equalizer features (please note Oticon Real hearing aids must have firmware 1.1.0 to have these features appear in the app).


ON app Discontinuation


With the introduction of the Companion app, we have consolidated our previous app features into a single app and most users have already migrated from the ON app to the Companion app. The ON app for Apple devices will be fully discontinued in conjunction with the release of iOS 17, so we encourage all ON app users to install the Companion app as soon as possible. An in‑app notification will be sent to ON app users in the coming days to encourage users to switch to the Companion app.


For Android™ users, any device running on the forthcoming Android 14 OS will not be able to download the ON app from the Google Play store. In addition, the ON app will be fully discontinued by the end of October.


Companion app Support


For Apple devices, visit the App Store and search for “Oticon Companion.” If the ON app has been used previously, then simply install and launch the Companion app, and the Companion app will then search for and connect with the hearing aids. Then the Companion app will be ready for use.


For Android devices, visit the Google Play Store and search for “Oticon Companion.” We recommend pairing with the Android device through the Companion app for best functionality:


1.Begin by opening the Companion app.


2. Follow these directions to connect to the hearing aids:


a. Turn the hearing aids off and back on to put them into pairing mode.


b. The aids should appear on the screen.


c. Follow the prompts on the screen to connect.


Once the Companion app is installed, please delete the ON app from the device for optimal performance. For more information about the Companion app, please visit oticon.com/companion.


Sincerely,


Your Oticon Team"


Find the full article here: https://view.us-oticon.com/?qs=779563a0c6486afbb6716c25d4c7686e436d9dd2032e4fe5f026eaf9970f489899f5a3facefa32ac7f098d25fe9920b1d487fac7f31c5f23ab286c71918a96401ad053b722a2b293
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