Customisable pitch Tinnitus noiser/masker/hearing aid

[hopeful895]

Hi there - I previously used a tinnitus noiser/hearing aid that played white noise at a pitch programmed by an audiologist to suit my tinnitus. This was a game-changer for me.

Does anyone know of a noiser/hearing aid brand where the user can adjust the pitch (not just volume) of the white noise at home (perhaps using an app)? I spend long stints abroad and this would give me the freedom to change the pitch of white noise myself to better suit my tinnitus when its pitch changes.

Material online seems unclear, so I want to be sure that self-customisable devices are not available before I go with a standard option. I've never heard of a device where the noise pitch can be altered by the user, but maybe I'm missing an obvious option. I don’t need the hearing aid function, so that isn’t essential.

If user pitch customisation isn't possible through official apps, perhaps there are workarounds where the hearing aid can be connected to another device (like a phone) which can play white noise of the desired pitch through the aid (no worries if this is a stupid idea).

Alternatively, is there any way users can access the computer software needed to programme the pitch of their noisers/maskers/hearing aids? (I appreciate this is unlikely).

Many thanks

[Happyrosie]

I don’t know, but Tinnitus UK might.

[Cookie24]

Great question. It seems the user should be able to adjust the masking noise/pitch on their own. I was surprised audiologist said it must be done there. This is inconvenient. We are the users and know what pitch we are hearing! I am in USA and bought expense Signia brand.

[hopeful895 in reply to Cookie24]

Thanks for the response! I totally agree, it stresses me as my tinnitus pitch changes frequently and getting appointments is not easy as I spend long stints abroad (in the US).

The good news is that I asked on another forum and someone has said that they have an Oticon device that allows them to change the pitch using an app! Here is the link to the thread: tinnitustalk.com/threads/cu...

[Dazza2024]

I have really bad tinnitus and am just trying out some new hearing aids to mask mine out, when you turn your hearing aids off, is your tinnitus a lot quieter than before you had hearing aids, as in your brain adjusting to it or more habitation to lessen it ?. As for adjusting the Tinnitus Freq & other main settings, this seems like special software that is 'Locked' for only Audiologists to use. I am not aware of any App that can change some settings of the hearing aids, but, you might find something searching on the Apps, as there is hundreds of them. There is other Apps around that will play tinnitus sounds and will connect to your hearing aids, for this, they would need to be Bluetooth, you can also stream sounds or many things to them if they are Bluetooth, so you could play different frequencies from the YouTube videos around at different pitches or find an App that plays different frequencies, not all Hearing Aids are Bluetooth, but, if yours are, then you should have more options to connect things to it and play other things thru them as for Bluetooth.

[hopeful895 in reply to Dazza2024]

Thanks for the reply! So I actually lost my hearing aid (now looking for a replacement), but as far as I remember, my tinnitus seemed to sound pretty much the same when I turned it off as it did before I put it on. Great suggestion on the apps and Bluetooth streaming, it's great to know that's possible. Based on a response I received on another forum, it sounds like Oticon may have an app that can adjust the pitch of white noise sounds played on some of their devices (tinnitustalk.com/threads/cu...

[Dazza2024 in reply to hopeful895]

My Tinnitus is the same when I have mine on or off, the Audiologist says if I keep wearing them, my brain will slowly try and filter out the Tinnitus at some point in the future. I had a hearing test & it isn't too bad. I had a very small dip around 6,500 hz to 8,000hz where a lot of people seem to have tinnitus, this gave a ring which went louder recently, & then I had a hiss of tinnitus around 12,000 - 14,000 hz which may be natural aging hearing loss for my age, but, it is picking up the tinnitus from that and is so annoying. My tinnitus pitch seems to stay the same, but, my brain is picking it up.