Tinnitus: can hearing aids really quieten the ringing?

Q: Is tinnitus a sign of something serious?

Usually not. Tinnitus is very common and often harmless. But see a GP promptly if it's only in one ear, beats in time with your pulse, or comes on suddenly with hearing loss or dizziness.

If you've got ringing, buzzing or hissing in your ears, you're far from alone. Here's an honest look at what tinnitus is and what genuinely helps.

A warm, unhurried consultation at BFG Hearing Solutions, Team Valley, Gateshead

By Paul Jepson, HCPC-registered Hearing Aid Audiologist · Reviewed July 2026

This article is general information, not a diagnosis. See your GP promptly if your tinnitus is in one ear only, beats in time with your pulse, or comes on suddenly with hearing loss or dizziness.

Key points

Tinnitus is very common, often harmless, and usually goes hand in hand with some hearing loss.
The first step is always to rule out earwax, which can cause it.
Hearing aids help many people by making tinnitus less noticeable, though they aren't a cure.
Sound enrichment, relaxation and talking therapies genuinely help you cope.

Tinnitus is the name for hearing a sound that isn't coming from outside, most often a ringing, buzzing, hissing or whooshing. It's extremely common: roughly one in every seven adults experiences it. For most people it's more of a nuisance than a danger, but it can be wearing, especially at night, and it's worth understanding what's going on and what can be done.

First, rule out earwax

Before anything else, the sensible first step is a proper look inside your ears. A build-up of wax blocking the ear canal can cause or worsen tinnitus, and simply removing the wax can settle it. The NHS makes the same point: a clinician should check whether your tinnitus is down to something straightforward like wax or an ear infection before looking further.

That's exactly what we do at the start of any tinnitus appointment: a camera view of the ear canal on screen, so we can see whether wax is part of the picture and clear it there and then if so.

The hearing-loss connection

Most tinnitus comes hand in hand with some degree of hearing loss, often so gradual you haven't noticed it. The current thinking is that when the ear stops sending the brain as much sound as it used to, the brain effectively "turns up the gain" to compensate, and tinnitus can be a side effect of that. It's why a full hearing test is such a useful part of getting to the bottom of tinnitus, even if you feel your hearing is fine.

Can hearing aids help? An honest answer

Hearing aids are one of the first things audiologists in the UK reach for with tinnitus, particularly when there's hearing loss alongside it. The idea is simple: when you can hear the world around you properly again, your brain has plenty of real sound to focus on, so the tinnitus tends to fade into the background rather than dominate a quiet room. Charities including RNID and Tinnitus UK describe hearing aids the same way, and some aids include built-in sound-therapy features designed specifically to soothe tinnitus.

Here's the honest bit, because we'd rather be straight with you than oversell. A Cochrane review, the gold standard of medical evidence, found that while hearing aids and sound therapy are widely used and help many people, the formal research isn't yet strong enough to prove they beat good advice and support on their own. What that means in plain terms: hearing aids are not a guaranteed fix, but for the right person, especially someone with hearing loss, they can make a real, welcome difference. The only way to know is a proper assessment.

Other things that genuinely help

Whether or not hearing aids are right for you, several approaches are recommended by the NHS and can make tinnitus much easier to live with:

Sound enrichment. Tinnitus is loudest in silence. A radio on low, a fan, or gentle background sound at night gives your brain something else to listen to.
Relaxation and stress management. Stress and tiredness make tinnitus worse, and tinnitus causes stress, which becomes a loop. Breaking it helps.
Talking therapies. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness are among the most effective approaches for changing how much the tinnitus bothers you.
Protecting your hearing. Avoiding further noise damage stops things getting worse.

When to get it checked sooner

Most tinnitus isn't urgent, but please don't sit on it if it's: only in one ear, beating in time with your pulse, came on suddenly, or arrives with hearing loss or dizziness. In those cases see your GP promptly. Otherwise, a calm, unhurried assessment is the best next step, and we're happy to be that.

Book a tinnitus & hearing assessment

Common questions

Can hearing aids cure tinnitus?

No, they don't cure it, but for many people, especially those with some hearing loss, they make tinnitus much less noticeable by bringing back the everyday sounds the brain can focus on instead.

Is tinnitus a sign of something serious?

Usually not. It's very common and often harmless. But see a GP promptly if it's only in one ear, beats in time with your pulse, or comes on suddenly with hearing loss or dizziness.

Can earwax cause tinnitus?

Yes. A blocked ear canal can cause or worsen tinnitus, and removing the wax can settle it. That's why a proper look in the ear is always the first step.

What else helps tinnitus?

Sound enrichment (background noise, especially at night), relaxation and stress management, and talking therapies such as CBT are all recommended by the NHS and can genuinely help.

Sources

Tinnitus — NHS
Tinnitus — RNID · Tinnitus and hearing aids — Tinnitus UK
Sound therapy (amplification devices and/or sound generators) for tinnitus in adults (Sereda et al., Cochrane, 2018)

Tired of the ringing? Let's take a proper look.

An unhurried assessment at our Team Valley clinic, or a home visit across the North East. We'll check for wax, test your hearing, and talk through what genuinely helps.

Book an assessment Call 0191 5111 878