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Best hearing aids for tinnitus

By Tom Horton

Edited By Leslie Gornstein

Updated on: July 12, 2024 / 2:20 PM EDT / Essentials

CBS Essentials is created independently of the CBS News editorial staff. We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms.

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Have you ever been frustrated by an occasional ringing sound that seems to come and go? This condition is called tinnitus and is fairly common -- it's estimated that somewhere between 10 and 25% of adults have this issue. While there is currently no cure for tinnitus, there is one thing that can likely help you mitigate symptoms and live more comfortably: quality hearing aids.

From Bluetooth connectivity features to high quality sound amplification, we've highlighted the best hearing aids for tinnitus below.

Best hearing aids for tinnitus

If you're considering investing in a hearing aid for mild to severe hearing loss, you deserve the best of the best in terms of quality and comfortability. Add in frequent or occasional symptoms of tinnitus, and finding a feature-rich hearing aid that can also help to manage those symptoms should be a top priority.

Best overall: Phonak
Best sound therapy features: MDHearing
Best Bluetooth: Jabra
Best adaptive tech: Starkey
Most affordable: Audien

Check out the best hearing aids for tinnitus from trusted hearing aid brands like MDHearing, Phonak and more below.

Best overall: Phonak Audéo Lumity

This powerful hearing aid is the latest release from Phonak and provides exceptional sound quality, as well as other features. These include improved speech-focused tech -- StereoZoom for front-facing conversations and SpeechSensor for improved hearing from the sides and back -- and Bluetooth connectivity.

Most important for those with tinnitus is this hearing aid's unique sound therapy feature: Phonak's tinnitus balance program. This provides timely adjustments to sound quality, volume, and background noise cancellation that can be preset for relief that works with your condition.

Prices start at around $1,800 for the lowest tier, the Lumity L30 hearing aid.

Pros:

Phonak's tinnitus balance program offers customizable relief for people with tinnitus.
High-quality sound amplification from a trusted hearing aid brand.
Multiple tech tiers can make it easy to find the right device for your needs (and your budget).

Cons:

MyPhonak app has conflicting reviews about user friendliness.
Choosing the right tech tier can be overwhelming -- consult with your audiologist to find the right fit for you.

starting at $1,800

Best sound therapy features: MDHearing Volt

This OTC hearing aid offers great noise reduction, which can make it easy to focus on important sounds around you. This is also an effective quality for reducing the impact and severity of tinnitus.

With the MDHearing Volt, you can adjust volume with an accessible dial right on the device itself, but additional adjustments can be made with the smartphone mobile app. This includes the use of preset programs and sound therapy features that you can program (with the help of a trusted audiologist or hearing aid specialist) for an experience that's tailored to fit your personal needs.

This is also one of the most affordable OTC hearing aids on our list. Upgrade your hearing with the MDHearing Volt from Best Buy below for $397.

Pros:

Lasts up to 20 hours on a single charge.
Two directional microphones offer effective background noise cancellation and targeted sound amplification features.

Cons:

Behind-the-ear (BTE) style can be cumbersome for anyone expecting (or used to) in-the-ear (ITE) models.

$397 at Amazon

$397 at MDHearing

Best Bluetooth: Jabra Enhance Select 300

This popular brand's latest hearing-aid design, the Jabra Enhance Select 300, takes everything we already loved about Jabra hearing aids -- rich sound quality, a lightweight design, and impressive battery life -- and cranks it up a notch.

Jabra's smallest model yet, this hearing aid offers the best sound quality out of every OTC hearing aid we researched. A common complaint for some hearing aids you can buy online is that amplified sound seems flat or distorted. That's not the case here -- the Enhance 300 model rivals most prescription hearing aids with several notable features that can help with managing symptoms of tinnitus: decent sound boost, exceptional noise filtration and a lack of any static hiss in the background.

The Jabra Enhance Select also offers high-quality Bluetooth streaming for TV, music, podcasts and more. As Jabra's newest and most impressive model, the Enhance Select does come with a price tag that starts at $1,695.

Pros:

Battery life that lasts up to 30 hours on a single charge.
Rich sound quality that surpasses all other OTC hearing aids we looked at.
Various sound modes (accessible via the mobile app) offer a high level of customization -- perfect for tailoring the device to personal tinnitus needs.

Cons:

A steep price tag, especially for OTC hearing aids.

$1,695 at Jabra

Best adaptive tech: Starkey Genesis AI

The Genesis AI hearing aid aims to minimize the number of times you need to make manual adjustments by improving your hearing automatically. This is backed by sound technology that tracks adjustments and gauges incoming sounds in real time.

These AI-powered hearing aids then use this information to pick certain listening modes (restaurant mode, TV mode, etc.) or make adjustments on the fly so that you don't have to. This can offer a whole new level of customization that anyone with tinnitus will appreciate.

Along with features like crisp Bluetooth connectivity, health tracking, and the best battery life we've seen yet in our reviews (51 hours on a single charge according to Starkey), this hearing aid already earned its spot on our list. But it's also the only hearing aid available right now that offers fall detection and language translation services.

This new and innovative hearing aid is available starting at around $2,400 per pair, but prices can vary considerably from one retailer to the next.

Pros:

Robust sound amplification features make this OTC hearing aid one of the best for managing tinnitus.
AI-powered "deep neural network" feature learns what sound programs and adjustments you need to offer an easy and automated listening experience.
Unmatched battery life that lasts longer than 50 hours on a single charge.

Cons:

Starkey mobile app may be confusing and overwhelming to new users.

starting at $2,400

Most affordable: Audien Hearing Atom Pro 2

If you want a great hearing aid for the lowest price possible, we recommend the Atom Pro 2 by Audien Hearing. This small and discreet hearing aid offers high quality background noise cancellation for such an affordable price. The Atom Pro 2 also offers targeted sound amplification to help you focus on what's important around you.

This device also offers users four distinct hearing modes, including programs that amplify speech coming from those around you and a TV-compatible mode. This gives users multiple options for dealing with finicky symptoms of tinnitus as they come and go.

Pros:

Small and compact design makes for a discreet look.
Decent background noise cancellation and targeted sound amplification features can offer solid relief for tinnitus.

Cons:

Switch on the hearing aid for adjusting volume and switching between modes is small and can make precise changes difficult.

$289 at Amazon

What is tinnitus?

Tinnitus is an auditory issue where one perceives persistent or intermittent sounds that don't have a real outside source. It is most often described as a ringing sound, but could also present as a roaring or buzzing sound. It can be temporary -- and may even go away over time -- but in some cases it lingers and worsens over time.

Common causes that have been linked to tinnitus include exposure to loud noises like a concert, a head or neck injury that damages the ear, ear infections, earwax buildup, or age-related hearing loss. Symptoms can be present in one or both ears and may include sounds that nobody else can hear, including buzzing, roaring, whistling, humming or hissing.

Can hearing aids help to treat tinnitus?

While they don't cure or reduce the severity of tinnitus, hearing aids are considered by experts like those at the National Council on Aging (NCOA) to be a leading treatment option for relief.

One reason for this is sound amplification: The addition of new and more audible sounds from a hearing aid can make it easy to focus less on the sounds that come with tinnitus. Hearing aids can also remove a good chunk of stress from the equation when it comes to hearing and understanding everyday sounds, which is also important since stress has been linked to worsened tinnitus symptoms.

Many hearing aids also offer specific features and sound programs to help alleviate the effects of tinnitus. Hearing aid brands like MDHearing offer sound therapy solutions like a noise generator to help mask or manage the symptoms of tinnitus.

How we chose the best hearing aids for tinnitus

For a closer look at how we rate certain products and services, here is what we prioritized while looking at the best hearing aids for managing symptoms of Tinnitus:

Tech features: We paid attention to features like reliable Bluetooth connectivity, consistent sound quality and crisp noise amplification to make sure we highlight the best of the best.
Sound quality: We looked for important features like deep background noise cancellation and crisp speech amplification.
Customer reviews: All of our hearing devices hold a four-star review or higher from happy customers just like you.
Comfort: We paid attention to the design, shape, and fit of each hearing aid to ensure only the most comfortable hearing aids made the list.

Tom Horton

Tom Horton is a resident health expert for CBS Essentials, with deep experience in topics ranging from chronic conditions to health-care devices to diet options. He lives in upstate New York, and draws his power from local bookstores, long hikes on a sunny day, and his cat Sammy.