Hearing aids and tinnitus: who they may help and what the evidence says

If you have tinnitus and some hearing loss, hearing aids may make the tinnitus less noticeable and everyday listening easier, and UK, US and German guidelines recommend them in that situation. If your hearing is normal, they are not recommended. No type of hearing aid, including models with a built-in sound generator, has been shown to work better than another for tinnitus.

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026

By the Tinnitus Haven editorial team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.

This guide is general information, not medical advice. If your tinnitus is new, one-sided, pulsing or comes with hearing loss or dizziness, see a doctor.

Why can hearing aids help with tinnitus?

Most people with tinnitus have some hearing loss, and hearing aids are one of the main options for people who have both^[1]. They make outside sounds louder, which makes conversations and everyday life easier and can make the tinnitus less noticeable^[1]. Researchers also think that giving the hearing parts of the brain more sound may ease the changes linked to tinnitus, and that amplified sound can simply draw attention away from it^[2]. The German guideline describes treating hearing loss as a precondition for getting used to tinnitus^[3].

Who should consider hearing aids?

Tinnitus with hearing loss that makes communication harder. NICE recommends offering hearing aids^[4], and the US guideline recommends a hearing aid evaluation for persistent, bothersome tinnitus with documented hearing loss^[5]. The German guideline also recommends them for chronic tinnitus with hearing loss^[3].
Tinnitus with hearing loss but no difficulty communicating. NICE says hearing aids can be considered^[4].
Tinnitus with normal hearing. NICE advises against hearing aids^[4].
Severe or profound hearing loss, including deafness in one ear. A cochlear implant may be an option. The German guideline strongly recommends one in this situation, and it can also reduce tinnitus^{[3, 1]}.

The first step is therefore a proper hearing test. NICE recommends offering a hearing assessment to everyone with tinnitus^[4].

What does the research show?

Less than you might expect, mainly because few studies compare hearing aids with no hearing aids:

A 2014 Cochrane review found only one suitable trial, with 91 people, which compared hearing aids with sound generators. The results showed at most small differences between the two, and the authors concluded that there was no evidence either to support or to refute hearing aids as a routine treatment for tinnitus^[2].
A 2018 Cochrane review of eight trials with 590 people found no trial that compared hearing aids, sound generators or combination devices with no device, placebo or information alone. In the trials that compared devices with each other, tinnitus severity fell by a clinically meaningful amount with each type, but without an untreated comparison group it is not possible to say how much of that came from the devices^[6].
A 2022 meta-analysis of 27 studies with 1,400 people, most of which measured tinnitus before and after a hearing aid fitting, found larger reductions in tinnitus loudness and distress when the fitting had been checked with objective measurements^[7].

The German guideline sums it up this way: there are hardly any studies of hearing aids alone for tinnitus, but clinical experience suggests that they help people get used to it^[3].

What are combination devices and "masking" hearing aids?

Combination devices sit in or behind the ear like hearing aids. They amplify outside sound and also produce a soft sound, such as gentle noise, in the same device^[1]. They are what people usually mean by tinnitus masking hearing aids.

So far they have not been shown to work better than ordinary hearing aids. Three trials with 114 people that compared combination devices with hearing aids alone found no difference in tinnitus severity^[6]. A US trial with 55 people compared ordinary hearing aids, the same hearing aids with a sound generator, and extended-wear hearing aids that sit deep in the ear canal: all three groups improved, with no significant difference between them^[8]. The German guideline states that adding a noise generator to a hearing aid brings no extra benefit^[3].

Which hearing aids are best for tinnitus?

There is no evidence that any particular type or model works better for tinnitus^{[8, 6]}. What matters more is that the hearing aid suits your hearing loss and is fitted with care:

Choose with an audiologist, who can explain the types available and which suit you; you may be able to try more than one^[9].
Ask whether the settings will be checked with objective measurements, not only adjusted by how they sound to you. Fittings checked in this way were linked to better tinnitus results^[7].
Go back for the follow-up appointment, where the settings can be adjusted^[9].
Give it time. In the trials above, the effect was measured after months of regular use^{[8, 2]}.

What about over-the-counter hearing aids?

In the United States, adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss can buy over-the-counter hearing aids without seeing a hearing professional^[10]. Their labelling tells you to see a doctor first, preferably an ENT doctor, if you hear ringing or buzzing in only one ear, if your hearing is worse in one ear or changed suddenly, if you have a spinning feeling, or if your ear is painful or discharging^[10]. If tinnitus is your main concern, a professional hearing test first is the safer route, because guidelines recommend a hearing assessment for people with tinnitus^{[4, 5]}.

Who should I see?

Your GP or family doctor can look for earwax or an ear infection, ask about your medicines and refer you on^{[1, 11]}.
An audiologist measures your hearing, assesses your tinnitus and fits and adjusts hearing aids^{[1, 9]}.
An ENT doctor (otolaryngologist) examines your ears, head and neck^[1]. You are more likely to be referred to one if your tinnitus is in one ear, pulses, or comes with a change in your hearing^{[4, 10]}.

In the UK, hearing aids are available on the NHS through a GP referral. They are provided free as a long-term loan, with free batteries, repairs and follow-up care^[9]. Elsewhere, ask your doctor or your health insurer how hearing aids are covered.

Hearing aids work alongside other approaches. If tinnitus still bothers you, cognitive behavioural therapy has the strongest evidence for reducing distress^[12]. See our guides to CBT for tinnitus and tinnitus retraining therapy, and our overview of tinnitus treatment options.

Tinnitus Haven brings sound therapy, a hearing check and CBT-based lessons together in one calm iPhone app, coming soon to the App Store. Learn more about Tinnitus Haven.

Sources

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), NIH. Tinnitus. 2023.
Hoare DJ, Edmondson-Jones M, Sereda M, Akeroyd MA, Hall D. Amplification with hearing aids for patients with tinnitus and co-existing hearing loss. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014.
Mazurek B, Hesse G, Sattel H, et al. S3 Guideline: Chronic Tinnitus. German Society for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (DGHNO-KHC). HNO, 2022. English version of the German AWMF guideline 017/064 (2021).
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Tinnitus: assessment and management (NG155), Recommendations. NICE guideline, 2020.
Tunkel DE, Bauer CA, Sun GH, et al. Clinical practice guideline: tinnitus. Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, 2014 (AAO-HNSF).
Sereda M, Xia J, El Refaie A, et al. Sound therapy (using amplification devices and/or sound generators) for tinnitus. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018.
Waechter S, Jönsson A. Hearing aids mitigate tinnitus, but does it matter if the patient receives amplification in accordance with their hearing impairment or not? A meta-analysis. American Journal of Audiology, 2022.
Henry JA, McMillan G, Dann S, et al. Tinnitus management: randomized controlled trial comparing extended-wear hearing aids, conventional hearing aids, and combination instruments. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 2017.
NHS. Hearing aids and implants. NHS website.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). OTC hearing aids: what you should know.
NHS. Tinnitus. NHS website, 2024.
Fuller T, Cima R, Langguth B, et al. Cognitive behavioural therapy for tinnitus. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020.