Do you have a ringing in ears and are looking
for some relief? Well in this video, I'll
talk about the Widex Zen iPhone app and how
it can help you. Coming up!
Hi, I'm Dr. Derek - audiologist, audio engineer,
and musician with ProFitHearing.com bringing
you the best insight in today's latest hearing
aids, headphones, and audio technology to
improve your life. If you have concerns about
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Today, I’m talking
about the Widex Zen iPhone app for tinnitus.
Tinnitus is a sound that only you hear. It's
not naturally occurring in your environment.
You may notice it occasionally or it could
be a constant sound. People often describe
it as a high-pitched buzz or ringing in the
ears. First if you experience tinnitus, consult
with your physician and audiologist to rule
out any medical cause or hearing loss.
There's many possible causes for tinnitus,
so make sure to see one of these healthcare
professionals in your area for a checkup.
Also check out my other videos on tinnitus
causes. I’ll leave a link for those at the
end of this video.
The Widex Zen iPhone app is a great option
whether you wear hearing aids or not. This
free app is also available for Android devices.
The app indicates that it's intended for adults
above the age of 21. You can use it in a quiet
environment when you're relaxing. Your audiologist
might use this app as part of a customized
tinnitus management program.
If you have bluetooth or iPhone compatible
hearing aids, you can also stream sounds directly
from the app. If you don't wear hearing aids,
use headphones for the best listening experience.
I personally like using noise cancelling headphones.
I’ll leave a link to my headphone reviews
in the description below if you're interested.
Also make sure to listen at a safe listening
level. Tinnitus masking sounds should be used
at a soft audible level that takes your mind
off the tinnitus, but loud sounds should be
avoided since they can cause hearing loss
over time.
Okay so let's take a look at the app.
So when we first open this app, you can see
it has four different selections at the bottom.
We have sounds, relaxation, sleep, and learn.
Let's take a look at sounds first. So on the
first page for sounds you can see at the top
left hand corner there's a little drop down
menu, and this tells you how to find a professional
and learn more about tinnitus. And then all
the other information about the app is listed
there. In the top right hand corner, that's
where it has the help screen. It gives you
a little bit more information about how to
use the app.
For the sounds, you have a selection here
to choose from. You just click on list. You
can see some of the first sounds here. These
are more environmental type sounds. So we
have sandy beach, rocky beach, birds by the
pond, forest wind, tropical night. So you
can see a lot of these sounds here at the
beginning are more environmental type sounds.
As we go down the screen we can see we get
into the Zen sounds. And the Zen sounds will
use the environmental sounds combined with
different musical tones. So you have four
different types of Zen sounds to choose from.
And then at the very bottom we have just your
pink noise and brownian noise.
But you'll get an idea to see which type of
sound you prefer listening to. I tend to like
the Zen sounds themselves, because they have
(like I said before) a bit more of a musical
nature to them. They have the soft musical
tones playing in addition to the environmental
sounds. And you also have the ability to adjust
of course your volume, and then you can also
adjust the left and right balance. Also if
you want to use the timer, you can select
how long you'd like the sound to play and
then it'll shut off. A lot of people use these
types of sounds to help them get to sleep
at night. So those are the types of sounds
that you can choose from.
If we take a look at the relaxation screen,
you can see there's three different types
of exercises to choose from. You have deep
breathing, progressive muscle relaxation,
and guided imagery. So these types of relaxation
exercises can reduce stress, and it can help
you manage your tinnitus. So it's something
to consider. If we click on this we can see
that it has a guided exercise. So it's a recorded
exercise where someone's guiding you through
step-by-step how to do this. The first one
here is about 15 minutes long. You can choose
which language you want it to be in. So if
if you want a different language other than
English, you can select it here. And then
also if we take a look at the progressive
muscle relaxation, this track is about eight
minutes long. And guided imagery is about
seven minutes long.
So these are really good exercises to try
out to help you with tinnitus, to take your
mind off tinnitus. It's something to consider
using in addition to the sounds that I’ve
discussed so far. And then also it has a sleep
exercise. So just like the other relaxation
exercises I just discussed, this is a guided
exercise will help you get to sleep at night.
So that's something to to also look at. And
it goes through and tells you how to use the
app, how to use these different exercises.
So there's a nice description when you're
going through these. There's a nice description
on how to use everything, some tips and tricks.
And the last one is the learn screen, and
this just gives you more information about
tinnitus. So it talks about possible causes
- is tinnitus related to hearing? does it
affect my hearing? what does the brain have
to do with tinnitus? can my tinnitus get worse?
So it, it's just a nice educational guide
here if you want to learn more. And again
it gives you more resources on different types
of help for tinnitus. So if you want to learn
more about the subject, you can read it here.
But that's it. Those are the the four categories
that you can select from on the app itself.
Using a combination of these types of sounds
and the different relaxation and sleep exercises
can be an effective strategy for management
of tinnitus. Of course we always recommend
that you consult with your local physician
and audiologist. They can guide you through
and give you appropriate customized treatment
and care for your needs. But this tinnitus
app is a good resource that your audiologist
can use with you to give you some more relief
from your tinnitus.
If you have any questions about this app,
please leave it in the comments below. I hope
you'll find this Widex Zen tinnitus app helpful.
So for today's question, have you tried the
Widex Zen tinnitus app? What do you think
of it? Let's connect in the comments.
Thanks so much for watching this video. If
you received value from this video, please
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If you're interested in hearing aids, click
on the link in the description below for my
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Know what to ask your audiologist or hearing
aid dispenser so that your hearing aids are
easy to use and have all the features you're
looking for.
Remember Pro Fit Hearing brings you the best
insight today's latest hearing aids, headphones,
and audio technology to improve your life.
If you have concerns about your hearing, always
consult with your local physician or audiologist.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in
the next video.
