The human body is a wonderful, breathtaking, perplexing, confounding construction, isn’t it? Scratches, cuts, and broken bones are typically no problem for the human body to mend (with a little time, your body can heal the giant bones in your legs and arms).
But you won’t be so fortunate if the tiny hairs in your ears are damaged. For now at least.
It doesn’t seem really fair when you can heal from major bone injuries but you can’t heal tiny hairs in your ear. So what’s the deal?
When is Hearing Loss Permanent?
So, let’s get right down to it. You’re at your doctor’s office attempting to process the news he’s giving you: you have hearing loss. So the first question you ask is whether the hearing will ever come back. And he informs you that it may or may not.
It’s a little anticlimactic, speaking dramatically.
But he’s not wrong. There are two general kinds of hearing loss:
- Hearing loss due to damage: But hearing loss has another more prevalent form. This form of hearing loss, called sensorineural hearing loss, is permanent. This is how it works: there are fragile hairs in your ear that vibrate when struck by moving air (sound waves). When vibrations are transformed into signals, they are transmitted to the brain which makes them into the sounds you perceive. But over time, loud sounds can cause these hairs to be damaged to the point where treatment is necessary.
- Blockage induced hearing loss: You can show every sign of hearing loss when your ear has some sort of obstruction. A wide range of things, from something gross (earwax) to something frightening (a tumor), can be the cause of this obstruction. Your hearing will return to normal, thankfully, when the blockage is cleared away.
So here’s the main point: there’s one type of hearing loss you can recover from, and you may need to get examined to see which one you’re dealing with.
Hearing Loss Treatment
Scientists haven’t discovered a “cure” for sensorineural hearing loss but they’re working on it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find treatment for your hearing loss. Here are a few ways that the right treatment may help you:
- Successfully manage hearing loss symptoms you might already have.
- Reduce mental decline.
- Make sure your general quality of life is unaffected or remains high.
- Protect and maintain your remaining hearing.
- Avoid isolation by staying socially involved.
Of the many types of treatment available, which one is the right choice for you depends on the seriousness of your hearing loss. One of the most common treatments is rather simple: hearing aids.
Why Are Hearing Aids a Smart Treatment For Hearing Impairment?
You can get back to the things and people you enjoy with the help of hearing aids. They can help you hear the discussions, your phone, your tv, or even just the birds in the park. You will no longer be straining to hear so pressure will be removed from your brain.
The Best Protection is Prevention
Whether you have hearing loss now or not, you should protect your hearing from loud sounds and other things that can harm your hearing (like ototoxic drugs). Your overall health and well being depend on strong hearing. Routine hearing care, like annual hearing tests, is just another form of self-care.