Your Body’s Capacity to Recover
The human body typically can heal scratches, cuts, and broken bones, although some injuries take longer than others. But you’re out of luck when it comes to repairing the tiny little hairs in your ears. So far, at least. Although scientists are working on it, humans can’t heal the cilia in their ears like animals can. That means you could have permanent loss of hearing if you damage the hearing nerve or those little hairs.
At What Point Does Hearing Loss Become Permanent?
The first thing you think of when you learn you have hearing loss is, will I get it back? Whether it will or not depends on many factors. There are two fundamental kinds of loss of hearing:
- Obstruction based hearing loss: You can show all the symptoms of hearing loss when there is something blocking your ear canal. This obstruction can be caused by a wide variety of things, from debris to earwax to tumors. Your hearing generally returns to normal after the blockage is cleared, and that’s the good news.
- Damage based loss of hearing: But about 90 percent of hearing loss is accounted for by another, more prevalent cause. This sort of hearing loss, which is often irreversible, is known as sensorineural hearing loss. This is how it works: there are tiny hairs in your ear that vibrate when hit by moving air (sound waves). Your brain is good at changing these vibrations into the sounds you can hear. But loud noises can damage the hairs and, over time, permanently diminish your hearing. Sensorineural hearing loss can also be from damage to the nerve or to the inner ear. In some cases, specifically in cases of severe hearing loss, a cochlear implant may help improve hearing.
Whether hearing aids will help improve your hearing can only be determined by getting a hearing test.
Hearing Loss Treatment
So currently there’s no cure for sensorineural hearing loss. But that’s doesn’t mean you can’t get treatment for your hearing loss. The following are some ways that getting the correct treatment can help you:
- Prevent mental decline.
- Successfully deal with the symptoms of hearing loss you may be suffering from.
- Keep isolation at bay by staying socially engaged.
- Guarantee your all-around quality of life is unaffected or remains high.
- Preserve and protect the hearing you still have.
Based on how serious your hearing loss is, this procedure can take on many forms. One of the most common treatment options is fairly simple: hearing aids.
How is Hearing Loss Treated by Hearing Aids
Hearing aids help the ear with hearing loss to pick up sounds and perform to the best of their ability. Fatigue is the result when the brain struggles to hear because hearing is hindered. As scientist acquire more insights, they have identified a greater danger of cognitive decline with a persistent lack of cognitive input. Your mental function can start to be recovered by using hearing aids because they let your ears hear again. As a matter of fact, wearing hearing aids has been shown to slow cognitive decline by as much as 75%. Background noise can also be tuned out by contemporary hearing aids letting you focus on what you want to hear.
Prevention is The Best Protection
Hopefully, if you get one thing from this information, it this: you should safeguard the hearing you’ve got because you can’t depend on recovering from loss of hearing. Sure, if you get something blocking your ear canal, you can probably have it cleared. But many loud noises are hazardous even though you might not think they are that loud. That’s why taking the time to safeguard your ears is a good idea. If you are inevitably diagnosed with hearing loss, you will have more treatment options if you take measures today to protect your hearing. Recovery won’t likely be an option but treatment can help you continue living a great, full life. Make an appointment with a hearing care expert to decide what your best option is.