Your Body’s Ability to Recover
The human body typically can heal scratches, cuts, and broken bones, even though some wounds take longer than others. But you’re out of luck when it comes to repairing the tiny little hairs in your ears. At least, so far. Though scientists are working on it, humans don’t heal the cilia in their ears in the same way animals can. That means you could have permanent hearing loss if you damage the hearing nerve or those little hairs.
When Is Hearing Loss Permanent?
The first question you think of when you learn you have hearing loss is, will I get it back? Whether it will or not depends on many things. Basically, there are two kinds of hearing loss:
- Hearing loss caused by an obstruction: You can show all the symptoms of hearing loss when there is something obstructing your ear canal. Debris, earwax, and tumors are just a few of the things that can cause a blockage. Your hearing normally returns to normal after the obstruction is cleared, and that’s the good news.
- Damage based hearing loss: But there’s another, more common type of hearing loss that makes up around 90 percent of hearing loss. Known technically as sensorineural hearing loss, this form of hearing loss is usually permanent. This is how it works: When hit by moving air (sound waves), tiny little hairs in your ears move. These vibrations are then changed, by your brain, into impulses that you hear as sound. But your hearing can, over time, be permanently damaged by loud noises. Sensorineural hearing loss can also be from damage to the nerve or to the inner ear. In certain cases, specifically in instances of severe loss of hearing, a cochlear implant could help improve hearing.
A hearing test will help you determine whether hearing aids will help restore your hearing.
Hearing Loss Treatment
So presently there’s no cure for sensorineural hearing loss. But that’s not to say you can’t find treatment for your hearing loss. The following are some ways that getting the correct treatment can help you:
- Ensure your all-around quality of life remains high or is unaffected.
- Stay involved socially, keeping isolation away.
- Stop mental decline.
- Successfully deal with any of the symptoms of hearing loss you may be experiencing.
- Preserve and protect the hearing you have left.
Depending on how serious your hearing loss is, this procedure can take on many forms. One of the simplest treatments is also one of the most common: hearing aids.
Why Are Hearing Aids a Good Treatment for Hearing Loss?
Hearing aids assist the ear with hearing loss to pick up sounds and function to the best of their ability. When your hearing is hindered, the brain strains to hear, which can fatigue you. As time passes the lack of sensory input has been associated with an increased risk of mental decline. Your cognitive function can start to be restored by using hearing aids because they allow your ears hear again. As a matter of fact, using hearing aids has been shown to slow cognitive decline by as much as 75%. Contemporary hearing aids can also allow you to pay attention to what you want to hear, and tune out background sounds.
The Best Protection Is Prevention
Hopefully, if you take one thing away from this information, it this: you should safeguard the hearing you’ve got because you can’t depend on recovering from hearing loss. Sure, if you get something blocking your ear canal, more than likely you can have it extracted. But many loud noises are dangerous even though you might not think they are that loud. That’s the reason why taking the time to safeguard your ears is a good idea. If you are inevitably diagnosed with loss of hearing, you will have more treatment possibilities if you take measures now to protect your hearing. Recovery won’t likely be a possibility but treatment can help you continue living a great, full life. To find out what your best choice is, schedule an appointment with a hearing care specialist.