The Healing Capability of Your Body
The human body commonly can heal scrapes, cuts, and broken bones, even though some injuries 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. Although scientists are working on it, humans can’t repair the cilia in their ears like animals can. That means, if you injure these hairs or the hearing nerve, you could have permanent hearing loss.
When Is Hearing Loss Permanent?
When you find out you have loss of hearing, the first thing that most people think is will I get it back? And the answer is, it depends. There are two basic types of loss of hearing:
- Hearing loss caused by damage: But around 90 percent of hearing loss is accounted for by another, more common cause. This type of hearing loss, which is usually irreversible, is known as sensorineural hearing loss. Here’s how it works: there are tiny hairs in your ear that move when hit by moving air (sound waves). Your brain is good at turning these vibrations into the sounds you can hear. But your hearing can, as time passes, be permanently harmed by loud noises. Sensorineural hearing loss can also be from damage to the nerve or to the inner ear. A cochlear implant may help restore hearing in some cases of hearing loss, especially severe cases.
- Loss of hearing caused by an obstruction: When there’s something obstructing your ear canal, you can exhibit all the signs of hearing loss. Debris, earwax, and tumors are just a few of the things that can cause an obstruction. What’s promising is that once the blockage is cleared your hearing often returns to normal.
Whether hearing aids will help restore your hearing can only be determined by getting a hearing examination.
Treatment of Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss presently has no cure. But that’s not to say you can’t get treatment for your hearing loss. As a matter of fact, getting the correct treatment for your hearing loss can help you:
- Cope successfully with any of the symptoms of hearing loss you might be experiencing.
- Ensure your all-around quality of life remains high or is unaffected.
- Preserve and protect the hearing you still have.
- Stay engaged socially, keeping isolation away.
- Prevent cognitive decline.
Depending on how severe your hearing loss is, this treatment 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 help the ear with hearing loss to pick up sounds and function the best they can. When your hearing is hindered, the brain struggles to hear, which can exhaust you. As time passes the lack of sensory input has been connected with an increased danger of cognitive decay. By allowing your ears to hear again, hearing aids assist the restoration of mental function. As a matter of fact, wearing hearing aids has been demonstrated to slow cognitive decline by as much as 75%. Contemporary hearing aids will also help you pay attention to what you want to hear, and drown out background sounds.
The Best Defense Is Prevention
Hopefully, if you take one thing away from this information, it this: you can’t depend on recovering from loss of hearing, so instead you should concentrate on safeguarding the hearing you’ve got. Certainly, you can have any obstruction in your ear removed. But that doesn’t mitigate the danger from loud sounds, noises you might not even think are loud enough to really be all that harmful. That’s why it’s a good strategy to take the time to safeguard your ears. If you are inevitably diagnosed with loss of hearing, you will have more treatment options if you take measures today to safeguard your hearing. Treatment can help you live a great, full life even if recovery isn’t an option. To find out what your best option is, make an appointment with a hearing care specialist.
