The Healing Capability of Your Body
The human body generally can heal scrapes, cuts, and broken bones, even though some wounds take longer than others. But when it comes to fixing the tiny little hairs in your ear, you’re out of luck. At least, so far. Animals are able to heal damage to the cilia in their ears and get their hearing back, but humans don’t possess that ability (even though scientists are working on it). That means you could have irreversible hearing loss if you damage the hearing nerve or those little hairs.
When Is Loss of Hearing Irreversible?
When you learn you have loss of hearing, the first thing that most people ask is will it come back? Whether it will or not depends on several factors. Basically, there are two kinds of hearing loss:
- Damage based loss of hearing: But nearly 90 percent of hearing loss is accounted for by another, more common cause. This type of hearing loss, which is often permanent, is known as sensorineural hearing loss. Here’s what happens: When hit by moving air (sound waves), tiny little hairs in your ears vibrate. Your brain is good at turning these vibrations into the sounds you hear. But your hearing can, over time, be permanently damaged by loud noises. Sensorineural hearing loss can also be caused by damage to the nerve or to the inner ear. In certain cases, especially in cases of extreme loss of hearing, a cochlear implant might help improve hearing.
- Hearing loss caused by a blockage: When there’s something obstructing your ear canal, you can show all the signs of hearing loss. This blockage can be caused by a wide variety of things, from debris to earwax to tumors. The good news is that after the blockage is cleared your hearing usually returns to normal.
Whether hearing aids will help restore your hearing can only be figured out by getting a hearing examination.
Treatment of Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss currently has no cure. But it may be possible to get treatment for your loss of hearing. The following are some ways that getting the appropriate treatment can help you:
- Stay engaged socially, keeping isolation at bay.
- Successfully deal with the symptoms of hearing loss you might be experiencing.
- Protect and preserve the hearing you have left.
- Stop mental decline.
- Guarantee your general quality of life is unaffected or remains high.
Based on how serious your hearing loss is, this treatment can have many forms. One of the most common treatment options is fairly simple: hearing aids.
How is Hearing Loss Treated by Hearing Aids
Hearing aids assist the ear with hearing loss to pick up sounds and function to the best of their ability. Fatigue is caused when the brain strains to hear because hearing is hindered. As scientist acquire more insights, they have recognized an increased chance of mental decline with a continued lack of cognitive input. By permitting your ears to hear again, hearing aids help you restore mental performance. In fact, wearing hearing aids has been shown to slow cognitive decline by as much as 75%. Modern day hearing aids can also help you concentrate on what you want to hear, and drown out background noises.
The Best Defense Is Prevention
Hopefully, if you get one thing from this knowledge, it this: you can’t depend on recovering from hearing loss, so instead you should concentrate on safeguarding the hearing you’ve got. Sure, if you get something stuck in your ear canal, you can probably have it removed. But many loud noises are hazardous even though you may not think they are very loud. That’s why it’s a good idea to take the time to safeguard your ears. If you are eventually 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.