The Recovery Capability of Your Body
While some wounds take longer to heal than others, the human body generally has no issue healing cuts, scrapes, or broken bones. But you’re out of luck when it comes to fixing the tiny little hairs in your ears. So far, at least. Though scientists are working on it, humans can’t heal the cilia in their ears in the same way animals can. What that means is, if you injure these hairs or the hearing nerve, you may have irreversible hearing loss.
At What Point Does Loss of Hearing Become Permanent?
When you find out you have loss of hearing, the first thing that most people ask is will it come back? And the answer is, it depends. There are two basic kinds of hearing loss:
- Blockage based hearing loss: You can exhibit all the symptoms of hearing loss when there is something blocking 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 once the blockage is cleared, and that’s the good news.
- Damage based loss of hearing: But around 90 percent of hearing loss is accounted for by another, more prevalent cause. This kind of hearing loss, which is usually irreversible, is known as sensorineural hearing loss. Here’s how it works: When hit by moving air (sound waves), tiny little hairs in your ears vibrate. Your brain is good at changing these vibrations into the sounds you can hear. But your hearing can, as time passes, be permanently damaged by loud noises. Damage to the inner ear or nerve can also cause sensorineural hearing loss. A cochlear implant could help restore hearing in some cases of hearing loss, especially extreme cases.
A hearing test will help you figure out whether hearing aids will help improve your hearing.
Treatment of Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss currently has no cure. But that’s doesn’t mean you can’t get treatment for your hearing loss. The following are some ways that getting the appropriate treatment can help you:
- Guarantee your all-around quality of life is unaffected or remains high.
- Stay involved socially, keeping isolation away.
- Stop mental decline.
- Cope successfully with any of the symptoms of hearing loss you may be experiencing.
- Preserve and protect the hearing you still have.
This approach can take many forms, and it’ll normally depend on how extreme your loss of hearing is. One of the most common treatments is pretty 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. When your hearing is hindered, the brain strains to hear, which can fatigue you. As scientist acquire more knowledge, they have recognized a greater risk of mental decline with a continued lack of cognitive input. By permitting your ears to hear again, hearing aids assist the restoration of mental performance. In fact, it has been shown that wearing hearing aids can slow cognitive decline by as much as 75%. Contemporary hearing aids will also help you focus on what you want to hear, and tune out background noises.
Prevention is The Best Defense
If you get one thing from this little lesson, hopefully, it’s this: you should protect the hearing you have because you can’t depend on recovering from loss of hearing. Certainly, you can have any obstruction in your ear cleared. But lots of loud noises are harmful even though you may not think they are very loud. That’s why making the effort to protect your ears is a smart plan. The better you protect your hearing today, the more treatment options you’ll have if and when you are eventually diagnosed with hearing loss. Recovery likely won’t be a possibility but treatment can help you keep living a great, full life. To find out what your best option is, schedule an appointment with a hearing care professional.