As we age we tend to think that hearing loss only has an affect on the older generation. Almost all of us have experience with older people attempting to comprehend conversations, or wearing hearing aids.
As you grow up, you start to find out that there is a different cause of hearing loss in addition to aging.
Here is the one thing you should know: Admitting that you have hearing loss doesn’t make you old.
It Doesn’t Make any Difference What Your age is, you can Still get Hearing Loss
Even before we turn 13, hearing specialists already begin to identify some amount of hearing loss in 13% of cases. You’ll agree, this is not because 12-year-olds are “old”. In the past 30 years there has been a 33% rise in teen hearing loss.
What are the key factors involved?
Of all 45 – 55-year olds, 2% already suffer from disabling hearing loss, and with 55 – 65-year-olds it’s 8%.
It’s not an aging problem. It’s totally possible to stop, although most people may think of it as an aging problem. And you have the ability to substantially decrease the progression of your hearing loss.
Age-related hearing loss, recognised medically as sensorineural hearing loss, is most commonly caused by noise.
For a long time people have assumed that hearing loss was just part of getting old. However thanks to modern-day science we know a lot more concerning hearing loss prevention and also hearing regeneration.
How Loud Noise Causes Hearing Loss
You should appreciate that noise is not harmless if you really want to begin to safeguard your hearing.
Waves of pressure are what makeup sound. Going down into your ear these waves go beyond your eardrum and into the inner ear.
Tiny hair cells resonate here in the inner ear. A neurological code is made up of how fast and how frequently these tiny little hairs vibrate. Your brain can turn this code into words, the sound of wind, a warning alert, a yell or anything else you may hear.
But at the time the inner ear is exposed to sounds that are too loud, these hair cells vibrate too fast. The noise shakes them until they die.
Without them, you can not hear.
Hearing Loss Triggered by Loud Noise is Permanent
Various kinds of injury can be healed by your body. But when you injure these little hair cells, they cannot heal, and they never grow back again. The more you’re subjected to loud noises, the more of these little hair cells die.
As they die, hearing loss advances.
Common Sounds That Cause Hearing Damage
This is a unexpected fact for most people to discover. You might not question:
- Going to a concert/play/movie
- Wearing earbuds/head phones
- Turning the car stereo up too loud
- Mowing the lawn
- Using farm equipment
- Riding a motorcycle/snowmobile
- Driving on a busy highway with the windows or top down
- Working in a manufacturing plant or other loud industry
- Hunting
- Being a musician
It’s not necessary to quit these activities. It is possible to reduce noise related hearing damage by taking pro-active measures.
Don’t Allow Hearing Loss Make you Feel old
You can admit that you’re suffering from hearing problems without feeling older. Actually, failing to accept it can doom you to faster progression and complications that will definitely cause you to you feel much older in just a few short years like:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Dementia/Alzheimer’s
- Increased Fall Risk
- Social Isolation
- More frequent trips to the ER
- Strained relationships
It’s far more common for people with untreated hearing loss to be dealing with one or more of these.
Avoid Continued Hearing Damage
The first step is to learn how to to protect against hearing loss.
- Determine how noisy everyday sounds truly are by getting a sound meter app on your smart-phone.
- Learn about hazardous volumes. Above 85 dB (decibels) can cause irreversible hearing damage in only 8 hours. 110 dB takes about 15 minutes to cause permanent hearing loss. 120 dB and above will cause immediate hearing loss. A gunshot is 140 to 170 dB.
- You should know that you have already caused hearing damage if you have had a hard time hearing, or if your ears were ringing, after a concert. It will become a lot more pronounced over time.
- Use earplugs or maybe sound-dampening earmuffs when appropriate.
- Adhere to workplace hearing safety guidelines.
- Reduce your exposure time to loud sounds.
- Refrain from standing close to loudspeakers or cranking speakers up when listening at home.
- Purchase earbuds/headphones that have built-in volume control. They don’t go higher 90 decibels. Most people would need to listen practically non-stop all the time to cause permanent damage.
- High blood pressure, not enough blood oxygen, and various medications tend to cause you to be more vulnerable at lower volumes. To be certain, never listen to headphones at above 50%. Car speakers vary.
- Wear your hearing aid. Not wearing a hearing aid if you require them causes the brain to atrophy. It’s much like your leg muscles. If you stop walking, it will be much harder to start walking again.
Schedule an Appointment With a Hearing Expert
Are you in denial or putting off on it? Make the right choice now rather than later. You need to know so that you can be proactive to lessen further damage.
Get in touch with Your Hearing Specialist Concerning Hearing Solutions
There are not any “normal cures” for hearing loss. If hearing loss is serious, it might be time to invest in a hearing aid.
A Cost-Benefits Analysis is the First Step
Many people are either in denial about hearing loss, or alternatively, they decide to “tough it out.” They feel that hearing aids will make them feel old. Or they believe they are too expensive.
However when they recognize that hearing loss will get worse faster and can cause numerous health and personal issues, it’s simple to see that the pros greatly outweigh the cons.
Talk to a hearing care specialist now about getting a hearing evaluation. And if hearing aids are needed, don’t worry about “feeling old.” Hearing aids today are much more streamlined and more sophisticated than you probably think!