The Healing Capacity of Your Body
The physical body can generally repair scratches, cuts, and broken bones, although some injuries take longer than others.
But you’re out of luck when it concerns repairing the tiny little hairs in your ears.
Up to this time, at least.
Animals have the capability to restore damaged cilia in their ears, recovering their hearing, a trait that scientists are currently making an effort to reproduce in people.
That means you could have a permanent loss of hearing if you damage the hearing nerve or those little hairs.
At What Point Does Hearing Loss Become Irreversible?
Upon identifying hearing loss, the preliminary worry that often arises is whether the hearing will be recovered.
It is uncertain if it will happen, as it depends on numerous variables.
Two primary kinds of hearing loss:
- Blockage-related hearing impairment: If your ear canal is partially or entirely obstructed, it can mirror the symptoms of hearing loss.
Debris, earwax, and tumors are a few of the things that can cause a blockage.
The good news is, your hearing normally recovers when the obstruction is eliminated. - Hearing loss caused by damage: But there’s another, more prevalent type of hearing loss that represents about 90 percent of hearing loss.
This specific form of hearing loss, known as sensorineural hearing loss in medical terms, is typically irreversible.
The hearing process is activated by the impact of moving air on tiny hairs in the ear which transmit sound waves to the brain.
These vibrations are then transformed, by your brain, into signals that you perceive as sound.
Prolonged exposure to loud noises can, however, lead to permanent damage to your hearing.
Injury to the inner ear or nerve can also lead to sensorineural hearing loss.
In certain instances of severe hearing loss, a cochlear implant may have the ability to improve hearing function.
A hearing examination will help you identify whether hearing aids will help strengthen your hearing.
Treatment of Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss presently can’t be cured.
But it might be possible to get effective treatment.
The following are some ways that obtaining the right treatment can help you:
- Ensure your overall quality of life is unaffected or remains high.
- Successfully manage any of the symptoms of hearing loss you might be experiencing.
- Protect your remaining hearing to stop further damage.
- Keep isolation away by remaining socially active.
- Stop cognitive decline.
This treatment can take many forms, and it’ll generally be dependent on how extreme your hearing loss is.
A frequently encouraged and rather straightforward solution is the use of hearing aids.
How is Hearing Loss Treated by Hearing Aids
People who have hearing loss can use hearing aids to help them perceive sounds, allowing them to work as effectively as they can.
Fatigue is the consequence when the brain struggles to hear.
As scientists acquire more knowledge, they have recognized a greater danger of cognitive decline with a consistent lack of cognitive stimulation.
Hearing aids help you recover your cognitive function by allowing your ears to hear again.
In fact, using hearing aids has been shown to slow down mental decline by as much as 75%.
Contemporary hearing aids will also allow you to pay attention to what you want to hear while tuning out background sounds.
The Best Defense is Prevention
Preserving your hearing is essential as once it’s gone, it’s often permanent. Certainly, if you get something lodged in your ear canal, you can most likely have it removed.
However, this doesn’t diminish the danger posed by high-volume sounds, which can be harmful even if they don’t seem excessively loud to you.
So taking steps to safeguard your hearing is a good plan.
The better you safeguard your hearing today, the more treatment potential you’ll have when and if you are inevitably diagnosed with hearing loss.
Treatment can help you live a great, full life even if recovery isn’t possible.
Consult with our professional audiologist to discover the most suitable solution for your specific hearing requirements.