The human body has some fantastic and remarkable abilities. The human body usually has no problem healing cuts, scratches, or broken bones (with a little time, your body can repair the huge bones in your legs and arms).
But when it comes to restoring the tiny little hairs in your ear, it’s not going to happen. At least, so far.
It doesn’t seem exactly fair when you can heal from significant bone injuries but you have problems repairing tiny hairs in your ear. So what’s the deal?
When is Hearing Loss Permanent?
So, let’s get right to it. You’re sitting in your doctor’s office and you’re taking in the news: you’re losing your hearing. So you ask your doctor if your hearing will ever come back. And he informs you that it may or may not.
It’s a bit anticlimactic, speaking dramatically.
But it’s also the truth. Hearing loss comes in two basic forms:
- Hearing impairment caused by a blockage: When there’s something blocking your ear canal, you can exhibit all the symptoms of hearing loss. A wide range of things, from something gross (earwax) to something frightening (a tumor), can be the cause of this blockage. Your hearing will return to normal, luckily, when the blockage is removed.
- Damage related hearing loss: But there’s another, more prevalent form of hearing loss. This form of hearing loss, known as sensorineural hearing loss, is permanent. This is how it works: there are delicate hairs in your ear that vibrate when struck by moving air (sound waves). When vibrations are transformed into signals, they are transmitted to the brain which makes them into the sounds you perceive. But loud sounds can cause damage to the hairs and, over time, reduce your hearing to the point where you require treatment.
So here’s the main point: there’s one form of hearing loss you can recover from, and you may need to get examined to see which one you’re dealing with.
Treating Hearing Loss
Scientists haven’t discovered a “cure” for sensorineural hearing loss but they’re working on it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find treatment for your hearing loss. Here are a few ways that the proper treatment might help you:
- Preserve a high quality of life.
- Prevent isolation by staying socially active.
- Successfully cope with any of the symptoms of hearing loss you might be experiencing.
- Protect and maintain your remaining hearing.
- Prevent mental decline.
This treatment can take numerous forms, and it’ll usually depend on how significant your hearing loss is. One of the most prevalent treatments is fairly simple: hearing aids.
Why is Hearing Loss Successfully Treated With Hearing AIds?
You can get back to the people and things you enjoy with the assistance of hearing aids. With the help of hearing aids, you can begin to hear conversations, your tv, your phone, and sounds of nature once more. Hearing aids can also remove some of the pressure from your brain because you won’t be struggling to hear.
Prevention is The Best Protection
Whether you have hearing loss now or not, you should safeguard your hearing from loud sounds and other things that can harm your hearing (like ototoxic drugs). Hearing well is crucial to your overall health and well-being. Having routine hearing exams is the best way to be sure that you are protecting your hearing.