Your Body’s Ability to Recover

The human body commonly can heal scratches, cuts, and broken bones, although some wounds take longer than others. But when it comes to repairing the tiny little hairs in your ear, you’re out of luck. At least, so far. Although scientists are working on it, humans can’t heal the cilia in their ears like animals can. That means you could have permanent hearing loss if you damage the hearing nerve or those little hairs.

When Is Loss of Hearing Permanent?

The first thing you think of when you find out you have hearing loss is, will it come back? And the response is, it depends. Basically, there are two types of hearing loss:

• Blockage based hearing loss: When there’s something blocking your ear canal, you can exhibit all the symptoms of hearing loss. This blockage can be caused by a wide variety of things, from earwax to debris to tumors. The good news is that after the blockage is cleared your hearing often goes back to normal.
• Loss of hearing caused by damage: But nearly 90 percent of hearing loss is accounted for by another, more prevalent cause. Known medically as sensorineural hearing loss, this form of hearing loss is often permanent. Here’s what occurs: there are tiny hairs in your ear that move when hit by moving air (sound waves). These vibrations are then turned, by your brain, into impulses that you hear as sound. But your hearing can, as time passes, be permanently damaged by loud noises. Sensorineural hearing loss can also be from damage to the nerve or to the inner ear. A cochlear implant could help improve hearing in some cases of hearing loss, especially extreme cases.

A hearing examination will help you determine whether hearing aids will help restore your hearing.

Hearing Loss Treatment

So currently there’s no cure for sensorineural hearing loss. But that’s doesn’t mean you can’t get treatment for your hearing loss. actually, getting the right treatment for your hearing loss can help you:

• Keep isolation at bay by staying socially engaged.
• Prevent cognitive decline.
• Make sure your overall quality of life is unaffected or remains high.
• Successfully deal with any of the symptoms of hearing loss you may be experiencing.
• Preserve and protect the hearing you still have.

Depending on how extreme your hearing loss is, this treatment can take on 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 hear sounds and function to the best of their ability. When your hearing is hampered, the brain struggles to hear, which can fatigue you. Over time the lack of sensory input has been connected with a greater danger of cognitive decay. Your cognitive function can start to be restored by using hearing aids because they let your ears hear again. As a matter of fact, wearing hearing aids has been shown to slow cognitive decline by as much as 75%. Modern day hearing aids can also allow you to concentrate on what you want to hear, and tune out background noises.

The Best Defense Is Prevention

Hopefully, if you get one thing from this information, it this: you can’t depend on recovering from loss of hearing, so instead you should concentrate on protecting the hearing you have. Certainly, if you have something stuck in your ear canal, you can probably have it extracted. But many loud noises are dangerous even though you may not think they are that loud. That’s why it’s not a bad strategy to take the time to protect your ears. The better you safeguard your hearing today, the more treatment options you’ll have if and when you are eventually diagnosed with loss of hearing. Recovery won’t likely be a possibility but treatment can help you continue living a great, full life. Schedule an appointment with a hearing care professional to find out what your best choice is.