The human body is a wonderful, beautiful, confusing, confounding piece of work, isn’t it? The human body generally has no problem repairing cuts, scrapes, or broken bones (I mean, sure, it takes some time, but your body can actually repair the huge bones in your arms and legs with little more than some time and a splint).
But when it comes to restoring the delicate little hairs in your ear, you’re out of luck. At least, so far.
It doesn’t seem really fair when you can recover from considerable bone injuries but you can’t heal tiny hairs in your ear. What’s happening there?
When is Hearing Impairment Permanent?
So let’s have a closer look. You’re sitting in your doctor’s office and you’re taking in the news: you have hearing loss. So the first question you have is whether the hearing will ever return. And the answer is… it depends.
Dramatically speaking, it’s a bit anticlimactic.
But it’s also the truth. There are two basic forms of hearing loss:
- Hearing loss due to damage: But there’s another, more prevalent form of hearing loss. This kind of hearing loss, known as sensorineural hearing loss, is irreversible. This is how it works: inside of your ear, there are little hairs that vibrate when struck by sound waves. When vibrations are transformed into signals, they are transmitted to the brain which makes them into the sounds you perceive. But over time, loud sounds can cause these hairs to be damaged to the point where treatment is necessary.
- Blockage induced hearing loss: When there’s something blocking your ear canal, you can present all the signs of hearing loss. This obstruction can be caused by a wide variety of things, from the gross (ear wax) to the downright scary (tumors). The good news is that once the blockage is cleared, your hearing often returns to normal.
So here’s the main point: there’s one type of hearing loss you can recuperate from, and you may need to get tested to see which one you have.
Treating Hearing Loss
So presently there’s no “cure” for sensorineural hearing loss (though scientists are working on that). But your hearing loss still might be manageable. As a matter of fact, getting the proper treatment for your hearing loss might help you:
- Prevent isolation by staying socially involved.
- Successfully cope with any of the symptoms of hearing loss you may be experiencing.
- Preserve a high quality of life.
- Reduce cognitive decline.
- Protect and maintain your remaining hearing.
This treatment can take numerous forms, and it’ll normally depend on how severe your hearing loss is. Hearing aids are one of the easiest and most prevalent treatment options.
Why Are Hearing Aids a Good Treatment For Hearing Impairment?
Hearing aids can help you get back to the people and things you enjoy. With the help of hearing aids, you can begin to hear conversations, your tv, your phone, and sounds of nature once again. You won’t be struggling to hear so pressure will be removed from your brain.
The Best Protection is Prevention
Whether you have hearing loss now or not, you need to safeguard your hearing from loud noises and other things that can damage your hearing (like ototoxic drugs). Hearing well is critical to your general health and well-being. Having routine hearing exams is the best way to be sure that you are protecting your hearing.