The Healing Capacity of Your Body
The human body can typically repair scratches, cuts, and fractured bones, though some injuries take longer than others.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for the delicate hair cells in your ears once they become damaged.
At least thus far.
Animals can repair damage to the cilia in their ears and get their hearing back, but people don’t possess that ability (though scientists are working on it).
That means you might have an irreversible loss of hearing if you damage the hearing nerve or those tiny hairs.
At What Point Does Hearing Loss Become Irreversible?
Upon identifying hearing loss, the first concern that frequently arises is whether the hearing will be recovered.
Whether it will or not is dependent on a variety of factors.
Two principal types of hearing loss:
- Blockage-related hearing impairment: If your ear canal is partly or totally blocked, it can mirror the symptoms of hearing loss.
Earwax, debris, and irregular growths can possibly obstruct the ear canal.
The good news is, your hearing generally recovers once the blockage is cleared away. - Hearing loss caused by damage: But there’s another, more widespread kind of hearing loss that accounts for about 90 percent of hearing loss.
This particular kind of hearing loss, known as sensorineural hearing loss in medical terms, is frequently irreversible.
The hearing process is triggered by the impact of moving air on tiny hairs in the ear which send sound waves to the brain.
These vibrations are then changed, by your brain, into signals that you perceive as sound.
But your hearing can, over time, be permanently harmed by loud noises.
Damage to the inner ear or nerve can also trigger sensorineural hearing loss.
In certain cases of extreme hearing loss, a cochlear implant might have the ability to enhance hearing function.
A hearing assessment can help in determining if hearing aids would enhance your ability to hear.
Treatment of Hearing Loss
There is currently no cure for sensorineural hearing loss.
Treatment for your hearing loss might, however, be an option.
The following are some ways that obtaining the right treatment can help you:
- Ensure your general quality of life is unaffected or remains high.
- Effectively deal with any of the symptoms of hearing loss you may be experiencing.
- Maintain and safeguard the hearing you still have.
- Keep solitude away by continuing to be socially engaged.
- Prevent cognitive deterioration.
This treatment can take many forms, and it’ll normally be dependent on how severe your hearing loss is.
One of the most prevalent treatment solutions is fairly simple: hearing aids.
How is Hearing Loss Managed by Hearing Aids
People who have hearing loss can use hearing aids to help them perceive sounds, allowing them to work as effectively as possible.
Tiredness is the consequence when the brain struggles to hear.
Researchers have come to recognize that extended mental inactivity presents a significant risk to cognitive health, as new findings shed light on the importance of ongoing mental stimulation.
Hearing aids help you restore your mental function by allowing your ears to hear once more.
In fact, using hearing aids has been shown to diminish mental decline by as much as 75%.
Modern hearing devices enable you to concentrate on specific sounds you wish to hear while minimizing background noise.
Prevention is The Best Defense
Maintaining your hearing is crucial as once it’s gone, it’s often irretrievable. Certainly, if you get something stuck in your ear canal, you can most likely have it removed.
However, this doesn’t decrease the risk posed by high-volume sounds, which can be harmful even if they don’t seem excessively loud to you.
That’s why making the effort to safeguard your ears is a smart idea.
If you are ever diagnosed with hearing loss in the future, you will have more treatment options if you take steps to protect your hearing today.
Receiving treatment can allow you to live a fulfilling life, even if total recovery is not achievable.
To determine what your best choice is, make an appointment with our hearing care professionals.