The human body is a wonderful, beautiful, perplexing, confounding piece of work, isn’t it? Scratches, cuts, and broken bones are typically no problem for the human body to heal (I mean, sure, it takes some time, but your body can actually repair the giant bones in your legs and arms with little more than some time and a splint).
But you won’t be so fortunate if the delicate hairs in your ears are damaged. For now anyway.
It’s really regrettable that your body can accomplish such fantastic feats of healing but can’t regenerate these tiny hairs. So what’s the deal?
When is Hearing Impairment Permanent?
So, let’s get right to it. You’re at your doctor’s office trying to digest the news he’s giving you: you have hearing impairment. So the first question you have is whether the hearing will ever come back. And the answer is… it depends.
It’s a bit anticlimactic, speaking dramatically.
But it’s also a fact. There are two basic kinds of hearing loss:
- Blockage induced hearing loss: You can exhibit every sign of hearing loss when your ear has some type of obstruction. This obstruction can be caused by a number of things, from the gross (ear wax) to the downright frightening (tumors). Your hearing will return to normal, thankfully, when the obstruction is removed.
- Damage induced hearing loss: But hearing loss has another more common form. Known scientifically as sensorineural hearing loss, this form of hearing loss is effectively irreversible. Here’s what happens: inside of your ear, there are tiny hairs that vibrate when struck by sound waves. Your brain is good at turning these vibrations into the sounds you hear. But over time, loud noises can cause these hairs to be damaged to the point where treatment is needed.
So the bottom line is this: there’s one form of hearing loss you can recover from, and you may need to get tested 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’s not to say you can’t find treatment for your hearing loss. Here are a few ways that the proper treatment might help you:
- Successfully manage hearing loss symptoms you might already have.
- Help ward off mental decline.
- Safeguard and maintain your remaining hearing.
- Ensure your total quality of life is untouched or remains high.
- Prevent isolation by remaining socially involved.
This treatment can take various forms, and it’ll usually depend on how severe your hearing loss is. Hearing aids are one of the easiest and most common treatment choices.
Why is Hearing Loss Effectively Managed With Hearing AIds?
You can return 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 television, your phone, and sounds of nature once more. Hearing aids can also remove some of the pressure from your brain because you will no longer be straining to hear.
Prevention is The Best Protection
Whether you have hearing loss now or not, you should protect your hearing from loud sounds and other things that can damage your hearing (like ototoxic drugs). Hearing well is essential to your general health and well-being. Having routine hearing exams is the best way to be certain that you are safeguarding your hearing.