The Recovery Capability of Your Body
The physical body can usually repair scratches, cuts, and broken bones, although some injuries take longer than others.
But you’re out of luck when it comes to repairing the tiny little hairs in your ears.
Up to this time, at least.
Animals have the capacity to renew damaged cilia in their ears, restoring their hearing, a characteristic that researchers are currently attempting to reproduce in humans.
That means you could have a permanent loss of hearing if you damage the hearing nerve or those tiny hairs.
When is Hearing Loss Permanent?
The first thing you think about when you discover you have hearing loss is whether it can come back.
It is unclear if it will happen, as it depends on numerous factors.
There are two fundamental forms of hearing loss:
- Obstruction-based loss of hearing: When there’s something blocking your ear canal, you can experience all of the symptoms of hearing loss.
Earwax, debris, and abnormal growths can potentially block the ear canal.
Your hearing typically goes back to normal after the obstruction is eliminated, and that’s the good news. - Hearing loss due to damage: But there’s another, more prevalent type of hearing loss that represents approximately 90 percent of hearing loss.
Clinically known as sensorineural hearing loss, this type of hearing loss is usually 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.
Your brain converts these vibrations into auditory signals that are perceived by you as sound.
But your hearing can, over time, be permanently harmed by loud noises.
Sensorineural hearing loss can also be caused by injury to the inner ear or nerve.
A cochlear implant can help reestablish hearing in some instances of hearing loss, specifically in severe cases.
A hearing assessment can assist in identifying if hearing aids would improve your ability to hear.
Solutions for Enhancing Your Hearing
Sensorineural hearing loss currently can’t be cured.
But it might be possible to get effective treatment.
Advantages of proper treatment for your well-being:
- Ensure your overall quality of life is unaffected or remains high.
- Successfully manage any symptoms of hearing loss that you may be experiencing.
- Take care of your remaining hearing to prevent additional damage.
- Keep solitude away by remaining socially active.
- Prevent mental degeneration.
The form of treatment you receive for your hearing loss will differ depending on the severity of the issue.
A typically recommended and fairly straightforward solution is the use of hearing aids.
How is Hearing Loss Treated by Hearing Aids
People who cope with hearing loss can use hearing aids to help them perceive sounds, allowing them to work as efficiently as possible.
Tiredness occurs when the brain needs to work overtime to process sound.
As researchers acquire more insights, they have identified a greater danger of cognitive decline with a consistent lack of cognitive input.
Hearing aids help you recover your mental function by allowing your ears to hear again.
Studies have shown that using hearing aids can significantly delay cognitive impairment, with some research suggesting a reduction of up to 75%.
Modern hearing aids will also allow you to pay attention to what you want to hear while tuning out background sounds.
The Best Defense is Prevention
If you take away one thing from this little lesson, hopefully, it’s this: you need to safeguard the hearing you have because you can’t depend on recovering from hearing loss. If an object becomes wedged in your ear canal, it can usually be safely cleared out.
However, this doesn’t lessen the danger posed by high-volume noises, which can be damaging even if they don’t seem excessively loud to you.
So taking steps to protect your hearing is a good plan.
The better you safeguard your hearing now, the more treatment potential you’ll have when and if you are inevitably diagnosed with hearing loss.
Treatment can help you live a great, full life even if recovery isn’t possible.
To identify what your best option is, make an appointment with our hearing care professionals.