The human body is an awesome, breathtaking, perplexing, confounding piece of work, isn’t it? The human body typically has no difficulty repairing cuts, scrapes, or broken bones (I mean, sure, it takes some time, but your body can actually repair the giant bones in your arms and legs with little more than some time and a splint).
But when it comes to mending the fragile little hairs in your ear, it’s not going to happen. At least, so far.
It’s really regrettable that your body can accomplish such amazing feats of healing but can’t regenerate these little hairs. So what’s the deal?
When is Hearing Loss Permanent?
So let’s take a closer look. You’re at your doctor’s office attempting to process the news he’s giving you: you’re losing your hearing. So the first question you ask is whether the hearing will ever return. And he informs you that it might or it might not.
Dramatically speaking, it’s a little anticlimactic.
But it’s also a fact. Hearing loss comes in two general forms:
- Hearing loss caused by damage: But there’s another, more prevalent type of hearing loss. Known medically as sensorineural hearing loss, this type of hearing loss is effectively permanent. This is how it works: there are delicate hairs in your ear that vibrate when struck by moving air (sound waves). When vibrations are converted into signals, they are sent to the brain which renders them into the sounds you perceive. But over time, loud noises can cause these hairs to be damaged to the point where treatment is needed.
- Blockage induced hearing loss: When there’s something obstructing your ear canal, you can show all the symptoms of hearing loss. This obstruction can be caused by a wide variety of things, from the gross (ear wax) to the downright frightening (tumors). Your hearing will return to normal, thankfully, when the obstruction is cleared away.
So the bottom line is this: you can recover from one type of hearing loss and you probably won’t know which one you have without having a hearing exam.
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. As a matter of fact, getting the proper treatment for your hearing loss may help you:
- Help ward off mental decline.
- Maintain a high quality of life.
- Successfully manage hearing loss symptoms you may already have.
- Preserve and safeguard the hearing you still have.
- Stay active socially, keeping isolation away.
This treatment can take various forms, and it’ll normally depend on how severe your hearing loss is. Hearing aids are one of the easiest and most common treatment options.
Why is Hearing Loss Successfully Managed With Hearing AIds?
Hearing aids can help you return 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. Hearing aids can also remove some of the pressure from your brain because you will no longer be struggling to hear.
The Best Protection is Prevention
Loud sounds and other things that would harm your hearing should be avoided and your ears should be safeguarded against them. Hearing well is essential to your general health and well-being. Having routine hearing exams is the best way to be sure that you are protecting your hearing.