The Healing Capability of Your Body
The physical body normally has the ability to recover from cuts, scratches, and broken bones, although the recovery process may vary in duration depending on the damage.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for the delicate hair cells in your ears once they become damaged.
At least thus far.
Animals can heal damage to the hair cells in their ears and get their hearing back, but people don’t have that ability (although scientists are working on it).
If you harm the hearing nerves or the tiny hairs, you could experience permanent hearing loss.
At What Point Does Hearing Loss Become Permanent?
The initial thing you think about when you find out you have hearing loss is whether it can return.
Whether it will or not is dependent on a variety of factors.
There are two fundamental forms of hearing loss:
- Obstruction-based hearing loss: When there’s something obstructing your ear canal, you can experience all of the symptoms of hearing loss.
Earwax, debris, and abnormal growths can potentially block the ear canal.
The good news is, your hearing generally bounces back when the blockage is removed. - Hearing loss due to damage: But there’s another, more widespread type of hearing loss that represents about 90 percent of hearing loss.
Clinically known as sensorineural hearing loss, this form of hearing loss is typically permanent.
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 modified, by your brain, into signals that you hear as sound.
But your hearing can, over time, be permanently harmed by loud noises.
Damage to the inner ear or nerve can also cause sensorineural hearing loss.
A cochlear implant can help bring back hearing in some cases of hearing loss, specifically in extreme cases.
A hearing exam can help in identifying if hearing aids would improve your hearing ability.
Solutions for Improving Your Hearing
There is currently no cure for sensorineural hearing loss.
Treatment for your hearing loss may, however, be an option.
The following are some ways that getting the right treatment can help you:
- Preserve a good overall standard of living and well-being.
- Effectively manage any symptoms of hearing loss that you might be experiencing.
- Take care of your remaining hearing to avoid added damage.
- Keep solitude away by staying socially active.
- Prevent cognitive degeneration.
The kind of treatment you obtain for your hearing loss will differ depending on the severity of the problem.
One of the most common treatment solutions is quite simple: hearing aids.
How is Hearing Loss Managed 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 is the outcome when the brain struggles to hear.
Scientists have come to recognize that prolonged mental inactivity presents a substantial danger to cognitive health, as new findings clarify the importance of ongoing mental stimulation.
Hearing aids help you restore your cognitive function by allowing your ears to hear once more.
Research has revealed that using hearing aids can substantially delay cognitive impairment, with some research indicating a reduction of up to 75%.
Contemporary hearing aids will also allow you to focus on what you want to hear while tuning out background sounds.
The Best Protection is Prevention
Preserving your hearing is essential because once it’s lost, it’s often irretrievable. Certainly, if you get something stuck in your ear canal, you can probably have it cleared.
However, this doesn’t reduce the risk posed by high-volume noises, which can be damaging even if they don’t seem overly loud to you.
So taking steps to safeguard your hearing is a wise decision.
If you are ever diagnosed with hearing loss later in life, you will have more treatment possibilities if you take measures to safeguard your hearing today.
Treatment can help you live a great, full life even if a cure isn’t possible.
To determine what your best option is, schedule an appointment with our hearing care professionals.