The Healing Capacity of Your Body
The human body usually has the ability to recuperate from cuts, scrapes, and broken bones, although the healing process might vary in duration depending on the damage.
But you’re out of luck when it pertains to restoring the little hairs in your ears.
Up to this time, at least.
Animals can repair damage to the cilia in their ears and get their hearing back, but human beings don’t possess that ability (although scientists are working on it).
That means you may 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 worry that commonly emerges is whether the hearing will be restored.
It is uncertain if it will happen, as it depends on numerous factors.
Two principal forms of hearing loss:
- Obstruction-based hearing loss: When there’s something blocking your ear canal, you can experience all the symptoms of hearing loss.
Earwax, debris, and abnormal growths can possibly obstruct the ear canal.
Your hearing typically goes back to normal after the blockage is cleared, and that’s the good news. - Damage-related hearing loss: A more prevalent kind of hearing loss, responsible for about 90 percent of all cases, is caused by damage rather than other factors.
Clinically known as sensorineural hearing loss, this type of hearing loss is usually permanent.
The hearing process is activated 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.
Prolonged exposure to loud noises can, however, lead to permanent damage to your hearing.
Damage to the inner ear or nerve can also lead to sensorineural hearing loss.
In some cases of extreme hearing loss, a cochlear implant may be able to enhance hearing function.
A hearing examination can help 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 obtain effective treatment.
Benefits of proper treatment for your well-being:
- Maintain a good general standard of living and well-being.
- Successfully manage any of the symptoms of hearing loss you may be suffering from.
- Protect your remaining hearing to prevent further damage.
- Keep solitude away by staying socially engaged.
- Prevent cognitive deterioration.
This treatment can take many forms, and it’ll generally depend on how severe your hearing loss is.
One of the most prevalent treatment solutions is quite simple: hearing aids.
How is Hearing Loss Treated by Hearing Aids
Individuals going through hearing loss can make use of hearing aids to detect sounds which will allow them to function more effectively.
Tiredness occurs when the brain has to work overtime to process sound.
Scientists have come to recognize that prolonged mental inactivity poses a substantial danger to cognitive health, as new findings shed light on the importance of continuous mental stimulation.
Hearing aids help you restore your cognitive 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%.
Cutting-edge hearing devices allow you to focus in on specific sounds you wish to hear while decreasing background noise.
The Best Protection is Prevention
If you take away one thing from this article, hopefully, it’s this: you need to protect the hearing you have because you can’t depend on recovering from hearing loss. If an object becomes lodged in your ear canal, it can usually be safely removed.
However, this doesn’t reduce the risk posed by loud sounds, which can be harmful even if they don’t seem excessively loud to you.
So taking steps to safeguard your hearing is a wise decision.
The better you protect your hearing today, the more treatment potential you’ll have when and if you are inevitably diagnosed with hearing loss.
Receiving treatment can allow you to live a fulfilling life, even if complete recovery is not achievable.
To identify what your best option is, make an appointment with our hearing care professionals.