How Your Body Rebounds From Injury and Sickness
The human body generally has the ability to recover from cuts, scrapes, and fractured bones, although the recovery process might vary in duration depending on the damage.
But you’re out of luck when it comes to restoring the little hairs in your ears.
At least so far.
Animals have the capacity to renew damaged cilia in their ears, restoring their hearing, a trait that scientists are currently attempting to replicate in people.
That means you could have an irreversible loss of hearing if you damage the hearing nerve or those little hairs.
At What Point Does Hearing Loss Become Permanent?
Upon discovering hearing loss, the initial worry that commonly emerges is whether the hearing will be restored.
It is unclear if it will happen, as it depends on various factors.
There are a couple of basic types of hearing loss:
- Obstruction-based hearing loss: When there’s something obstructing your ear canal, you can experience all the symptoms of hearing loss.
Earwax, debris, and irregular growths can possibly obstruct the ear canal.
The good news is, your hearing normally bounces back once the obstruction is removed. - Damage-related hearing loss: A more prevalent kind of hearing impairment, responsible for around 90 percent of all cases, is triggered by damage rather than other variables.
This particular kind of hearing loss, referred to as sensorineural hearing loss in scientific terms, is frequently 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.
Sensorineural hearing loss can also be caused by damage to the inner ear or nerve.
A cochlear implant can help restore hearing in some instances of hearing loss, particularly in severe cases.
A hearing exam will help you determine whether hearing aids will help improve your hearing.
Solutions for Improving Your Hearing
Sensorineural hearing loss currently has no cure.
But it might be possible to obtain effective treatment.
Benefits of proper treatment for your well-being:
- Ensure your overall quality of life is unaltered or remains high.
- Effectively deal with any of the symptoms of hearing loss you may be experiencing.
- Protect your remaining hearing to stop further damage.
- Preserve connections and community involvement to avoid feelings of isolation and solitude.
- Prevent mental degeneration.
The form of treatment you receive for your hearing loss will vary depending on the severity of the problem.
A frequently recommended and rather straightforward strategy is the use of hearing aids.
What Role do Hearing Aids Play in Managing Hearing Impairment?
Individuals going through hearing loss can utilize hearing aids to detect sounds which will allow them to function more effectively.
Fatigue occurs when the brain needs to work overtime to process sound.
As scientists develop more insights, they have recognized a greater danger of cognitive decline with a persistent lack of cognitive stimulation.
Your cognitive function can start to be recovered by using hearing aids because they let your ears hear again.
Research has revealed that using hearing aids can substantially delay cognitive decline, with some studies suggesting a reduction of up to 75%.
Cutting-edge hearing devices allow you to focus in on particular sounds you wish to hear while minimizing background noise.
The Best Protection is Prevention
Preserving your hearing is essential because once it’s gone, it’s often irretrievable. Certainly, if you get something lodged in your ear canal, you can probably have it cleared.
However, this doesn’t diminish the risk posed by loud noises, which can be harmful even if they don’t seem excessively loud to you.
That’s why making the effort to safeguard your ears is a smart plan.
The better you protect your hearing today, the more treatment potential you’ll have when and if you are eventually diagnosed with hearing loss.
Getting treatment can enable you to live a fulfilling life, even if complete recovery is not achievable.
To determine what your best choice is, make an appointment with our hearing care specialist.
