Understanding Hearing Loss

Your ears are truly sensitive instruments that, for most people, are capable of picking up extremely fine traces of sound. If protected from loud noise or other damaging effects, the human ear can provide a lifetime of full hearing.

This is why protecting your hearing is so important. Did you know that many causes of hearing loss are highly preventable? You may love going to a concert at a loud rock venue, or be thrilled at the idea of a day at the race track, but the truth is, sudden, violent sounds like loud live music or explosive noises can also concuss the inner ear. Simply put, events like these can damage your inner ear, where sound is delivered to the nerves leading to the brain.

While there is no set formula to protect your hearing, the basic prescriptions are:
- Avoid chronic or sudden noise events whenever possible
- Consider the environments in which you work or play
- Have your health checked regularly by a family doctor

If you begin to experience hearing loss or symptoms, see a Hearing Healthcare Professional sooner than later

Hearing loss prevention is also related to managing your health over the long term as well. The American Diabetes Association cites hearing loss as one of the principle symptoms caused by the disease. Cardiovascular disease or hypertension is also considered a potential source of hearing loss. In fact, many types of diseases can impact blood flow to the small vessels in the ear or lead to health conditions that result in hearing loss.

What does this mean? Simply put, regular health checkups are critical for prevention, early detection, and to protect your hearing. Even a simple hearing health test can diagnose warning signs of hearing loss such as Tinnitus.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) lists several factors that are key to any hearing loss prevention program. These include:

- Managing or avoiding loud noise levels in work or social situations
- Controlling noise sources such as machines or amplification
- Using hearing protection devices like headphones or earplugs in loud environments for any extended period of time

If you happen to be born with a condition that affects your ability to hear, most often it will be detected early in life. But millions of people develop hearing loss over time, as it’s a condition proven to be strongly linked to aging. There are many factors that may converge over time, ultimately affecting your hearing, and you may not always understand the source of or how your hearing loss came about.

If you’re experiencing any form of hearing loss, you should consider seeking treatment sooner than later, because typically conditions don’t improve with time. Left untreated, hearing loss can create related health effects, both psychologically and physically, even leading to potential acceleration of the existing problem. The single most important thing you can do when you sense any type of hearing loss is get an evaluation by a qualified audiologist. Early detection is one of the most important preventive measures you can take if you hope to keep your hearing loss from progressing.

Fortunately, there may be a relatively simple way to address many types of hearing loss. Hearing aids are a well-known treatment for hearing loss, and are proven to deliver clarity and consistency in sound. Hearing aids provide the dual benefit of possible prevention of additional hearing loss, while also potentially and immediately improving your quality of life. With advances in technology, miniaturization, and digital delivery of sound in hearing aids, the options are almost limitless in terms of what you can do to treat your existing hearing loss and prevent additional problems in the future.