Can Hearing Loss Be Reversed?

How Your Body Rebounds From Injury and Illness

The physical body can normally heal scrapes, cuts, and fractured bones, though some injuries take longer than others.
Regrettably, there is no remedy for the fragile hair cells in your ears once they become damaged.
At least so far.
Animals can heal damage to the hair cells in their ears and get their hearing back, but human beings don’t have that ability (although scientists are working on it).
That means you could have a permanent loss of hearing if you damage the hearing nerve or those little hairs.

At What Point Does Hearing Loss Become Irreversible?

Upon discovering hearing loss, the initial concern that commonly emerges is whether the hearing will be recovered.
Whether it will or not is dependent on a variety of things.

There are two fundamental forms of hearing loss:

• Blockage-related hearing loss: If your ear canal is partially or entirely blocked, it can mirror the symptoms of hearing loss.
  Earwax, debris, and irregular growths can possibly block the ear canal.
  The good news is, your hearing normally bounces back once the obstruction is eliminated.
• Damage-related hearing loss: A more prevalent type of hearing loss, responsible for around 90 percent of all instances, is triggered by damage instead of other factors.
  Known clinically as sensorineural hearing loss, this type of hearing loss is typically irreversible.
  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.
  But your hearing can, over time, be permanently harmed by loud noises.
  Sensorineural hearing loss can also be triggered by damage to the inner ear or nerve.
  A cochlear implant can help bring back hearing in some instances of hearing loss, specifically in extreme cases.

A hearing exam can help in identifying if hearing aids would enhance your hearing ability.

Treatment of Hearing Loss

Sensorineural hearing loss presently can’t be cured.
Treatment for your hearing loss might, however, be a possibility.
The following are a few ways that getting the correct treatment can help you:

• Ensure your overall quality of life is unaffected or remains high.
• Successfully manage any of the symptoms of hearing loss you might be experiencing.
• Take care of your remaining hearing to stop further damage.
• Maintain connections and community involvement to avoid feelings of loneliness and solitude.
• Prevent cognitive degeneration.

This treatment can take many forms, and it’ll normally depend on how extreme your hearing loss is.
One of the most prevalent treatment solutions is rather 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 effectively as they can.
Fatigue occurs when the brain has to work harder to process sound.
Researchers have come to realize that extended mental inactivity presents a significant risk 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 again.
Research has revealed that using hearing aids can considerably slow cognitive impairment, with some research indicating a decrease of up to 75%.
Modern hearing aids will also allow you to pay attention to what you want to hear while tuning out background sounds.

The Best Protection is Prevention

If you take away one thing from this little lesson, hopefully, it’s this: you should safeguard the hearing you have because you can’t depend on recovering from hearing loss. Certainly, if you get something stuck in your ear canal, you can most likely have it cleared.
However, this doesn’t reduce the risk posed by high-volume noises, which can be harmful even if they don’t seem excessively loud to you.
So taking steps to protect your hearing is a good plan.
If you are ever diagnosed with hearing loss in the future, you will have more treatment options if you take measures to safeguard your hearing today.
Treatment can help you live a wonderful, full life even if a cure isn’t possible.
Talk with our professional audiologist to determine the most practical solution for your specific hearing needs.