Hearing loss can be frustrating and even dangerous. If you have hearing loss, you may:
Hearing problems can get worse if they are not treated. That’s why it’s important to get your hearing checked.
If you find out you have a hearing problem, you can take steps to deal with it before it gets worse.
Source: National Health Information Center
A cochlear implant is very different from a hearing aid. Hearing aids amplify sounds so they may be detected by damaged ears. Cochlear implants bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Signals generated by the implant are sent by way of the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes the signals as sound. Hearing through a cochlear implant is different from normal hearing and takes time to learn or relearn. However, it allows many people to recognize warning signals, understand other sounds in the environment, and enjoy a conversation in person or by telephone.
Source:
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
National Institutes of Health
It’s frustrating to be unable to hear well enough to enjoy talking with friends or family. Hearing disorders make it hard, but not impossible, to hear. They can often be helped. Deafness can keep you from hearing sound at all.
What causes hearing loss? Some possibilities are
* Heredity
* Diseases such as ear infections and meningitis
* Trauma
* Certain medicines
* Long-term exposure to loud noise
* Aging
There are two main types of hearing loss. One happens when your inner ear or auditory nerve is damaged. This type is permanent. The other kind happens when sound waves cannot reach your inner ear. Earwax build-up, fluid or a punctured eardrum can cause it. Untreated, hearing problems can get worse. If you have trouble hearing, you can get help. Possible treatments include hearing aids, special training, certain medicines and surgery.
Source: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Your doctor can recommend strategies to help reduce the effects of a hearing loss. Scientists are studying ways to develop new, more effective methods to treat and prevent hearing loss.
Many people who have a hearing loss wear a hearing aid. A hearing aid is an electronic, battery-operated device that makes sounds louder to the wearer. Unfortunately, only 20 percent of people who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wear one.
Hearing aids come in many shapes, sizes, and styles. Some hearing aids fit inside the outer ear or the ear canal, while others fit behind the ear.
Hearing aids can be analog or digital. Some analog aids are custom-built to meet a person’s hearing needs. More advanced analog models can be adjusted with a computer to suit a number of environments, such as a room with a lot of background noise.
Digital hearing aids use a computer chip to process sounds, and are the most flexible in adjusting to different environments. They are also the most expensive.
An audiologist can help you determine if a hearing aid, or even two hearing aids, is the right treatment for you. Wearing two hearing aids may help balance sounds, improve your understanding of words in noisy situations, and make it easier to locate the source of sounds.
Other devices also can help you hear in certain listening environments. TV listening systems help you enjoy television or radio without being bothered by other sounds around you. Some hearing aids can be plugged directly into TVs, stereos, microphones, and personal FM systems to help you hear better.
Some telephones work with certain hearing aids to make sounds louder and remove background noise. And some auditoriums, movie theaters, and other public places are equipped with special sound systems that send sounds directly to your ears.
Alerts such as doorbells, smoke detectors, and alarm clocks can give you a signal that you can see or a vibration that you can feel. For example, a flashing light can let you know someone is at the door or on the phone.
If your hearing loss is severe and of a certain type, your doctor may suggest that you talk to an otolaryngologist — a surgeon who specializes in ear, nose, and throat diseases — about a cochlear implant.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
If a hearing loss is ignored or untreated, it can get worse. But a hearing loss that is identified early can be helped through treatment, such as hearing aids, certain medicines, and surgery.
Ask yourself the following questions. If you answer “yes” to three or more of these questions, you could have a hearing problem and may need to have your hearing checked by a doctor.
* Do I have a problem hearing on the telephone?
* Do I have trouble hearing when there is noise in the background?
* Is it hard for me to follow a conversation when two or more people talk at once?
* Do I have to strain to understand a conversation?
* Do many people I talk to seem to mumble or not speak clearly?
* Do I misunderstand what others are saying and respond inappropriately?
* Do I often ask people to repeat themselves?
* Do I have trouble understanding the speech of women and children?
* Do people complain that I turn the TV volume up too high?
* Do I hear a ringing, roaring, or hissing sound a lot?
* Do some sounds seem too loud?
If you think that you have a hearing problem, schedule an appointment with your family doctor. In some cases, he or she can identify the problem and prescribe treatment.
Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
If you think that you have a hearing problem, schedule an appointment with your family doctor. In some cases, he or she can identify the problem and prescribe treatment.
Your doctor may refer you to an otolaryngologist. This doctor and surgeon has special training in problems of the ear, nose, throat, head, and neck.
An otolaryngologist will try to find out why you have a hearing loss and offer treatment options. He or she will ask you for your medical history, ask if other family members have hearing problems, do a thorough exam, and prescribe any needed tests.
Your doctor may also recommend that you visit an audiologist. An audiologist is a health professional who can identify and measure hearing loss.
The audiologist will use a device called an audiometer to test your ability to hear sounds of different pitch and loudness. The tests are painless. Audiologists do not prescribe drugs or perform surgery. If you need a hearing aid, an audiologist can help you choose the right one.
Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine
Ask yourself the following questions. If you answer “yes” to three or more of these questions, you could have a hearing problem and may need to have your hearing checked by a doctor.
* Do I have a problem hearing on the telephone?
* Do I have trouble hearing when there is noise in the background?
* Is it hard for me to follow a conversation when two or more people talk at once?
* Do I have to strain to understand a conversation?
* Do many people I talk to seem to mumble or not speak clearly?
* Do I misunderstand what others are saying and respond inappropriately?
* Do I often ask people to repeat themselves?
* Do I have trouble understanding the speech of women and children?
* Do people complain that I turn the TV volume up too high?
* Do I hear a ringing, roaring, or hissing sound a lot?
* Do some sounds seem too loud?
Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine
