Can Hearing Loss Be Reversed?

The physical body can typically repair scrapes, cuts, and fractured bones, though some injuries take longer than others.
But you’re out of luck when it pertains to repairing the tiny little hairs in your ears.
Up to this point, at least.
Animals can heal damage to the cilia in their ears and get their hearing back, but humans don’t possess that ability (although scientists are working on it).
That means you might have an irreversible loss of hearing if you damage the hearing nerve or those tiny hairs.

At What Point Does Hearing Loss Become Permanent?

The initial thing you think about when you discover you have hearing loss is whether it can come back.
It is unclear if it will happen, as it is dependent on various factors.

There are two basic types of hearing loss:

• Blockage-related hearing loss: If your ear canal is partly or entirely obstructed, it can mimic the symptoms of hearing loss.
  Earwax, debris, and irregular growths can potentially obstruct the ear canal.
  The good news is, your hearing normally recovers when the obstruction is removed.
• Damage-related hearing loss: A more prevalent type of hearing impairment, responsible for around 90 percent of all instances, is caused by damage rather than other factors.
  Known clinically as sensorineural hearing loss, this type of hearing loss is usually irreversible.
  The hearing process is activated by the impact of moving air on tiny hairs in the ear which transmit sound waves to the brain.
  Your brain converts these vibrations into auditory signals that are perceived by you as sound.
  But your hearing can, over time, be permanently harmed by loud noises.
  Sensorineural hearing loss can also be triggered by injury to the inner ear or nerve.
  A cochlear implant can help reestablish hearing in some instances of hearing loss, especially in extreme cases.

A hearing evaluation 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 may be possible to obtain effective treatment.
The following are a number of ways that obtaining the proper treatment can help you:

• Make sure your general quality of life is unaffected or remains high.
• Successfully address any symptoms of hearing loss that you may be encountering.
• Protect your remaining hearing to prevent further damage.
• Maintain relations and community involvement to prevent feelings of isolation and disconnection.
• Prevent mental deterioration.

This treatment can take many forms, and it’ll typically be dependent on how extreme your hearing loss is.
A typically encouraged and fairly straightforward solution is the use of hearing aids.

How is Hearing Loss Treated by Hearing Aids

People who have hearing loss can use hearing aids to help them perceive sounds, allowing them to work as effectively as they can.
Fatigue happens when the brain has to work harder to process sound.
As researchers acquire more insights, they have recognized a greater threat of mental decline with a persistent lack of cognitive input.
Hearing aids help you recover your cognitive function by allowing your ears to hear once more.
Studies have shown that using hearing aids can substantially delay cognitive decline, with some studies indicating a decrease of up to 75%.
Modern hearing aids will also allow you to focus on 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 need to protect the hearing you have because you can’t count on recovering from hearing loss. Certainly, if you get something stuck in your ear canal, you can probably have it cleared.
However, this doesn’t reduce the danger posed by high-volume noises, which can be harmful even if they don’t seem excessively loud to you.
So taking measures to safeguard your hearing is a wise decision.
The better you protect your hearing now, the more treatment potential you’ll have when and if you are inevitably diagnosed with hearing loss.
Getting treatment can allow you to live a fulfilling life, even if total recovery is not achievable.
To determine what your best choice is, make an appointment with our hearing care experts.