The National Instuitute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders (NIDCD) shared a sourced and referenced list of Quick Statistics About Hearing.
Let’s take a look at some quick facts about hearing loss:
- Approxiamtely 2 to 3 of 1,000 children in the US are born with a detectable level of hearing loss in one or both ears.
- More than 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents.
- Approximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing.
These facts show how prevalent and serious hearing loss is, and we’re about to review what you can do to mitigate against hearing loss.
Let’s dive right in.
How can you reverse hearing loss?
A biological cure for hearing loss is the end game when it comes to reversing this problem.
However, such a cure does not currently exist.
An article published in Stanford Medicine discusses how hearing loss can lead to permanent brain damage if not treated quickly.
Hundreds of scientists are currently working to cure inner-ear hearing loss resulting from hair cell degeneration (Grecius, 2018).
How can you diagnose and treat hearing loss?
First, seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional.
An otorhinolaryngologist is a doctor who specializes in diagnosing the ear, nose and throat.
Look for a doctor who specalizes in otorhinolaryngology to help you with hearing loss.
First, seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional.
An otorhinolaryngologist is a doctor who specializes in diagnosing the ear, nose and throat.
Look for a doctor who specalizes in otorhinolaryngology to help you with hearing loss.
Many kinds of hearing tests exist that evaluate the different parts of the auditory system accurately.
Generally, it consists of a sound-treated room and headphones.
A visual examination is done on the individual’s eardrum and ear canals via an otoscope.
If a physical problem like earwax is the reason for the hearing loss, this test reveals it.
When in the room, the individual is presented with different tones and is asked to press a button when he/she hears the softest tones.
This part of the test is called “Pure tone audiometry”, it determines the amount of hearing loss the person has and the affected frequencies.
Afterwards, the person is instructed to listen for specific words and repeat them.
This speech aspect identifies the softest speech sounds the individual can hear.
It also determines how clearly the individual understands speech when it is loud enough for him/her to hear.
The right treatment involves the person and their hearing care professional; it also involves factors such as the severity of the hearing loss, budget and age.
Conductive kinds of hearing loss can be surgically treated whereas the other types require different methods.
The most widespread sensorineural hearing loss treatment is the hearing aid. It comes in different sizes, technological types, shapes and prices.
Consider chiropractic care as well where pinching of the nerves which run through your spine and neck can cause troubles with the auditory sytem.
Read more on how chiropratic care can help alleviate nerve pinching and help with inflammation of the surrounding areas.
How do hearing aids work?
Hearing aids are a small public address system that has four main parts namely the:
- Microphone
- Amplifier
- Speaker / Receiver
- Power Supply / Battery
All hearing aids regardless of their complexity are made up of these four components.
The microphones and receivers convert energy to different forms.
The microphones also specifically collects sound/acoustic energy and changes it to electric signals.
The speaker / receiver collects electric signals produced by the amplifier and then converts electric signals produced back to sound energy.
The amplifier is found between the receiver and microphone.
It increases the amplitude of the microphone given signal, and then transmits it to the receiver, which then transfers it to your inner ear.
How can bluetooth and rechargeable hearing aids help?
Bluetooth headphones allow the person to understand television much better…
…this is because reverberations taking place between the television speakers and the ear are eradicated.
Phone conversations become a lot easier as the generic hearing aid’s structure can make the person uncomfortable.
Listening to songs becomes better since the music comes directly to your hearing aid without the use of headphones.
Background noise is filtered and eliminated making the individual hear the sounds accurately.
In addition, extraneous environment sounds like background chatter is excluded by the device.
When looking for Bluetooth and rechargeable hearing aids, look for Widex and Eargo for best overall and most affordable options.
The Phonak charges the fastest, Starkey possesses the longest charge life.
