Losing Your Hearing? Let’s Look At The Facts.

Naturally with age, often over the age of 50, we lose a little of our hearing function due to the wear and tear of the hairs inside the ears. They tend to not absorb the sound as well as they used to. It may only be mild, and in many cases it is, but in some cases it may be enough to need a hearing aid or some type of hearing assistance. You must be prepared to have a hearing test and see what the problem is. It is likely that you will need a simple pain free test to determine where your hearing is at. It may be that you are struggling with hearing higher or lower pitched sounds but the good news is that there is a solution for most types of hearing loss.  Getting a hearing test is the first step to diagnosing any issues with your hearing, but what are the first signs to lead you there? 

Symptoms of hearing loss tend to be quite simple and you may not even really notice that they are symptoms, but take a look: 

• Muffling of speech and other sounds.
• Difficulty understanding words, especially against background noise or in a crowd.
• Trouble hearing consonants in conversations.
• Frequently asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly.
• Needing to turn up the volume of the television or radio.
• Finding yourself looking at people’s mouths to lip read more than usual. 
• Not noticing the little things such as a bell or someone calling you from another room.

If any of these seem familiar, then it’s good to get your hearing checked out. Take a further look at hearing loss issues and how to know if you have them. Once you have seen your audiologist, you will be able to discuss the types of hearing loss that occur and which one you have. The four main types of hearing loss are: 

• Auditory Processing Disorders.
• Conductive.
• Sensorineural.
• Mixed.

Often hearing loss is connected to wear and tear but if your audiologist suggests an MRI, don’t be too alarmed as an MRI had see the entire head and inner ear which can rule out other things and in 99% of cases, things are just fine but it’s good to rule out a number of issues before going forward. Hearing loss can be cured but it can be dealt with. Because there are many different causes and kinds of hearing loss, it is difficult to come up with a single cure in a one size fits all solution. A common cause of hearing loss is damage to the hearing nerves, called hair cells, which do not regrow or repair themselves which means that it’s almost impossible to rectify it. There are no treatments to implant new hairs in the ear as it’s so small and intricate but the good news is that there is so much available today to help you. Look and feel healthy again! So if hearing loss troubles you, don’t let it get any worse.