The learning center is where you can find out about different types of hearing loss, prevention, and hearing terminalogy. By clicking on any of the links in the list below you will navigate through the learning center. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us
Exposure to sounds 85 decibels or higher can damage your hearing, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Here are some examples of common noises levels and sound emissions.
In most cases, it's better to have two hearing aids. Binaural or two hearing aids allow more information to reach your brain and make it easier to hear speech against background noise. They allow more balanced hearing and do not require you to turn your head toward the sound as you would have to do when wearing only one instrument. Wearing two hearing aids allows you to use lower volume levels which minimizes annoying feedback. Nonetheless, financial limitations or other problems may prevent some users from wearing two hearing aids. It is advisable to consult your audiologist about the best options for you.
Treatment for reversible hearing loss depends on addressing the cause. Some reversible conditions are those caused by:
Ototoxic Medicines (such as aspirin or ibuprofen) which when discontinued will reverse hearing issues.
Middle ear infection may be treated and cleared up with antibiotics.
Ear injuries may clear up on their own or require surgery.
Otosclerosis, acoustic meuroma, or Menieres disease may be treated medically or surgically.
Autoimmune disorders can be treated with corticosteroid medicines including prednisone.
Earwax can temporarily impair hearing and can be reversed with wax removal. Cotton swabs or sharp objectives may cause deeper ear impaction, so consult your doctor for proper wax removal.
Permanent, age related and noise induced hearing losses may be treated with hearing aids.
Hearing aids amplify sound and while they do not restore hearing, they may help you communicate more easily.
Assistive listening, alerting, and communication devices may also be helpful.
Reversible hearing loss caused by earwax or infections can be treated successfully and with the expertise of your physician. Medicine or surgery may be recommended treatments for your hearing issues.
Permanent, age related and or noise induced hearing loss may require your use of a hearing instrument or device.
Other hearing devices you may consider include:
Hearing Aids, Digital, analog-based, programmable hearing aids convert sound waves into digital signals. Internal computer chips placed in the aid analyze and differentiate signals, noise, and speech in your environment, and automatically translate incoming sounds into clear, amplified, distortion-free signals. Such self-adjusting aids provide flexible programming and sound transmission to match your specific hearing loss. This most expensive technology provides programmability, fitting precision, automatic volume/noise reduction, and feedback control--thus eliminating the whistling sounds that trouble many hearing aid users.
Assistive listening devices make certain sounds louder by directing sound to your ear. Such devices can be adapted for different occasions to suit one-on-one conversation, classroom, or auditoriums settings. Commonly used listening devices include telephone amplifiers, personal listening and FM systems), and can be connected to your television, stereo, radio, or microphone.
Alerting devices can alert you to a particular sound that will signal a ringing doorbell, a telephone, or baby monitor) and use louder sounds, lights, or vibrations to capture your attention.
Television closed-captioning allows you to read the words being spoken at the bottom of your TV screen.
TTY (text telephone) devices for the deaf are used to type messages that can be displayed over a monitor to convey your message to your listener.
the telephone instead of talking or listening. A telecommunications relay service (TRS) makes it possible for deaf caller to communicate on the telephone.
Age related and noise induced hearing loss my get worse, especially if you are continually exposed to harmful noise levels. Such severe losses can sometimes be corrected by a normal hearing scenario.
What to think about
You can prevent your hearing loss from getting worse by avoiding loud noise and using hearing protection when you are exposed to noisy environments.
Ask your family and friends to speak clearly and to face you so that you can also see and read their facial expressions and gestures.
Age related hearing loss, known as presbycusis, affects most older adults to some degree. The most frequent cause of age-related hearing loss is the natural breakdown of nerve cells in the inner ear. When sound reaches the inner ear, the breakdown of nerve cells prevents proper hearing. Such sensorineural hearing loss accounts for 90% of hearing losses and age-related hearing loss is the most common.
Age-related hearing loss can also be caused by changes in the eardrum or the bones in the middle ear that govern the quality of inner-ear sound flow. High blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes may also increase age related hearing loss.
Age-related hearing loss ranges from mild to severe and may affect your hearing in the following ways:
Speech sounds seem muffled. Conversations become hard to understand, and background noise becomes a real problem.
Your ability to hear and distinguish high-pitched sounds is reduced. Male low-pitched voices may be easier to understand then women’s high-pitched voices.
You may be troubled by hissing, whistling sounds, or ringing ears. This condition known as tinitus may worsen with the progression of your hearing loss.
Because older people usually lose their hearing very gradually, you may not realize you have a hearing loss. Because you begin adapting by turning up the TV volume, standing closer to those who are speaking to you, and compensating for your loss, your family members or friends may realize the impact of your loss well before you do.
While we cannot reverse age-related hearing loss, hearing aids, telephone amplifiers, pagers, and e-mail can make your efforts to communicate easier.
Noise-induced hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by noise can occur in people of any age. It may develop suddenly or gradually, depending on the source and intensity of the noise. Noise can affect hearing in several ways.
Acoustic trauma occurs when a sudden, extremely loud sound including an explosion, gunshot, or firecracker discharges too close to the ear and damages internal ear structures and produces profound and sometimes permanent hearing loss. This type of injury often requires immediate medical attention.
Temporary threshold shift occurs when loud sounds cause a temporary ringing and hearing loss. Lasting from several hours to several days, repeated exposure to sounds that cause temporary threshold shifts can gradually lead to permanent, noise-induced hearing loss.
Noise-induced hearing loss is the result of repeated exposure to loud sounds over prolonged periods of time. Though permanent, this kind of hearing loss is entirely preventable.
How loud a noise is and how long you are exposed to it determines whether a noise is harmful. On-the-job (occupational) noise is one of the most common sources of harmful noise, largely because of prolonged exposure. For instance, if you work in a construction, factory, or military environment you may be exposed to many hours of harmful noise.
The sounds of recreation and daily activities that can cause hearing loss are:
High-volume music.
Power tool, chainsaw, and electric tool noises.
Lawn mowers, household appliances, blenders, vacuum cleaners, snowmobiles and motorcycles can produce damaging sounds.
You can reduce harmful noise levels and prevent noise-induced damage to your hearing by avoiding noisy situations whenever you can. When you can't avoid noisy situations, wear hearing protectors such as earplugs or earmuffs.
Noise-induced hearing loss is usually permanent and cannot be reversed. Hearing aids, which make sounds louder, are often helpful for this type of hearing loss.
Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound is not conducted efficiently through
the outer ear canal to the eardrum and the tiny bones, or ossicles of the middle ear.
Conductive hearing loss usually involves sound level reduction, and inability to hear quiet sounds. This type of hearing loss can often be medically or surgically corrected.
Examples of conditions that may cause a conductive hearing loss include:
Middle ear pathology such as fluid in the middle ear caused by colds, allergies (serous otitis media), poor eustachian tube function, ear infection (otitis media), perforated eardrum, and benign tumors
Impacted earwax (cerumen)
Ear canal infection (external otitis)
Presence of a foreign body
Malformation of the outer ear, ear canal, or middle ear
Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when there is damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or nerve pathways from the inner ear (retrocochlear) to the brain. Sensorineural hearing loss is permanent in nature and cannot be medically or surgically corrected.
Sensorineural hearing loss involves a reduction in sound level, inability to hear faint sounds, and affects speech understanding and clarity.
Sensorineural hearing loss can be caused by diseases, birth injury, toxic drugs, and genetic damage. Sensorineural hearing loss may also result from noise exposure, viruses, head trauma, aging, and tumors.
Sometimes a conductive hearing loss, or mixed hearing loss, occurs in combination with a sensorineural hearing loss caused by damage in the outer or middle ear and in the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve.
Degree of hearing loss refers to the severity of the loss. The numbers reflect patient thresholds, and the softest intensity of sound perception. The following is one of the more commonly used classification systems
