Your chances of developing hearing loss at some time in your life are regretfully very high, even more so as you age. In the US, 48 million people report some amount of hearing loss, including just about two-thirds of adults age 70 and older.
That’s why it’s critical to understand hearing loss, so that you can recognize the signs and symptoms and take preventive measures to reduce injury to your hearing. In this blog post, we’re going to focus on the most common form of hearing loss: sensorineural hearing loss.
The three forms of hearing loss
Generally speaking, there are three types of hearing loss:
- Conductive hearing loss
- Sensorineural hearing loss
- Mixed hearing loss (a combination of conductive and sensorineural)
Conductive hearing loss is less common and results from some type of blockage in the outer or middle ear. Common causes of conductive hearing loss include ear infections, perforated eardrums, benign tumors, impacted earwax, and hereditary malformations of the ear.
However, sensorineural hearing loss is far more common.
Sensorineural hearing loss
This category of hearing loss is the most prevalent and accounts for about 90 percent of all reported hearing loss. It is triggered by damage to the hair cells (nerves of hearing) of the inner ear or to the nerves connecting the inner ear to the brain.
With sensorineural hearing loss, sound waves enter through the outer ear, strike the eardrum, and reach the inner ear (the cochlea and hair cells) as normal. However, on account of destruction to the hair cells (the tiny nerve cells of hearing), the sound signal that is transferred to the brain for processing is weakened.
This weakened signal is perceived as faint or muffled and normally affects speech more than other types of lower-pitched sounds. Also, in contrast to conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss is usually permanent and can’t be corrected with medicine or surgery.
Causes and symptoms
Sensorineural hearing loss has several potential causes, including:
- Genetic disorders
- Family history of hearing loss
- Meniere’s Disease or other disorders
- Head injuries
- Benign tumors
- Direct exposure to loud noise
- Aging (presbycusis)
The final two, exposure to loud noise and the aging process, represent the most frequent causes of sensorineural hearing loss, which is actually great news as it suggests that most cases of hearing loss can be avoided (you can’t prevent aging, of course, but you can minimize the cumulative exposure to sound over your lifetime).
To fully understand the signs and symptoms of sensorineural hearing loss, you should always remember that injury to the nerve cells of hearing almost always unfolds very slowly. Therefore, the symptoms advance so slowly and gradually that it can be just about impossible to perceive.
A slight measure of hearing loss every year will not be very recognizable to you, but after many years it will be very noticeable to your friends and family. So although you may believe everyone is mumbling, it might be that your hearing loss is catching up to you.
Here are a few of the signs and symptoms to watch for:
- Difficulty understanding speech
- Difficulty following conversions, especially with more than one person
- Turning up the TV and radio volume to excessive levels
- Regularly asking others to repeat themselves
- Experiencing muffled sounds or ringing in the ears
- Becoming exceedingly tired at the end of the day
If you detect any of these symptoms, or have had people inform you that you may have hearing loss, it’s best to arrange for a hearing test. Hearing tests are easy and pain-free, and the earlier you treat hearing loss the more hearing you’ll be able to conserve.
Prevention and treatment
Sensorineural hearing loss is mostly preventable, which is good news since it is without question the most common type of hearing loss. Millions of instances of hearing loss in the US could be prevented by adopting some simple protective measures.
Any sound above 80 decibels (the volume of city traffic inside your car) can potentially damage your hearing with long-term exposure.
As the decibel level increases, the amount of time of safe exposure decreases. As a result, at 100 decibels (the volume of a rock concert), any exposure over 15 minutes could harm your hearing.
Here are some tips on how you can protect against hearing loss:
- Apply the 60/60 rule – when listening to a mp3 player with headphones, listen for no more than 60 minutes at no more than 60 percent of the max volume. Additionally, think about investing in noise-canceling headphones, as these will require lower volumes.
- Protect your ears at live shows – concerts can range from 100-120 decibels, significantly above the ceiling of safe volume (you could injure your hearing within 15 minutes). Limit the volume with the aid of foam earplugs or with musician’s plugs that maintain the quality of the music.
- Protect your ears on the job – if you work in a loud profession, talk to your employer about its hearing protection program.
- Safeguard your hearing at home – a variety of household and leisure activities produce high-decibel sounds, including power saws, motorcycles, and firework displays. Always use ear protection during extended exposure.
If you currently have hearing loss, all is not lost. Hearing aids, while not able to completely restore your hearing, can substantially improve your life. Hearing aids can improve your conversations and relationships and can protect against any further consequences of hearing loss.
If you suspect you may have sensorineural hearing loss, book your quick and simple hearing test today!