Hearing Loss
Learn more about how to recognize hearing loss
What is Hearing Loss?
A key indicator of hearing loss is the inability to hear certain sounds or tones. Hearing loss can happen to anyone of any age and can range from mild to severe. Even though your hearing loss may be mild, it can affect your ability to properly communicate. If your family is noticing you are having trouble hearing, then you should make an appointment to have your hearing checked. Hearing loss can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
- Genetics
- Exposure to loud noise
- Head or ear trauma
- Earwax blockage
- Ear infection
- Deterioration of the hair cells in the inner ear
- Age
Regardless of what caused your hearing loss, it’s important to have it evaluated by an audiologist. Hearing loss can also be a result of another underlying health condition and can lead to further complications.
Hearing
and Your Health
Hearing loss is not always the result of aging, sometimes it can be caused by another serious underlying health condition. Studies have proven that hearing loss can be connected to heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Each of these conditions affects the blood vessels in your body, often causing them to swell. Because the blood vessels in your ear are so sensitive, the swelling of them due to one of these conditions can cause hearing loss.
It’s important to schedule regular hearing check-ups and appointments with your physician to catch any of these conditions early. Early intervention can prevent any further complications and will benefit your overall well-being.
Signs of Hearing Loss
Hearing loss often occurs gradually, over the course of a few years. If you have gradually lost your hearing over time, it can be hard to recognize the signs. Often, a close friend or spouse will recognize the signs of hearing loss first. If you have experienced any of the following, then it is time to have your hearing checked.
- Sounds seem muffled
- It’s harder to hear when there is background noise
- You often ask people to repeat themselves
- You listen to the TV at a volume louder than everyone else
- You can hear sounds but you can’t hear what people are saying
- High pitched sounds, such as women and children’s voices, are harder to hear
- You hear a ringing in your ears (tinnitus)
Hearing and
Brain Health
Hearing is directly connected to the brain. In fact, we don’t hear with our ears, we hear when sound travels through the ear and up to the auditory cortex of the brain. When sound reaches the brain, it is transformed into information and stored into our memories. Healthy hearing is a crucial part of having an active and healthy brain. When you can’t hear well due to hearing loss, your brain doesn’t receive the proper stimulation it needs. Hearing loss makes it difficult for the brain to hear certain sound signals depending on the tone and frequency. As a result, your brain will work harder to pick up the sounds that it is missing, this can lead to mental strain, fatigue, and even memory problems.
Studies have proven there is a connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline. Those who have hearing loss may socially isolate themselves from other people. Without conversations and social interactions, you can develop feelings of loneliness, depression, and experience a decline in your cognitive abilities. Your brain needs your hearing to remain active and healthy.
Tinnitus
Tinnitus is the perception of hearing a sound in your ears or head when no external sound is present. Millions of people experience tinnitus, and for many it disappears on its own without any intervention. However, some people’s tinnitus doesn’t go away, instead it becomes persistent, interfering with daily life.
If tinnitus is affecting your quality of life, a comprehensive hearing evaluation is a good first step. If the results of your hearing exam indicate you have hearing loss in conjunction with tinnitus, hearing aids could help. Many hearing aids have a tinnitus masking feature that can play soothing sounds in your ears to distract the brain from tinnitus. While hearing aids won’t stop ringing in the ears completely, they can greatly help.
