Navigating Hearing Loss: When Is It Time to See a Doctor?
•Posted on February 28 2023
Hearing is such a fundamental part of life so it can stressful when it starts to deteriorate.
Today, hearing problems affect over 25 million people in the U.S., with different parts of the ear being the culprit.
Conductive hearing loss impacts the middle ear, while sensorineural hearing loss affects the inner ear. Some people can also experience a mix of both.
There are a number of factors that play a role in ear health and understanding the causes of hearing issues and how to deal with them is fundamental to maintaining your ability to process sound clearly and easily.
Understanding Hearing Loss Causes
Every part of the ear needs to be healthy in order to process sound.
The outer ear causes vibrations in the eardrum, which are then sent to the middle ear where they are boosted by three small bones. From there, the inner ear amplifies sounds and sends them to your brain to be processed.
So, what are the main causes of hearing problems?
- Age. Most people will begin struggling with hearing from about the age of 65, with the numbers increasing even more after the age of 75. While it’s not fully understood why age plays a role in hearing loss, it’s said to mainly come down to a lifetime of exposure to loud noises in day-to-day life. Your occupation and how you spend your spare time have the biggest effect on your hearing.
- Illness. Conditions such as diabetes, otosclerosis, high blood pressure and heart disease have also been linked to hearing issues because they can impact blood supply to the ear or affect the bones of the ear.
- Medication. There are several drugs that have been linked to hearing concerns, including certain antibiotics, aspirin, diuretics, chemotherapy medication as well as drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction. In many cases, certain drugs will only affect hearing slightly, while in other cases, it can cause rapid and severe hearing loss.
- Trauma. People who experience a trauma that impacts the skull or eardrum have the potential to lose their hearing, even partially.
- Infection. Lastly, impacted earwax can not only lessen hearing but cause an infection that can lead to permanent hearing loss.
How to Tell If You’re Experiencing Hearing Loss
For most people, hearing loss occurs gradually with age, so it’s difficult to notice until much later in life. You may think that people are mumbling when they’re not or that you need a new mobile phone because it’s not producing sound as clearly as it once did, even when it is. These can be some obvious signs that you need to see a doctor.
Other signs can be:
- People telling you that you didn’t hear their questions or responses clearly
- Getting complaints that you’re watching TV or videos on your phone too loudly
- Struggling to follow a conversation when there is more than one person speaking
- Experiencing a ringing or hissing sound in your ears
- Not being able to make out high-pitched sounds such as a child speaking to you
Certain symptoms associated with hearing problems are not major causes for concern and can be treated. For example, a ringing in one or both ears can be a sign of tinnitus, which is often caused by underlying conditions, ear injury, or issues with the circulatory system. This is a condition that can be managed with Tinnitus supplements or by treating the underlying causes.
In other cases, mild to moderate hearing loss can affect you over the long term but aids and solutions are available to make life a little easier.
How to Treat Hearing Loss
Depending on the severity of your hearing loss, there are several treatment options you can consider.
- Take antibiotics. If you have an ear infection that’s affecting your hearing, antibiotics can clear it up. Your doctor will also be able to remove any impacted wax that could be hampering your ability to process sound.
- Change medications. If you think that medication might be affecting your hearing, speak to your doctor about the possibility and discuss alternatives.
- Consider wearing a hearing aid. Hearing aid technology has evolved and there are many great options available. If you’re worried about people seeing that you’re wearing a hearing aid, you can always opt for a smaller, sleeker version. You will need to speak to a professional about what you can expect when wearing a hearing aid though, as not everything will sound exactly as it once did.
- Get surgery. In some instances, surgery can help reverse hearing loss. Getting a cochlear implant is one example of this. Removing scar tissue from the ear can also help if that’s an issue.
In closing, if at any point you become concerned about your hearing, it’s best to speak to a doctor sooner rather than later to avoid more severe or permanent damage to your hearing.