By Ryan
Adopting a healthy lifestyle can help prevent many of the effects of aging. It can reduce your chances of developing heart disease or diabetes, and it can also reduce the damage if you already have these diseases. However, no matter what you do, there are some effects of aging that you may not be able to prevent. One of these effects is hearing loss.
It is true that you can prevent hearing damage by avoiding loud noises early in life. Unfortunately, if you are like a lot of people, you have probably gone to your fair share of concerts, turned your car radio up to eleven, or simply worked in environments where the noise levels are higher than normal.
Additionally, there is the normal wear and tear that occurs with age, which means that even if you have spent your entire life listening to nothing louder than an angel’s whisper, you could still end up with hearing loss.
Luckily, there are several treatments that can reverse your hearing loss or, at the very least, help you hear better.
There are three major types of hearing loss: conductive, sensorineural, and mixed.
Conductive hearing loss is caused by damage to the structures in the outer and middle ear, such as the ear drum or the small bones inside the middle ear. This type of hearing loss is caused by ear infections and other diseases, blockages in the ear canal, congenital defects, and injury.
Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by damage to the structures in the inner ear, such as the nerves. This type of hearing loss is caused by loud noises, autoimmune diseases, injury, and tumors called acoustic neuromas.
Mixed hearing loss is a combination of conductive and sensorineural factors.
Treatments
Conductive Hearing Loss
The treatments for conductive hearing loss usually involve removing, repairing, or bypassing the damaged area of the ear.
For example, the Eustachian tubes drain excess fluid from your ears. If those tubes are blocked, or if you are born with abnormally narrow tubes, that can cause conductive hearing loss. To correct the issue, your doctor would insert a stent to keep the tubes open and help them drain properly.
If, on the other hand, you have problems with the bones that carry vibrations to your inner ear, your doctor could prescribe a bone conduction hearing aid, which bypasses the faulty bones by using another part of your skull to conduct sound.
Your doctor could also perform surgery to repair or replace the bones, and other structures, to help them work again.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Treatments for sensorineural hearing loss usually involve repairing or bypassing the damage to the nerves. Another option is to remove structures that could be causing the damage.
For example, hearing loss caused by a brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma can only be repaired with surgery. The most common type of acoustic neuroma surgery is something called the ”translabyrinthine approach,” which requires opening the skull and the participation of surgeons from multiple disciplines to remove the tumor. However, some surgeons have developed an endoscopic procedure that requires fewer doctors and can remove the tumor through a much smaller incision.
On the other hand, there are tiny hairs within the inner ear that help transmit noise along the auditory nerve to the brain. When exposed to excessively loud noises, these hairs swell and can no longer transmit properly. Steroid medications can reduce the swelling and reverse the hearing loss. Hearing loss from autoimmune disease and other illnesses can also be treated with steroids, or by treating the underlying disease.
If the hearing loss is considered irreversible, by other means, a doctor could recommend a cochlear implant.
Mixed Hearing Loss
The treatments for mixed hearing loss ultimately depend on the factors involved. In many cases a doctor will tackle any conductive issues before moving on to sensorineural. This is because conductive issues can often interfere with the success of any sensorineural treatments.
If you suspect that you are experiencing hearing loss, consult your physician. He may need to refer you to an otolaryngologist to determine the type and cause of your hearing loss.
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