If you or a loved one has untreated hearing loss, your brain is already working harder than someone without hearing loss.
Untreated hearing loss takes more energy:
It’s harder for the brain to interpret the signals from the inner ear.
Your brain is constructing meaning from missed sounds.
Energy spent guessing at what’s been said.
Figuring out context for missed words.
Reading lips and concentrating on facial gestures and body language.
All that extra effort can leave you feeling drained by the end of the day. And because the energy spent offsetting hearing loss is diverted from other parts of the brain, cognitive functions like problem-solving and memory can also suffer.
Studies show that untreated hearing loss can negatively impact our relationships with family and friends and particularly with those closest to us, such as our romantic partners. Research is pretty clear that untreated hearing loss can be a major source of stress, especially among couples.
Hearing aids can reduce social fatigue.
If hearing aids are recommended, they will ease listening effort in social situations.
Hearing aids isolate the sounds you want to hear and put the sounds you don’t want to hear in the background. While it’s not possible to restore lost hearing completely, hearing aids help fill in the gaps for your brain that hearing loss creates.
Hearing aids assist by:
Making it easier to hear sounds and speech in different listening environments.
Amplifying sounds you want to hear.
Reducing background noise.
If you already have hearing aids
It’s important that you don’t “get by” with your current hearing aid settings if they’re not working optimally in this listening environment. Adjustments can be made that will help you hear better.
A Hearing Professional will:
Adjust hearing aid settings for trouble in background noise.
Set your hearing aids to your specific prescriptive level.
Explain program settings for a temporary volume boost or added clarity.
Show you accessories such as remote microphones that pair to your hearing aids and help you hear a single speaker in a noisy environment like a coffee shop.
Set up Bluetooth™-enabled hearing aids to stream calls, TV, and music.
If you are or have been experiencing difficulty hearing CALL NOW we would love to help you get your hearing back! Absolute Hearing Care Centers are happy to offer a FREE consultation and give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.
When you discover that you have loss of hearing, the first thing that most people think is will I get it back? The reality is, it depends.
Some wounds the human body usually has no problem mending. Like cuts, scrapes, or broken bones. But you’re out of luck when it comes to fixing the tiny nerves in your ears/cochlea. Scientists are working on it, but humans don’t heal the cilia in their ears the same way animals can. For people, if you injure these little hairs or the auditory nerve, you might have permanent loss of hearing.
90 percent of hearing loss is accounted for by what is known as sensorineural hearing loss, this kind of hearing loss is usually permanent. To explain: When hit by sound or sound waves, tiny little nerves in your cochlea vibrate. These vibrations are then changed, by your brain, into impulses that you hear as sound. Now, loud sounds can damage the hairs and, over time, permanently diminish your hearing, but so can a low constant sound as well. Sensorineural hearing loss can also be from injury or a virus to the nerve as well. In certain cases, specifically in instances of extreme loss of hearing, a cochlear implant could help improve hearing.
Sensorineural hearing loss presently has no cure. But it might be possible to get treatment for your loss of hearing.
Whether hearing aids will help improve your hearing can only be determined by having a hearing specialist preform an exam.
Hearing at your best is more critical than ever today— If you think it might be time to get your hearing tested or just have questions and want real answers, please don’t wait. Contact us today to schedule time with one of our licensed specialists. It’s Absolutely Free!
When visiting your Hearing Specialist for a hearing aid fitting, they’ll generally walk through how best to care for the new device, possibly educate you on your hearing loss type and program them to best fit your prescriptive hearing levels. Although the process might seem a bit overwhelming at first, it’s also necessary. The alternative is trying to stumble through educating yourself — generally that is best left to the professionals.
Failure to effectively maintain your hearing aid through proper care and cleaning or trying to reconfigure the device yourself can not only void the warranty but may also result in personal injury. It’s better to leave it to the professionals. Even so, after some time has elapsed you may start to run into issues ranging from discomfort to feedback.
The process of readjustments and reprogramming are very much a part of hearing aid maintenance as regular cleaning. Your ears do change over time. It’s important that you learn to recognize the signs that your hearing aid needs to be adjusted accordingly.
Feedback
Are you hearing an irritating whistling sound? Buzzing or Static?
These could signify one of several issues.
First, it may be wax build up. If that is not the cast then the hearing aid may not be properly fitted to your ear. In addition to irritating feedback, pressure spots can build up and can cause chafing in the ear canal. Not only is this uncomfortable in the short-term, but it may also result in permanent damage if left unaddressed.
It might also signify that the hearing aid is in some way failing and needs to be replaced or repaired. Given that there’s really no way to be certain on your own, your best bet is to visit your hear specialist. They can better diagnose what’s gone wrong, and reconfigure your hearing assistance device as necessary.
Unexplained Hearing Loss
If your hearing aid no longer seems to work as well as it used to, or worse, if you’re experiencing unexplained fluctuations in your hearing impairment, contact your hearing professional immediately. This may go beyond a simple configuration issue. Perhaps whatever condition caused your initial hearing impairment grew more severe over time.
You may have also developed a new condition that worsened your hearing impairment. Certain antibiotics and medications are also ototoxic, meaning they can cause temporary or even permanent hearing damage. A healthcare professional can help you determine the root cause, whether it’s degenerative, the result of medication, or the manifestation of a new condition.
Pain or Discomfort
If your hearing aid has grown uncomfortable to use, there’s a high chance that the earmold or piece has deteriorated over time, and needs to be replaced. As mentioned earlier, an improperly configured earmold may cause a wide range of issues. If your hearing aid is loose or causing pain it’s time to call your hearing care provider.
If you are or have been experiencing difficulty hearing CALL NOW we would love to help you get your hearing back! Absolute Hearing Care Centers are happy to offer a FREE consultation and give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.
When choosing a hearing aid with the help of your specialist, there are two categories you will find that devices fall into. One is (ITE) In The Ear hearing aid and the other is, (BTE) Behind The Ear hearing aid. As the name suggests, the majority of the device rests behind the ear, with the microphone and receiver positioned alone inside it. But what are the benefits?
Pros
BTE devices are highly popular. They have a range of advantages to consider:
Comfortable to wear. BTE hearing aids are very comfortable to wear, and you don’t have to worry about direct contact with the ear canal (which some users find uncomfortable or odd to experience).
Easy maintenance. As BTE devices do not come in direct contact with the ear canal, most users find they are far easier to maintain than in-the-ear (ITE) or in-the-canal (ITC) options. If you want a hearing aid that’s going to be easy to live with, then a BTE device might be the best choice for you.
Minimal feedback. The internal components of BTE hearing aids are more distanced from one another, which makes feedback less of a problem for users.
Bluetooth with smart phone compatibility are great features to have that BTE style hearing aids offer. You can use an app on your smart phone to control the hearing aids volume and settings.
BTE can give more Head Room or “Room to Grow” by giving the option to add a more powerful speaker to them in the future if the need arises.
Cons
Of course, where there are advantages, there are disadvantages. No hearing aid choice is without some drawbacks so here are a few factors worth considering:
Less discreet. If you’re concerned about onlookers being able to see your hearing aid, then BTE options are less discreet than other options. As they sit directly outside the ear, they are more liable to be noticed by other people. If discretion is important then you would want to consider an IIC Or ITC option.
Wind noise. Users of BTE devices are more liable to experience issues with wind noise when using their hearing aid in open spaces
Masks have become something to pay attention to as well. Having to remove a mask may cause the wearer to lose the hearing aid if they are not careful.
Choosing your hearing aid is not a decision that should be made lightly. You will be relying on it a lot, after all. No device is 100% perfect for every user, there are some that may fit your needs better than others. The pros and cons above might help you decide but choosing with the help of an audiologist who knows your circumstances is always wise.
Why do most insurance providers exclude coverage for hearing aids?
They’re not considered essential medical devices. Instead, they’re deemed “elective” – chosen, rather than urgently necessary.
“Elective” Coverage for Hearing Aids is a problem
Hearing aids are a lifeline. They help people with hearing loss communicate with loved ones, coworkers, they help stay safe in everyday situations, and are a know preventative measure of cognitive issues like Dementia , Alzheimer’s and Depression as they age. They can improve a person’s quality of life, affecting nearly every aspect of their day-to-day routine. More than 50 percent of people over the age of 75 suffer from hearing loss, and for these individuals, hearing aids are far from elective.
If you would consider how dramatically a hearing loss could influence a person’s health and happiness, it’s difficult to understand how insurers could say that they’re nonessential and not worthy of insurance coverage. Not surprisingly, the issue extends beyond whether hearing aids are necessary or elective. It’s also about insurance companies risk vs. reward.
The Risk vs Reward
An Insurance company works by spreading the cost of health services over a large group of people so that members can pay a reasonable amount and still receive coverage. The insurance company profits when individuals pay for coverage but do not file any claims. Unfortunately, that makes individuals with hearing loss a serious risk for insurance companies. Individuals with hearing loss are very likely to file insurance claims to help pay for hearing aids, which can cost thousands of dollars. Hearing aids also require replacement every five years, which is an additional expense for the insurance provider.
As it stands, insurance companies are less likely to make a profit on high-risk individuals like those with hearing loss. This is a major reason why they’re less likely to offer coverage for hearing aids. Even if insurance companies do eventually provide coverage for hearing devices, they will have a major impact on the pricing of hearing devices and services, setting lower allowed contractual amounts for what can be billed.
If you have questions or would like us to find out if your insurance has a benefit for hearing please call us at 843-839-2389\ to schedule an appointment.
Ototoxicity refers to drug or chemical-related damage to the inner ear, resulting in damage to the organs responsible for hearing and balance. Ototoxicity occurs as a side-effect of certain drugs and substances, which damages inner ear hair cells and has been known to cause sensorineural hearing loss. Ototoxic substances include several therapeutic medicines (e.g. aminoglycoside antibiotics, some anti-cancer agents, loop diuretics, anti-malarial drugs and aspirin), and other environmental substances (e.g. mercury, lead and arsenic). Depending on the strength of the drug and its side-effects, hearing loss or other disorders may be temporary or permanent.
Beyond prescription or over the counter medications, many people slowly damage their hearing with common substances such as caffeine and alcohol. While the impact of these substances is more gradual over the course of many years, the resulting hearing loss is typically permanent. Changes to a person’s lifestyle earlier in life can dramatically reduce one’s risk for developing sensorineural hearing loss.
Understanding Ototoxicity and Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss is one of three types of hearing loss and relates specifically to the structures of the inner ear.
After sound waves have made their way from the outer ear through the middle ear, and the waves have become vibrations created by the eardrum, the vibrations move through the inner ear structure, where they are picked up by inner ear hair cells. These cells are responsible for translating sound wave vibrations into neural signals that are processed and recognized by the auditory cortex of the brain as sound.
Ototoxicity causes the death of these inner ear hair cells, which do not regenerate. This leads to sensorineural hearing loss.
Hearing loss should be treated as soon as possible; if left untreated for an extended period of time, the neural pathways that process sound in the brain will fall into disrepair and will make treating hearing loss more difficult in the long term.
Medications that may cause hearing loss
Aminoglycoside Antibiotics
Aminoglycoside antibiotics are a strong and effective treatment for inflammatory bacterial infections such as meningitis, bacteremia, and respiratory diseases in patients with cystic fibrosis.
At the Oregon Hearing Research Center, Dr. Peter Steyger and his colleagues tested the effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics on mice, one group healthy and the other infected with inflammatory bacteria.
They found that both groups experienced levels of hearing loss, with the infected mice experiencing a higher degree.
Aminoglycoside antibiotics are frequently used in developing countries with warm climates due to their ease of storage (they do not require refrigeration). They are also used in the US, where they are administered to infants in intensive care units.
Though aminoglycoside antibiotics are life-saving in cases of lethal infection, they may cause permanent hearing loss.
Chemotherapy Drugs
For patients battling cancer, chemotherapy drugs may also lead to permanent hearing loss. Two particular drugs, cisplatin and carboplatin, have been found to affect the inner ear.
Cisplatin is used to treat solid tumors such as ovarian, testicular, cervical, lung, head, neck, and bladder cancers. Studies conducted on the ototoxicity of cisplatin reveal that “hearing loss following cisplatin chemotherapy appears to be variable…related to dose, age of the patient, and other factors, such as noise exposure.”
Both cisplatin and carboplatin are crucial in cancer treatments, but medical professionals tend to monitor hearing throughout a patient’s treatment.
Salicylate pain relievers
Salicylate pain relievers are composed of acetylsalicylic acid, most commonly known as aspirin.
Aspirin is used to treat inflammation and pain, and is also prescribed to patients with a history of stroke, unstable angina, or myocardial infarction. Salicylic acid enters the cochlea of the ear shortly after absorption, which may lead to tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss.
Hearing loss due to salicylate pain relievers occurs more commonly in elderly patients.
Loop Diuretics
Loop diuretics are used to treat congestive heart failure, renal failure, cirrhosis, and hypertension.
Ototoxicity from usage of loop diuretics occurs in 6-7% of patients. Patients have also complained of tinnitus (a ringing of the ears) as well as dysequilibrium.
To prevent hearing loss from loop diuretics, it is recommended that medical professionals use the lowest possible doses to achieve desired effects.
Other Substances that can cause hearing loss
Nicotine
Americans consume the highest amount of caffeine at 971 tons per year. While coffee, tea and sodas are commonplace for most American households, we may be causing harm to our hearing without realizing it.
Studies are suggesting that caffeine may play an indirect role in sensorineural hearing loss. Instead of causing a loss, caffeine delays and reduces your natural ability to recover after extended exposure to loud noises like concerts or power tools. The ear will work hard to repair the damage from an occasional rock concert, but when consuming caffeine that repair process is delayed according to Montreal based researchers.
Alcohol
Alcohol has long been villainized for causing a host of health problems including liver damage, high blood pressure and heart disease. If alcohol makes a frequent appearance in your routine, you’ll need to add hearing loss to the list of potential health consequences.
Alcohol damages the central auditory cortex, the part of your brain responsible for deciphering sounds brought to it by your ear. So while your ears may be in perfect working order, your brain may have trouble understanding what it’s hearing. Alcohol intake seems to most often affect a person’s ability to process lower frequency sounds.
In a study out of London, participants usually regained their normal hearing abilities once they stopped drinking. However researchers hypothesize that repeated alcohol induced hearing loss can permanently damage hearing abilities over time.
Caffeine
In a recent study out of Japan, researchers spent 8 years tracking the hearing abilities of over 50,000 participants. Researchers concluded that smoking is in fact associated with an increased risk for hearing loss, with the number of cigarettes impacting the level of risk.
Amazingly the risk of hearing loss declined for those who quit smoking even as few as 5 years before the start of the study. The findings are encouraging for those wishing to improve their health by ending a nicotine habit.
If you have questions or concerns, you should have your hearing evaluated further by a certified hearing professional. This evaluation is simple and painless but could mark the beginning of a better life. Best part, it’s free!
Click hereto schedule your free hearing assessment.
Care you considering hearing aids but are not sure if they are right for you? You are not alone. Hearing loss is a health condition that affects approximately 48 million Americans, according to Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), and is the third most common health condition behind arthritis and heart disease.
Stereotypes lead many to believe that seniors are the only population affected by hearing loss. However, nearly a fifth of all Americans aged 12 and older have a hearing loss severe enough to negatively affect communication, according to a study by Johns Hopkins published in The Archives of Internal Medicine in 2011. It is estimated that Americans living with hearing loss outnumber those living with Parkinson’s, Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and Diabetes combined. Yet, experts also estimate that only about 20 percent of people who could benefit from wearing hearing aids actually wear them.
There are many proven benefits of wearing hearing aids, including improved communication and comprehension, decreased listening effort, and staying connected to friends and family. These are just a few of the many advantages of wearing hearing aids. If you are still unsure if they are for you, here are five benefits of treating disabling hearing loss with hearing aids:
Better Salary at Work
A study by the Better Hearing Institute has found that people with untreated hearing loss can earn as much as $30,000 less than their counterparts with normal hearing. It also found that particular risk lessened by more than 90 percent when people with mild hearing loss wore hearing aids, and almost 77 percent for individuals with moderate-to-severe hearing loss. Along with the benefits to your overall health, it is always in your best interest to perform at your best in your place of work to ensure continued success.
Slow Cognitive Decline
Many studies have linked untreated hearing loss to an increased risk of developing dementia and mental fatigue and cognitive decline. Ongoing studies continue to show the correlation between untreated hearing loss and the absence of hearing aids. Hearing loss, when left untreated, can accelerate atrophy in the auditory nerve system of the brain, where speech and comprehension occur, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania.
However, researchers have found that hearing aids not only slow atrophy, but also improve your ability to hear and your brain’s ability to convert sounds into information. This promising area of research supports that combating disabling hearing loss with hearing aids could indeed slow cognitive decline.
Satisfaction with Hearing Aid’s Performance of
A study by the Better Hearing Institute, a non-profit, showed that over 91 percent of people who bought a hearing aid last year were satisfied with their purchase. Almost 90 percent of people who currently wear hearing aids would recommend them to a friend with hearing loss.
Quality of Life
It has been found that people who wear hearing aids to treat their hearing loss have a better quality of life than those who leave their hearing loss untreated. Communicating with family and friends is easier and more productive than otherwise asking them to repeat something, mis-hearing a word or phrase, or becoming frustrated by your hearing loss.
Maintaining social activity is also important to a healthy quality of life. Avoiding social isolation lowers the risk of depression, cognitive decline, and even dementia and Alzheimer’s. Being in touch with your loved ones, on the phone or in person, helps to promote healthy brain activity and sharpen communication skills.
The brain plays a vital role in our hearing ability and is integral to comprehension and speech, too. The inner ear has hair cells that are responsible for converting the noise gathered by the outer ear into electrical signals, which travel along an auditory nerve to the brain. Every one of the hair cells is responsible for converting a pitch or frequency. They are also irreparable if they become damaged or die, so the brain must work harder to process information it is receiving due to the loss of that function. Hearing aids can prevent the mental fatigue that comes with untreated hearing loss.
Absolute Hearing Care Center
If you would like to know more about the many benefits of treating hearing loss, reach out to us at Absolute Hearing Care Center. We can provide you with helpful information, test your hearing, explain the results, and fit you for a hearing aid.
