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"As an experienced hearing aid user the services from Expert Hearing & Audiology were the most informative and professional I have ever received. I was very confident in referring my closest friends to Giselle knowing they would get the same competent and professional service that I received." - Roy M., Excelsior
Do I Have A Hearing Loss?
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Do I Have A Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss is more common than you might think. In North America today, an estimated 32 million people have some type of untreated hearing loss. Because we communicate by speaking and listening to each other, someone with a hearing loss will experience problems in their day-to-day life.
Even mild hearing loss, left untreated, can impair communication and negatively impact social and family relationships, job performance and health and safety.
Hearing loss is invisible. Most hearing losses occur gradually over time so the signs of hearing loss are difficult to notice. To help determine if you may have a hearing loss, consider the following questions:
- Do you have trouble understanding what others are saying, unless you are directly facing the speaker?
- Do you find it difficult to understand conversations in noisy situations?
- Do you often ask people to repeat themselves?
- Does it sound as if people are mumbling often?
- Do you sometimes have difficulty hearing while on the phone?
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There are many different causes of hearing loss which can affect all ages. Some common causes are hereditary, trauma, disease, noise exposure and the aging process.
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There are three main parts of the ear:
- The outer ear includes the pinna and the ear canal.
- The middle ear includes the eardrum and the three ossicles (bones) commonly called the hammer, anvil and the stirrup suspended in an air-filled cavity.
- The inner ear or cochlea includes the nerve endings that allow us to hear and the organ of balance.
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Sound is collected by the pinna and travels through the ear canal. The sound strikes the eardrum and causes it to vibrate. The vibrating eardrum causes the bones (ossicles) to vibrate and mechanically conducts the sound through the middle ear to the inner ear. This movement causes fluid to move over tiny hair cells (or nerve endings) in the inner ear, which is then converted to an electrical signal. This electrical impulse travels along the auditory nerve (8th nerve) to the brain.
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Conductive Hearing Loss occurs when the transmission of sound through the outer and/or middle ear is interrupted. Common causes include wax buildup in the ear canal, a perforated eardrum, fluid in the middle ear, damaged ossicles.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss occurs in the inner ear affecting the transmission of sound through the cochlea and/or the auditory nerve. Common causes include exposure to loud noise, trauma, the aging process, disease.
Mixed Hearing Loss occurs in the outer and/or middle ear and inner ear. It is a combination of a conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. A mixed hearing loss can occur when a person has wax blockage in the ear canal and damage to the cochlea.
Most conductive losses can be treated medically, but there are times when hearing instruments are needed. Sensorineural losses are usually treated with hearing instruments, and mixed losses are treated with a combination of medical treatment and hearing instruments.
You should see your doctor immediately if:
- There is active drainage from your ear
- You experience sudden hearing loss or rapidly decreasing hearing in one or both ears
- You have sudden or ongoing dizziness
- You experience pain or discomfort in the ear
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Many adults do not realize how much hearing they have lost. But family members and friends may see changes in their behavior. In a study done in 1999 by the National Council on Aging, the following affects of untreated hearing loss were found:
Those adults whose hearing loss is not treated report:
- Sadness and depression
- Worry and anxiety
- Reduced social and family activities
- Paranoia
- Emotional turmoil and insecurity
Adults who have treated their hearing loss report benefits that include:
- Better relationships with their families
- More active and involved socially
- Better feelings about themselves
- Greater confidence and sense of well-being
- Improved mental health
- Greater independence and security
In a recent 2005 study, the Better Hearing Institute indicated that untreated hearing loss accounts for $100 billion in lost income each year in the United States. However, for those who get treatment for their hearing loss, their income loss is cut in half or more, compared to those who do not seek treatment.
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Using both ears for hearing is called binaural hearing. There are many reasons binaural hearing is important.
- Our brain "hears" better in quiet and noise with two ears. In noise, our brain cancels out some of the noise and helps us listen to conversation when both ears are working together.
- Finding the direction of a sound. In our busy daily activities we need to hear where sounds are coming from for our own protection as well as for our enjoyment. Being able to "find" the bird singing in the tree or hear the car coming from a direction you are not concentrating on are just two examples.
- Binaural hearing also offers less stressful listening and a more natural sound quality.
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