Understanding Hearing Loss

In most cases, hearing loss can be improved by a hearing aid. Read on to find out more about hearing loss, its causes, and how hearing aids can help.  

• What are the causes of hearing loss?
• What are the first signs of hearing loss?
• What happens when you have a hearing loss?
• Is there a cure for hearing loss?
• Why does age-related hearing loss happen?
• Is hearing loss genetic?
• Can hearing loss be prevented?
• How to help a loved one with hearing loss
• How do hearing aids help with hearing loss?

Hearing loss usually develops gradually, over a prolonged period. Your brain is able to compensate for the things you aren’t hearing, so it can take a while for you to notice that you aren’t hearing as well as you used to. Often, your friends and family will be aware before you are.

Some initial indicators of hearing loss include:

• TV volume being too loud for other members of your household.
• Finding it difficult to keep up with conversations when there’s background noise.
• Feeling like people are mumbling a lot – this may be especially problematic during phone calls, even when the room is quiet.

Unfortunately, even people who know they can’t hear as well as they used to tend to put off doing something about it. In fact, people wait an average of ten years before deciding to seek help with their hearing loss, and only 40% of people who could benefit from hearing aids actually have them!

For most people with hearing loss, higher frequencies are affected first. This means that sounds like f, s, p and t become more difficult to hear, which makes understanding speech trickier. In almost all cases, hearing loss is permanent, and it’s hard to predict how slowly or quickly it will develop.

Untreated hearing loss can have a huge impact on your everyday life. Social situations often become so tiring that you start to give up on them altogether. You may find you are tuning out of conversations or starting to withdraw completely, which means missing out on precious time with family and friends. With this in mind, it's easy to see why some recent studies have shown a link between untreated hearing loss and the onset of dementia.
 

Age-related is the most common type of hearing loss and there is currently no cure. However for most people, a hearing aid can help. You can read more about hearing aids here.

Because hearing loss is so gradual, a person may not even notice they have it at first.

This can be frustrating if a loved one seems to be struggling to hear; maybe they put the TV on very loudly, ask you to repeat yourself a lot, or have trouble talking to you on the phone. They could even become withdrawn and spend less time in social situations because they’re struggling to hear.

If you think someone you know has hearing loss, there are some things you can do to help them:

• Chat in quiet places where there’s less background noise.
• Make sure they can see your face when you talk – lots of people use basic lip-reading without realising.
• Encourage them to book a free hearing check and go with them to their appointment.
  • You could even have your hearing tested too.
• If they need a hearing aid, make sure you’re patient as they get used to hearing better again.

You can also read our advice to find out how someone with a new hearing aid gets used to it! 
 

Fortunately, it’s only the least common forms of hearing loss that can’t be helped with the use of hearing aids.

Let’s look at the three main types:

• Conductive hearing loss – caused by a blockage or inflammation in the outer or middle part of your ear, e.g. an ear infection or too much wax. This type of hearing loss can usually be helped or cured by medication, syringing, or surgery.
• Sound perception hearing loss – caused by a problem not in the ear, but in the brain. A person with sound perception hearing loss can hear sounds, but their brain can’t process them. This is the rarest form of hearing loss, and the most difficult to treat.
• Sensorineural hearing loss – the most common form of hearing loss. This is caused by damaged sensory cells in your cochlea or auditory nerve. Age-related hearing loss falls into this category, and it can usually be helped with a hearing aid.

Hearing loss isn’t something to be ignored. Knowing the signs of hearing loss and deafness, what can cause it, when to get medical help and what the main treatments are will go a long way in improving your condition.

If you’re experiencing problems with hearing loss, seek expert help by booking a free hearing health check with Boots Hearingcare…