In this day and age, we have come to expect timely solutions to our problems. Does your device not work well? Go onto the company’s website, live chat with a representative and have it resolved in minutes. Forgot someone’s birthday? Order a present online and have it delivered to their doorstep within two days.
But what about your health? While there are some medical conditions that resolve when treated, I’m sorry to tell you hearing loss is not usually one of those. That being said, visiting your Arizona hearing specialist in Tucson is not for naught
Hearing Loss Treatments
In order to determine if your hearing loss can be cured, your Tucson audiologist will need to determine your type and degree of hearing loss.
Conductive hearing loss occurs when there are problems in the outer ear, ear canal, eardrum or middle ear. It can be caused by any of the following:
- Ear infection.
- Fluid in the ears.
- Malformation or abnormalities of the outer or middle ear.
- Impacted earwax.
- Foreign object in the ear.
- Allergies
- Perforated eardrum.
- Otosclerosis.
- Benign tumors.
This type of hearing loss can often be corrected with surgery or medications (typically antibiotics). It may also be treated with hearing aids.
Sensorineural hearing loss involves a problem with the inner ear. It may be caused by any of these:
- Noise exposure.
- Head trauma.
- Aging (presbycusis).
- Viral disease.
- Autoimmune ear disease.
- Meniere’s disease.
- Malformation or abnormality of the inner ear.
- Otosclerosis.
- Tumors.
While this type of hearing loss can occasionally be treated with medications (corticosteroids) or surgery, most of the time hearing aids will be required.
Mixed hearing loss is a combination of both types. Treatment might involve a combination of medication, surgery and/or hearing aids.
How Does a Hearing Aid Work?
As you can see, the most common treatment for hearing loss is the use of a hearing aid.
Much like a pair of glasses does not magically correct the muscles in your eyes, a hearing aid does not repair the damaged hairs in your inner ear. What a hearing aid does do is amplify sounds so that you can hear them.
A hearing aid consists of three parts: a microphone, amplifier and speaker. Sound is picked up by the microphone, which converts them from sound waves to electrical signals. These signals are then sent to the amplifier, which increases the power of the signals and then sends them to the ear through the speaker.
Visiting your Arizona hearing specialist in Tucson provides your audiologist with the information they need to properly program your hearing aid to fit your degree of hearing loss.
While your hearing loss may not be cured, wearing a hearing aid is the next best thing. To learn more about starting your journey toward better learning loss, contact us today.