Every day scientists are finding new cures. That can be a good or bad thing. For example, you might look at encouraging new research in the arena of curing hearing loss and you decide you don’t really have to be all that cautious. By the time you begin exhibiting symptoms of hearing loss, you think, they’ll have found the cure for deafness.
That would be unwise. Without question, it’s better to safeguard your hearing while you can. There is some exciting research coming out which is revealing some awesome strides toward successfully treating hearing loss.
It isn’t any fun to lose your hearing
Hearing loss is just a fact of life. It’s not inevitably because of something you did wrong. It’s just part of the aging process. But developing hearing loss has some serious disadvantages. Your social life, general wellness, and mental health can be considerably affected by hearing loss, along with your inability to hear what’s taking place around you. Neglected hearing loss can even lead to an increased risk of depression and dementia. There’s plenty of evidence to connect neglected hearing loss to issues like social isolation.
In general, hearing loss is a chronic and degenerative condition. So, as time passes, it will keep getting worse and there is no cure. This doesn’t apply to every kind of hearing loss but we’ll get to that soon. But “no cure” is not the same as “no treatment”.
If you come see us, we can help slow down the development of your hearing loss and protect your current levels of hearing. Hearing aids are frequently the form of treatment that will be most ideal for most kinds of hearing loss. So there are treatments for most people but there’s no cure. And those treatments can do a world of good when it comes to enhancing your quality of life.
Two kinds of hearing loss
There are differences in kinds of hearing loss. Hearing loss comes in two principal categories. You can treat one and the other can be cured. Here’s what you need to know:
- Conductive hearing loss: This form of hearing loss takes place because something gets in the way and obstructs your ear canal. Possibly it’s a clump of earwax (a little gross, but it happens). Maybe it’s swelling caused by an ear infection. When something is blocking your ear canals, whatever it may be, sound waves won’t be able to get to your inner ear. This type of hearing loss can indeed be cured, normally by eliminating the blockage (or treating whatever is causing the obstruction in the first place).
- Sensorineural hearing loss: This is the more permanent form of hearing loss. There are fragile hairs in your ear (known as stereocilia) that sense minute vibrations in the air. Your brain is able to interpret these vibrations as sound. As you go through life, these hairs become damaged, by loud noises usually. And once they are damaged, the hairs no longer function. This decreases your ability to hear. There’s presently no way to repair these hairs, and your body doesn’t create new ones naturally. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Treatments for sensorineural hearing loss
Just because sensorineural hearing loss is irreversible doesn’t mean it can’t be treated. The purpose of any such treatment is to allow you to hear as much as you can given your hearing loss. The objective is to help you hear discussions, improve your situational awareness, and keep you functioning independently through life.
So, how do you treat this form of hearing loss? Prevalent treatments include the following.
Hearing aids
Hearing aids are likely the single most common means of treating hearing loss. They’re particularly useful because hearing aids can be specifically calibrated for your distinct hearing loss. Using a hearing aid will allow you to better comprehend conversations and communicate with others over the course of your day to day life. Many of the symptoms of social isolation can be staved off by using hearing aids (and, as a result, lower your risk of dementia and depression).
There are many different styles of hearing aid to choose from and they have become a lot more common. In order to identify which model is suited to your taste and level of hearing loss, you’ll have to come see us for a consultation.
Cochlear implants
When hearing loss is complete, it sometimes makes sense to bypass the ears entirely. That’s what a cochlear implant does. This device is surgically inserted into the ear. The device picks up on sounds and translates those sounds into electrical energy, which is then transmitted straight to your cochlear nerve. This allows your brain to translate those signals into sounds.
Cochlear implants are typically used when hearing loss is complete, a condition known as deafness. So even if your hearing has completely gone, there are still treatment options available.
Novel advances
Scientists are always working on new ways to treat hearing loss.
In the past, curing hearing loss has proven impossible, but that’s precisely what new advances are geared towards. Some of these advances include:
- Stem cell therapies: Your own stem cells are used in this type of treatment. The idea is that these stem cells can then transform into new stereocilia (those little hairs in your ears). Studies with animals (like rats and mice) have shown some promise, but some form of prescription stem cell gene therapy still seems going to be a while.
- Progenitor cell activation: So, stem cells in your ear originate the generation of stereocilia. Once the stereocilia develop, the stem cells go dormant, and they are then called progenitor cells. These new treatments are encouraging the stereocilia to regrow by reactivating the progenitor cells. This specific novel therapy has been used in humans, and the results seem encouraging. Most people noticed a significant improvement in their ability to hear and understand speech. It isn’t really known how long it will be before these therapies will be widely available.
- GFI1 Protein: There’s a protein which has been identified by scientists that is critical for the regrowth of stereocilia. It’s hoped that by finding this protein, scientists will get a better idea of how to get those stereocilia to start growing back. Again, this is one of those therapies that’s more in the “drawing board” phase than the “widely available” phase.
Don’t wait to get your hearing loss treated
There’s a great deal of promise in these innovations. But let’s remember that none of them are available to the public at this point. Which means that it’s a good idea to live in the here and now. Protect your hearing today.
Don’t try to wait for that miracle cure, call us as soon as you can to schedule a hearing exam.
References
https://hsci.harvard.edu/major-step-toward-treatment-leading-form-hearing-loss
https://news.mit.edu/2022/frequency-therapeutics-hearing-regeneration-0329