As we get older we tend to think that hearing loss only has an affect on the older generation. You probably had older people around you struggling to make out conversations or wearing hearing aids.
But just like 30 or 60 only seemed old to you up until it fast drew near, as you learn more regarding hearing loss, you find out that it has much less to do with aging and much more to do with something else entirely.
Feeling old is the leading reason why many people don’t want to admit they have hearing loss.
You can Start Loosing Your Ability to Hear at any age
Even in pre-teens, hearing specialists can already detect some amount of hearing loss in 13% of cases. Needless to say, a person who is 12 is not really “old”. Teen hearing loss has increased 33% in the past 30 years.
What’s going on here?
Out of all 45 – 55-year olds, 2% presently suffer from debilitating hearing loss, and with 55 – 65-year-olds it’s 8%.
The challenge is not with getting old. It’s absolutely possible to avoid, despite the fact that the majority of people may consider it an aging problem. And you have the ability to considerably minimize the development of your hearing loss.
Sensorineural hearing loss, which is the medical terminology for age-related hearing loss, is usually caused by loud noise.
For ages hearing loss was thought to be inevitable as you age. But presently, scientists are more knowledgeable about how to take care of your hearing and also restore it.
How Loud Noise Causes Hearing Loss
You must appreciate that loud noise is not harmless if you desire to begin to safeguard your ears.
Sound is composed of waves of pressure. Going down into your ear these waves go beyond your eardrum and into the inner ear.
Here, tiny little hair cells in your inner ear resonate. Which hair cells vibrate, and how quickly or frequently they vibrate, become a neurological code. This code will be translated by your brain into the sound of traffic, someone yelling for help, a waterfall, or any other sound which may be around.
But when the inner ear is subjected to sounds that are too loud, these hair cells vibrate too quickly. They die because the vibrations get to be too strong for them to deal with.
Without them, you can not hear.
Why Noise-Related Hearing Loss is Permanent
If you cut your hand, the injury heals. But when you injure these little hair cells, they don’t heal, and they will not grow back. The more frequently you’re exposed to loud sounds, the more of these tiny cells you lose.
As they die, hearing loss progresses.
Common Sounds Which Will Cause Hearing Injury
This is a unexpected fact for most people to discover. You may not think twice about:
- Going to a concert/play/movie
- Wearing earbuds/head phones
- Turning the car stereo up too loud
- Mowing the lawn
- Using farm equipment
- Riding a motorcycle/snowmobile
- Driving on a busy highway with the windows or top down
- Working in a manufacturing plant or other loud profession
- Hunting
- Being a musician
These activities don’t need to be abandoned. It is possible to minimize noise related hearing damage by taking pro-active steps.
You Don’t Need to Feel old Simply Because you Have Hearing Loss
You can acknowledge that you suffer from loss of hearing without having to feel older. Actually, failing to accept it can doom you to faster advancement and difficulties that will definitely cause you to you feel a lot older in only a few short years such as:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Dementia/Alzheimer’s
- Increased Fall Risk
- Social Isolation
- More frequent trips to the ER
- Strained relationships
For people with neglected hearing loss, these are significantly more common.
Continued Hearing Damage can be Avoided
Learning how to stop hearing loss is the first thing you should do.
- Discover how loud everyday sounds really are by getting a sound meter app on your smart-phone.
- Damaging volumes should be avoided without proper hearing protection. Over 85 dB (decibels) will cause irreversible hearing damage in just 8 hours. 110 dB takes about 15 minutes to cause irreversible hearing loss. 120 dB and higher will cause instant hearing loss. A gunshot is around 140 to 170 dB.
- Know that If you have ever had difficulty hearing briefly immediately after a concert, you already caused permanent damage to your hearing. It will become more obvious over time.
- Use earplugs or maybe sound-dampening earmuffs when necessary.
- Follow workplace hearing protection regulations.
- Limit your exposure time to loud sounds.
- Refrain from standing close to loudspeakers or turning speakers up at home.
- Invest in earbuds/headphones that have built-in volume control. These don’t go higher 90 decibels. You would have to listen nearly non-stop all the time to cause irreversible damage.
- High blood pressure, not enough blood oxygen, and some medications can cause you to be more vulnerable at lower volumes. To be sure, never listen to headphones at over 50%. Car speakers differ.
- Use your hearing aid. Not using a hearing aid if you actually need them causes the brain to atrophy. It’s the same as your leg muscles. If you stop walking, it gets much more difficult to start walking again.
Make an Appointment With a Hearing Expert
Are you in denial or putting off on it? Make the right decision sooner than later. The sooner you make the smart choice the less injury you will continue to do.
Have a talk with Your Hearing Specialist About Hearing Solutions
There are no “natural cures” for hearing loss. If you have severe hearing loss, it’s time to get a hearing aid.
Do a Cost-Benefit Comparison of Hearing Aids
Lots of people are either in denial about hearing loss, or alternatively, they make the decision to “tough it out.” They think hearing aids will make them seem old. Or they believe they are too expensive.
But as soon as they understand that hearing loss will become worse faster and can cause many health and relationship problems, it’s simple to see that the pros greatly outweigh the cons.
Talk to a hearing care specialist today about getting a hearing examination. And if hearing aids are suggested, don’t worry about “feeling old.” Hearing aids these days are much more streamlined and more advanced than you may think!