A Hearing Center Helps Prevent Loss Through Sharing Knowledge

When anyone is experiencing hearing loss, their first obvious step is to let their family physician know all of the ways they've noticed their hearing has changed. The second step is to try to figure out how and when this happened, if it isn't a natural age-related progression. One of the best facilities and places of advocacy for individuals dealing with auditory function loss is a hearing center.

Most potential patients notice their hearing loss when they have to turn up the television or radio volume. During this time their family members and coworkers often have to speak up, repeat themselves, and occasionally shout. Still, the patient has to recognize the issue on their own before they can tell their physician about it, or visit a hearing center for a solution that fits their lifestyle. They have to understand that hearing aid devices or alternative therapy can help improve their auditory function, learn how the ear works, and acknowledge what they can do to preserve what auditory function remains for the future.

The human ear is made up of three parts. There is the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear, which work together to conduct, absorb and facilitate the auditory process of sound waves reaching the brain for comprehension. There is a small margin for error in these delicate parts; since they can be damaged so easily and are so important, it is important to take special care not to injure them in any way.

There are not that many causes of ear defects and auditory issues, and a hearing center can diagnose and treat most of them. First, the outer ear can most commonly cause hearing loss if the eardrum is perforated by debris, insects, and foreign objects (e.g. Q-tips that are pushed too far inside of the canal). The middle ear is most commonly damaged by trauma to the bones of the ossicles, causing missed signals and missed interpretation of sound. Lastly, the inner ear can be the cause of loss because of birth defects, illness, toxins, or physical trauma that has damaged either the delicate bones of the cochlea, the nerve cells of the cochlea, or the auditory nerve itself.

A huge part of preserving or regaining auditory ability is caring for your ear health. And an important part of caring for your ear health involves understanding what the ear is capable of so that you can understand how your function has been compromised over the years. That is a great way to take one's auditory health seriously and preserve it into the future.