Hearing Loss Treatment - An Overview

There are different causes of hearing loss but whatever it is, it is important to acquire proper hearing loss treatment. A person who experiences hearing loss may suffer from loneliness, depression and loss of independence and confidence. The hearing may not be totally recovered but treatment can make a person interact, communicate, work, and perform daily tasks more easily and comfortably. Here are some hearing loss treatment methods that you can try. Reversible Hearing Loss Treatment:Treating reversible hearing loss mainly depends on the cause but most of the time, the treatment is successful. Here are some of the causes of reversible hearing loss along with the method of treating them. 1. Ototoxic medicine consumption - your doctor may advise you to change or stop the medication2. Infection of the ear - your doctor may advise you to take antibiotic although this can clear up on its own over time3. Ear or head injury – though it may heal over time, surgery may be needed4. Meniere’s disease, otosclerosis, or acoustic neuroma – medicine or surgery may often solve the problem5. Impacted earwax – treated by wax removal. Permanent Hearing Loss Treatment: Hearing loss treatment options for permanent hearing loss like those age-related and noise include:1. Hearing aids – these are used to amplify or make sounds louder. These hearing aids cannot really restore hearing but they can help the afflicted person communicate and function more easily. 2. Alerting devices, communication aids, and assistive listening devices.Constant Hearing Loss Treatment:Reversible hearing loss is generally cured after the cause has been treated. However, if hearing loss persists, it is necessary that you consult with your doctor. You may also need to take medicines or undergo surgery, depending on what’s causing your hearing loss. However once again, these may not totally restore your sense of hearing especially for those with permanent hearing loss, like noise-induced and age-related hearing loss. In such case, the use of hearing aids must be continuous. While doing so, your doctor may also suggest you to take occasional hearing tests to check if your hearing has improved. If there’s any improvement, then the hearing aid you are using may need to be adjusted.Here’s a list of the hearing devices you can use for your hearing loss treatment:1. Assistive listening devices – these devices amplify sounds by bringing the sounds directly to the ears. There’s a special type of device for different situations, like classroom settings, auditorium settings, or one-on-one conversations. Commonly used assistive listening devices include personal listening systems, telephone amplifiers, and hearing aids that can be connected directly to a stereo, radio, television, or microphone.2. Alerting devices – these devices are used to alert you that there is a particular sound. This is done through the use of louder sounds, vibrations, or lights to alert you or get your attention.3. Television-closed captioning – these devices are used to make watching television easier. These devices show words or subtitles at the bottom of the screen, allowing the user to read them. 4. Telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD) – this type of hearing loss treatment device allows the afflicted person to type messages on the telephone instead of listening or talking. When the messages are typed on the TDD keyboard, the information is transmitted to the receiving TDD and the message is shown on the monitor.