New cures are constantly being discovered. That may be a positive or a negative. For example, you might look at encouraging new research in the area of curing hearing loss and you decide you don’t really need to be all that cautious. You’ll feel like they will likely have a cure for deafness by the time you will notice any symptoms of hearing loss.
That wouldn’t be wise. Obviously, protecting your hearing now while it’s still in good shape would be the wiser choice. Scientists are making some amazing advances when it comes to treating hearing loss though, and that includes some possible cures in the future.
It’s no fun to lose your hearing
Hearing loss is just something that takes place. It doesn’t indicate you’re a negative person or you did something wrong or you’re being punished. It just… is. But there are some clear drawbacks to experiencing hearing loss. Your social life, general wellness, and mental health can be considerably affected by hearing loss, not to mention your inability to hear what’s going on around you. You will even raise your risk of developing dementia and depression with neglected hearing loss. There’s plenty of evidence to link neglected hearing loss to issues such as social isolation.
In general, hearing loss is a chronic and degenerative problem. So, as time passes, it will continue to get worse and there is no cure. This doesn’t apply to every kind of hearing loss but we’ll get to that soon. Even though there’s no cure, though, that doesn’t mean it can’t be treated.
We can help you maintain your levels of hearing and slow down the development of hearing loss. Often, this comes in the form of a hearing aid, which is often the optimum treatment for most forms of hearing loss. So, for most people, there’s no cure, but there are treatments. And your quality of life will be immensely improved by these treatments.
Hearing loss comes in two main types
There are differences in forms of hearing loss. There are two primary categories of hearing loss. One can be cured, the other can be treated. Here’s how it breaks down:
- Conductive hearing loss: This kind of hearing loss takes place because something gets in the way and blocks your ear canal. It may be caused by a buildup of earwax. Maybe, an ear infection is causing inflammation. When something is obstructing your ear canals, whatever it may be, sound waves won’t be able to get to your inner ear. This kind of hearing loss will be cured when the source of the obstruction is eliminated.
- Sensorineural hearing loss: This is the more irreversible form of hearing loss. Vibrations in the air are sensed by tiny hairs in your ears called stereocilia. These vibrations can be interpreted as sound by your brain. Unfortunately, these hairs are compromised as you go through life, usually by exceedingly loud sounds. And these hairs stop functioning after they get damaged. And when this happens your ability to hear becomes impaired. There’s presently no way to heal these hairs, and your body doesn’t create new ones naturally. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Sensorineural hearing loss treatments
Sensorineural hearing loss may be permanent but that doesn’t mean it can’t be treated. Given your loss of hearing, allowing you to hear as much as possible is the goal of treatment. The goal is to help you hear discussions, enhance your situational awareness, and keep you functioning independently through life.
So, how do you treat this type of hearing loss? Prevalent treatments include the following.
Hearing aids
Most likely, the one most prevalent way of managing hearing loss is hearing aids. They’re particularly useful because hearing aids can be specially tuned for your distinct hearing loss. Using a hearing aid will allow you to better understand conversations and communicate with others during your day to day life. Many of the symptoms of social solitude can be prevented by wearing hearing aids (and, as a result, lower your risk of dementia and depression).
Having your own pair of hearing aids is extremely common, and there are lots of styles to pick from. You’ll have to speak with us about which is ideal for you and your particular degree of hearing loss.
Cochlear implants
When hearing loss is complete, it often makes sense to bypass the ears entirely. A cochlear implant does just that. This device is surgically inserted into the ear. The device picks up on sounds and converts those sounds into electrical energy, which is then transferred straight to your cochlear nerve. This enables your brain to translate those signals into sounds.
Cochlear implants are usually used when hearing loss is total, a condition called deafness. So even if your hearing has completely gone, there are still treatment solutions available.
Novel advances
New novel ways of treating hearing loss are continuously being researched by scientists.
These new advances are frequently geared towards “curing” hearing loss in ways that have previously proven impossible. Some of these advances include:
- Stem cell therapies: These treatments make use of stem cells from your own body. The idea is that these stem cells can then turn into new stereocilia (those delicate hairs in your ears). It isn’t likely that we will have prescription gene therapy for a while, but for now, studies with animals are showing promise.
- Progenitor cell activation: So the stereocilia in your ear are being created by your body’s stem cells. Once the stereocilia develop, the stem cells go dormant, and they are then known as progenitor cells. These new treatments are stimulating the stereocilia to regrow by reactivating the progenitor cells. This specific novel therapy has been used in humans, and the results seem encouraging. There was a significant improvement, for most people, in their ability to hear and comprehend 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 researchers that is critical for the regrowth of stereocilia. Researchers are hoping that they can get a better concept of how to get these stereocilia to grow back by identifying this protein. This treatment is very much still on the drawing board and isn’t widely available yet.
Don’t wait to get your hearing loss treated
There’s a great deal of promise in these innovations. But it’s important to stress that none of them are ready yet. Which means that it’s wise to live in the here and now. Protect your hearing today.
Don’t try and hold out for that miracle cure, call us now 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