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Hearing loss is often gradual and, therefore, something that you adapt to. You may not notice it for months. Even years. But slowly, the hearing apparatus that nature provided does wear out for many as we grow older and it’s simply part of the aging process – and not one of the good parts.
There’s a growing collection of detailed studies that demonstrate, clinically, that people with hearing loss do better addressing the limitation when they act quickly. In other words, the first time the family tells you to turn down the TV, it’s time for a hearing test.
Why? When the hearing nerves and the areas of the brain responsible for hearing are deprived of sound, they atrophy – weaken – making recovery from hearing loss through mechanical means, aka a hearing aid, that much more difficult. The fancy term used by hearing professionals is auditory deprivation.
The key to hearing better longer is to keep the ear bits active and NOT let them atrophy. Through the use of hearing aids – early, when you first notice hearing loss – you’ll enjoy a better quality of hearing longer.
The most common cause is simple. The person with the hearing loss chooses not to treat their hearing loss with amplification – hearing aids. When no action is taken and the nerves of the hearing mechanism aren’t use, they become deprived of stimulation and slowly become weakened. No surprise here.
There’s no shortage of causes of auditory deprivation, nor is there a shortage of folks who experience this condition, making their hearing loss harder to address.
Well, there are several studies that indicate that the ear can recover from the effects of auditory deprivation; things get better with a pair of hearing aids. The sooner you recognize hearing loss, the sooner you get treatment for hearing loss, the more success you will have with hearing aids and the better hearing you will have.
You don’t actually “hear” a sound until the brain’s hearing centers receive electrical signals from the ear, process those signals for location, proximity and cause and generate some reaction.
Not only do the hearing nerves weaken over time, the hearing centers of the brain, under-utilized, also tend to weaken – atrophy – as a result of auditory deprivation. In other words, the hearing centers no longer receive and process as many electrical hearing messages from the ear.
The recovery of the hearing centers of the brain also weaken slowly over time. Starting to get the picture?
Research clearly shows the sooner you treat hearing loss the better outcome you will have with using and adapting to hearing aids.
The solution? Keep your hearing nerves fresh and stimulated – don’t deprive them. See a hearing professional when you first suspect hearing loss. And, if you’ve suspected (or known) you have hearing loss, move your ears to a hearing professional instead of turning up the TV and radio.
Finally, a pair of hearing aids, regardless of your age, will improve life’s quality. Today’s hearing aids are lightweight, sleek, very discrete, powerful and packed with conveniences that make hearing fun again.
You’re the only one who can make yourself pick up the phone for an appointment to have you’re hearing tested. There’s a better quality of life waiting on the other end of the line.