Early in life, you most likely began to connect hearing loss with aging. Almost all of us have past experiences with older people trying to understand conversations, or utilizing hearing aids.
As you become more mature, you begin to understand that there is a different cause of hearing loss in addition to aging.
Feeling old is the number one reason why many people can’t admit they have hearing loss.
Hearing Loss Is an “Any Age Condition”
By the age of 12, hearing specialists can already diagnose some hearing loss in 13% of instances. Certainly, somebody who is 12 years old is not really “old”. In the past 3 decades we have seen a 33% rise in teenage hearing loss.
What are the key factors involved?
Of all 45 – 55-year olds, 2% currently suffer from disabling hearing loss, and with 55 – 65-year-olds it’s 8%.
The problem is not with getting old. It’s absolutely possible to avoid, even though most people may think of it as an aging problem. And you have the ability to considerably minimize the development of your hearing loss.
Sensorineural hearing loss, which is the medical name for age-related hearing loss, is usually triggered by loud noise.
For a long time people have presumed that hearing loss was always part of getting old. But presently, we knows more about exactly how to take care of your hearing and also restore it.
How Hearing Loss is Caused by Loud Noise
You should understand that noise is not harmless if you wish to start to safeguard your ears.
Waves of pressure are what makeup sound. Going down into your ear these waves go beyond your eardrum and into the inner ear.
Here, tiny hair cells in your inner ear vibrate. A neurological code is made up from how fast and how frequently these little hairs vibrate. This code will be translated by your brain into the sound of birds singing, someone screaming for help, a waterfall, or any other sound which may be around you.
The problem is that as noises become too loud these little hairs are damaged beyond repair. The sound shakes them to death.
Without them, you can not hear.
Hearing Loss Caused by Loud Noise is not Reversible
If you cut your hand, the injury will heal. But when you damage these little hair cells, they cannot heal, and they cannot ever grow back. The more often you’re subjected to loud sounds, the more tiny cells die.
As they die, hearing loss progresses.
There are Sounds That are Common Which can Cause Hearing Loss
This is a unexpected thing for most people to discover. You might not think twice about:
- Going to a concert/play/movie
- Wearing earbuds/head phones
- Turning the car stereo way up
- Mowing the lawn
- Using farm equipment
- Riding a motorcycle/snowmobile
- Driving on a busy highway with the windows or top down
- Working in a factory or other loud profession
- Hunting
- Being a musician
It’s not necessary to quit these activities. It is possible to minimize noise induced hearing loss by taking pro-active strategies.
You Don’t Need to Feel old Simply Because you Have Hearing Loss
You can accept that you’re suffering from hearing loss without feeling old. Actually, failing to acknowledge it can doom you to faster advancement and complications that will cause you to you feel much older in just a few short years like:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Dementia/Alzheimer’s
- Increased Fall Risk
- Social Isolation
- More frequent trips to the ER
- Strained relationships
These are all substantially more prevalent in people with neglected hearing loss.
How can you Avoid Continued Hearing Damage?
Begin by learning how to protect against hearing damage.
- Sound meter apps are readily available for your cellphone that can show you how loud things really are.
- Learn about harmful volumes. Over 85 dB (decibels) will cause irreversible hearing damage in only 8 hours. 110 dB takes about 15 minutes to cause permanent hearing loss. 120 dB and above results in immediate hearing loss. A gunshot is around 140 to 170 dB.
- You should know that you have already caused hearing damage if you have had a hard time hearing, or if your ears were ringing, after a concert. It will get a lot more obvious as time goes by.
- Use earplugs or maybe sound-dampening earmuffs when appropriate.
- Adhere to workplace hearing protection rules.
- Reduce your exposure time to loud sounds.
- Steer clear of standing close to loudspeakers or cranking speakers up when at home.
- Buy earbuds/headphones that have built-in volume control. These don’t go over 90 decibels. You would need to listen nearly non-stop all the time to do irreversible damage.
- High blood pressure, not enough blood oxygen, and a few medications can cause you to be more vulnerable at lower volumes. To be certain, never listen to headphones at above 50%. Car speakers vary.
- Wear your hearing aid. Not using a hearing aid when you actually need them causes the brain to atrophy. It’s the same as your leg muscles. If you stop walking, it will be much harder to walk.
Schedule a Hearing Test
Are you putting off on it or are in denial? Make the right decision sooner than later. The faster you make the wise choice the less injury you will keep doing.
Talk to Your Hearing Specialist Regarding Hearing Answers
There are no “natural cures” for hearing damage. If hearing loss is severe, it might be time to purchase a hearing aid.
A Cost-Benefits Assessment is the First Step
Lots of people are either in denial about hearing loss, or maybe, they make the decision to “tough it out.” They think hearing aids will make them feel old. Or maybe they think they cost too much.
However as soon as they understand that hearing loss will decline faster and can cause various health and relationship issues, it’s simple to see that the pros far outweigh the cons.
Call a hearing care expert today about getting a hearing evaluation. And if hearing aids are needed, don’t worry about “feeling old.” Hearing aids nowadays are much more streamlined and more sophisticated than you may think!