Hearing loss treatment options in 2024
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Advanced hearing loss treatment
Today we have more advanced options for treating hearing loss than ever before. In HearingLife, our certified hearing care professionals are trained to find the most optimal treatment for your unique hearing needs.
In case you have a hearing loss, we offer the latest in hearing technology to help you hear better. It starts with a thorough examination of your hearing.
5 steps to improving your hearing
Types of treatments for hearing loss
After your hearing care professional understands your hearing needs and has conducted a hearing evaluation, your treatment options will be discussed. The most common treatment options are:
If hearing aids are recommended as part of your treatment plan, your hearing care professional will discuss the solutions available to you. There are many options available to suit your hearing and communication needs.
Begin your journey to better hearing today:
Book a free appointment
Take the first step to better hearing by scheduling an appointment. The appointment is free of charge with no obligation to purchase.
Hearing loss types and treatment
The main types of hearing loss (sensorineural and conductive) affect different parts of the ear, and the recommended treatment differs for each type. Additionally, there are other forms of hearing loss that are unique in their symptoms and treatment options. You can read about standard treatment options for each by clicking on the hearing loss types and causes below.
The most common way to treat sensorineural hearing loss is with hearing aids. There are various types of hearing aids available to suit your individual hearing needs, preferences, and lifestyle.
Hearing aids
Some conductive hearing loss may only be temporary if the obstruction can be removed. In other cases, the hearing loss may be permanent.
Conductive loss caused by wax build-up, ear infections, or foreign objects in the ear may be treated and cured with medical treatments that either remove the obstruction (i.e. wax or foreign object) or through antibiotics (in the case of recurrent ear infections).
More complex cases of conductive hearing loss (such as injury to the ear drum or tumors in the middle ear) will most commonly be treated with either hearing aids or bone-anchored hearing systems (or surgically implanted devices which deliver sound to the brain through bone conduction of sound vibrations.)
Additionally, allergic skin reactions may lead to swelling, which can affect your ability to hear.
Luckily, seasonal allergies and allergic skin reactions are typically temporary. Talk to your doctor about medications that are available to alleviate your allergy symptoms. Alleviating these symptoms may also improve your ability to hear.
These loud sounds can damage the hair cells in your ear, which then leads to hearing loss. This type of hearing loss results in sensorineural hearing loss.
Hearing aids are the best form of treatment for noise-induced hearing loss. Remember to protect your hearing whenever you find yourself in an area of exposure to loud sound/music/noise.
Life-changing hearing aids
While there is no cure for tinnitus, there are ways to lessen the symptoms of it.
Since the majority of people who have tinnitus also have hearing loss, hearing aids are commonly recommended for those with tinnitus. The outcome provided by hearing aids is two-fold: they amplify sounds so that tinnitus will be less bothersome. The hearing aids can also be programmed with sound therapy programs so that the user can listen to relaxing sounds through their hearing aids.
Take the Online Tinnitus Test
Seek help immediately!
If you think you are experiencing any symptoms of sudden hearing loss, you should see a physician as soon as possible. Sudden hearing loss is considered a medical emergency and can be treated by an ENT physician. It is more likely that you will regain some of your hearing back if you treat this type of hearing loss within the first 72 hours.
For some people, it goes away by itself. And in some cases, it can be reversed by medical treatment.
Little is known about the cause of sudden hearing loss, but it can be caused by conductive hearing loss (or an obstruction to the ear), so doctors will often do an examination to check for any obstructions that can be treated.
Steroids are often used in the treatment of sudden deafness in order to reduce inflammation and decrease swelling.
If initial treatments for sudden hearing loss are not effective, then hearing aids can be used as treatment. In some cases, hearing care professionals may recommend cochlear implants or bone-anchored hearing systems which are both devices that are surgically implanted.
Did you know?
Getting your hearing evaluated and treated with hearing aids is easy and painless. In fact, most hearing aid users regret that they didn’t seek treatment sooner.
Consequences of untreated hearing loss
Benefits of treating your hearing loss
Treating your hearing loss has a wide range of proven benefits:
Discover hearing aid styles for all degrees of hearing loss
Knowing your level of hearing loss is an important step to understanding what might qualify as the best hearing aid for you. No matter your level of hearing loss, your hearing care professional will discuss the options available to suit your specific needs.
Level of hearing loss
Invisible-in-the-canal | Completely-in-the-canal | In-the-canal | Half/Full shell in-the-ear | miniRITE (Receiver-in-the-ear) | miniRITE R (Receiver-in-the-ear) | Behind-the-ear Plus + Ultra Power | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mild to moderate hearing loss | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Severe hearing loss | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Profound hearing loss | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✔ |
Invisible-in-the-canal | Completely-in-the-canal | In-the-canal | Half/Full shell in-the-ear | miniRITE (Receiver-in-the-ear) | miniRITE R (Receiver-in-the-ear) | Behind-the-ear Plus + Ultra Power | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mild to moderate hearing loss | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Severe hearing loss | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Profound hearing loss | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✔ |
Mild to moderate hearing loss
When finding a hearing aid to treat mild to moderate hearing loss, there are a wide range of hearing aid styles to choose from. Both in-the-ear and behind-the-ear hearing aid styles are suitable, and the features can be personalized based on your preferences.
Severe hearing loss
In the case of severe hearing loss, behind-the-ear hearing aids are the most common hearing aid type used to treat this type of hearing loss, due to the fact that they typically have the battery power and technology required to effectively treat severe hearing loss. Full shell in-the-ear hearing aids may also be an option, depending on your hearing needs. No matter the option you choose, the features in the hearing aid can be catered to your personal needs.
Profound hearing loss
For those with profound hearing loss, if a powerful behind-the-ear hearing aid does not significantly improve the ability to hear in everyday life, then a hearing care professional may recommend surgical solutions such as cochlear implants or bone-anchored hearing systems.
Read our 3-step guide to finding the best hearing aid for your needs
Receiver-in-the-ear (RITE Hearing Aids)
One popular type of hearing aid is the RITE (Receiver-in-the-ear) model.
In-the-ear
There are five types of in-the-ear hearing aids, ranging from the invisible-in-the-canal to the full shell in-the-ear hearing aid:
Rechargeable hearing aids
Several hearing aid brands offer rechargeable hearing aid models. When you meet with one of our professionals, they can advise whether rechargeable hearing devices are a good fit for you.
Invisible hearing aids
Modern hearing devices are more discreet than ever before. In fact, many hearing aids are practically invisible. Designed to be especially discreet, the smallest variants of in-the-ear hearing aids are placed inside the ear canal. Examples of these include:
Bluetooth® hearing aids
Bluetooth® hearing devices can be used for many activities by connecting remotely to the devices mentioned below, turning your hearing aids into a wireless headset.
FAQ about treating hearing loss
As soon as you recognize any symptoms of hearing loss, you should seek treatment. Doing so will not only have a positive impact on your overall health in the long term, but it will also help getting used to life with hearing well again.
While modern hearing aids are more effective than ever in restoring hearing significantly, they do not bring back your hearing to 100%. Fortunately, they can come close when it comes to clearly processing, hearing, and understanding all the sounds around you. In addition, the significant improvement in hearing that is provided by hearing aids is worth it given the positive impact they have on quality of life, self-confidence, and social engagement.
The most advanced hearing aids work with your brain to process sound so that you achieve the most natural sound experience.
Hearing loss itself cannot be treated naturally. Age-related and noise-induced hearing loss is permanent and conductive loss usually requires medical intervention. Therefore, they cannot be treated naturally.
That said, other effects related to hearing loss such as tinnitus could be helped from meditation and yoga.
Sources
1. Beck D.L. (2012) British Academy of Audiology. Podium presentation
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3. Clason, D. (2020, January 21). Dual sensory impairment: Hearing loss and vision loss. https://www.healthyhearing.com/report/52555-How-hearing-loss-is-different-than-losing-your-vision.
4. Clason, D. (2019, October 29). Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) causes. Healthy Hearing. https://www.healthyhearing.com/report/50276-Common-causes-of-sensorineural-hearing-loss.
5. G Livingston, Jonathan Huntley, Andrew Sommerlad, et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission. The Lancet. July 30, 2020.
6. Frank R. Lin, M. D. (2011, February 1). Hearing Loss and Incident Dementia. Archives of Neurology. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/802291.
7. Hearing Industries Association. (2019, March 27). MT10: MarkeTrak 10. Marketing Research, Inc.
8. Hearing Loss Association of America. (2018, May). Do you think you have hearing loss? https://www.hearingloss.org/wp-content/uploads/HLAA_DoYouThinkYouHave_Hearing-Loss.pdf?pdf=DoYouThink
9. Juul Jensen (2018). Closing a gap to normal hearing. Oticon White Paper.
10. Juul Jensen (2019). Oticon Opn S Clinical Evidence. Oticon White Paper.
11. Mroz, M. (2020, May 4). Hearing loss types – Learn about sensorineural, conductive and mixed. Healthy Hearing. https://www.healthyhearing.com/help/hearing-loss/types.
12. Oticon Opn S™ Hearing Aids l Oticon. https://www.oticon.com/breaking-the-rules.
13. Santurette, S., Ng, E. H. N., Juul Jensen, J., & Man K. L., B. (2020). Oticon More clinical evidence. Oticon Whitepaper.
14. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2020, December 14). Sudden Deafness. National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/sudden-deafness.
15. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2020, December 14). Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss.
16. Victory, J. (2020, April 7). Bone-anchored hearing systems: What you need to know. Healthy Hearing. https://www.healthyhearing.com/help/hearing-aids/bone-anchored.
17. Victory, J. (2021, February) )Sudden hearing loss in one ear. Healthy Hearing. https://www.healthyhearing.com/report/52462-Sudden-hearing-loss-getting-to-the-bottom-of-it