Every day scientists are discovering new cures. That might be a positive or a negative. You may decide that you really don’t need to be very vigilant about your hearing because you saw some encouraging research about possible future cures for deafness. By the time you begin exhibiting symptoms of hearing loss, you think, they’ll have found the cure for deafness.
That wouldn’t be wise. Clearly, protecting your hearing now while it’s still healthy would be the smarter choice. Scientists are making some incredible advances on the subject of treating hearing loss though, and that includes some potential cures in the future.
It isn’t any fun to lose your hearing
Hearing loss is just a fact of life. It’s not necessarily because of something you did wrong. It’s just part of the aging process. But there are some clear drawbacks to dealing with hearing loss. Your social life, overall health, and mental health can be significantly impacted by hearing loss, along with your inability to hear what’s going on around you. You will even increase your risk of developing dementia and depression with neglected hearing loss. There’s plenty of evidence to connect untreated hearing loss to problems such as social isolation.
In general, hearing loss is a chronic and degenerative condition. So, over time, it will keep getting worse and there is no cure. That’s not accurate for every form of hearing loss, but more on that in a bit. But “no cure” isn’t the same as “no treatment”.
We can help you preserve your levels of hearing and slow down the progression of hearing loss. Hearing aids are often the form of treatment that will be most ideal for most forms of hearing loss. So there are treatments for most individuals but there’s no cure. And your quality of life will be greatly improved by these treatments.
Hearing loss comes in two main kinds
There are differences in kinds of hearing loss. Hearing loss comes in two principal categories. One can be cured, the other can be treated. Here’s how it breaks down:
- Conductive hearing loss: This form of hearing loss occurs because something gets in the way and obstructs your ear canal. It might be caused by a buildup of earwax. Perhaps it’s swelling from an ear infection. When something is blocking 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 cause of the obstruction is removed.
- Sensorineural hearing loss: This kind of hearing loss is irreversible. There are tiny hairs in your ear (known as stereocilia) that pick up minute vibrations in the air. These vibrations can be translated to sound by your brain. Unfortunately, these hairs are compromised as you go through life, typically by overly loud sounds. And these hairs stop working after they get damaged. This diminishes your ability to hear. Your body doesn’t naturally regrow these hairs and we presently have no way to heal them. 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 managed. Given your loss of hearing, letting you hear as much as you can is the purpose of treatment. The objective is to help you hear discussions, increase your situational awareness, and keep you functioning independently through life.
So, how do you deal with 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. Hearing aids can be specially calibrated to your specific hearing needs, so they’re especially useful. Over the course of your day, a hearing aid will help you understand conversations and interact with others better. Hearing aids can even forestall many symptoms of social isolation (and, as a result, lower your danger of dementia and depression).
There are lots of different styles of hearing aid to choose from and they have become a lot more common. In order to figure out which model is suited to your taste and level of hearing loss, you’ll need to come see us for a consultation.
Cochlear implants
When hearing loss is complete, it sometimes makes sense to bypass the ears altogether. A cochlear implant does exactly that. Surgery is used to insert this device in the ear. The device picks up on sounds and converts those sounds into electrical energy, which is then transferred directly to your cochlear nerve. This enables your brain to translate those signals into sounds.
Cochlear implants are normally used when hearing loss is total, a condition called deafness. So even if your hearing has gone away completely, there are still treatment options available.
Novel advances
New novel ways of treating hearing loss are continuously being researched by scientists.
In the past, curing hearing loss has proven impossible, but that’s exactly what new advances are geared towards. Some of these advances include:
- Stem cell therapies: Your own stem cells are used in this kind of therapy. The idea is that these stem cells can then transform into new stereocilia (those little hairs inside of your ears). Studies with animals (like rats and mice) have shown some promise, but some form of prescription stem cell gene therapy still seems going to be a while.
- Progenitor cell activation: So, stem cells in your ear originate the generation of stereocilia. The stem cells go dormant after they create stereocilia and are then referred to as progenitor cells. New therapies seek to reactivate these progenitor cells, stimulating them to once more create new stereocilia. Encouraging results for these new therapies have come from early human trials. Most patients noticed a significant improvement in their ability to hear and comprehend speech. How long it will be before these treatments are widely available, however, isn’t known.
- GFI1 Protein: There’s a protein which has been identified by researchers that is critical for the regrowth of stereocilia. Scientists are hoping that they can get a clearer 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.
Stay in the moment – treat your hearing loss now
Some of these innovations are encouraging. But let’s not forget that none of them are available to the public at this time. So it’s not a good plan to wait to get treatment for your hearing loss. Protect your hearing today.
Don’t try and wait for that miracle cure, call us as soon as you can 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
