Hearing loss affects one out of every ten of us.

According to the National Council on Aging, the effects of hearing loss are far reaching: stress, fatigue, defensiveness, breakdowns in relationships, even isolation and depression.

Hearing loss can be categorized as “conductive” or “sensorineural” (nerve) loss. Conductive loss involves the outer or middle ear and can result from a blockage of wax, punctured eardrum, birth defects, otosclerosis, fluid, ear infections or heredity and account for approximately 10% of hearing losses. A conductive hearing loss may be corrected medically or surgically, or aided with hearing aids.

The most prevalent form of hearing loss is sensorineural loss (90%). The most common causes of nerve loss are aging and exposure to loud or persistent noise. Other causes may be viral infections such as mumps or measles, meningitis, meniere’s disease, ototoxic drugs, circulatory disturbances and other illnesses such as Pagets disease. For those with sensorineural hearing loss, hearing aids are the only remedy.

TINNITUS

Tinnitus is a noise heard in one or both ears. The type and degree of tinnitus are varied from person to person. To some it is a high-pitched ringing. Others may describe it as buzzing, hissing, roaring or even cricket sounds. It can be intermittent or continuous and vary in severity from mild to incapacitating. While tinnitus doesn’t cause hearing loss, it may accompany hearing disorders.

The causes of tinnitus are not easily understood. Some causes may be wax build up in the outer ear canal, perforation of the eardrum, fluid accumulation in the middle ear, otosclerosis, infection, allergy, injury, arthritis, excessive noise exposure or ototoxic drugs. Tinnitus deserves medical evaluation. In many cases, if a hearing loss is present, hearing aids will often “mask” out tinnitus so the person is not aware of the tinnitus.

In our many years of practice, we have observed that there is a substantial incidence of tinnitus accompanying hearing loss and in most cases hearing aids do help mask the tinnitus.

For people who have been enduring hearing loss and tinnitus for many years, remember, in most cases you can be helped – medically, surgically or with hearing aids .

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