Too Late to Save your Hearing? 4 Reasons Why you Shouldn’t Abandon Hope

Hearing loss is very common, particularly in older people. While some cases of hearing loss can be genetic or due to exposure to loud noises, age is also a factor. The sensory cells that transfer and decipher sound degenerate as we age.

There isn’t a cure for hearing loss once it occurs. However, hearing aids have been connecting customers to the world of sound for over 70 years. People with hearing loss shouldn’t give up hope. It’s difficult to adjust but humans are adaptable by nature.

Hearing Loss Can Be Lonely But You’re Not Alone

Losing one of the five senses can be an isolating and frustrating experience. The other senses do tend to become heightened after hearing loss. The World Health Organization estimates that almost 500 million people in the world suffer some degree of hearing loss.

So while it is easy to feel alone, there are millions of people who are experiencing the same thing. The knowledge that other people have survived and even flourished after losing their hearing can help your future look less grim.

It takes some getting used to, but not being able to hear isn’t the end of the world.

4 Hopeful Advances for Hearing Loss

With such a great number of people affected by hearing loss, strides have been made in the technology industry to make the hearing world more accessible for the hearing-impaired and deaf.

Scientists have been working on finding a way to reverse the hearing loss and alleviate the side effects that occur after the hearing is damaged.

Here are 4 reasons to feel hopeful after hearing loss.

1. Scientists are working on ways to reverse hearing loss. There has been promising research with reversing damage to the sensory cells in mice. While human trials are still a ways off, it’s comforting to know that at least someone out there is trying to find a cure for hearing loss.

2. Phone applications can ease social isolation. In the meantime, the tech industry has stepped up in a big way with making smartphones, social media and other technology accessible for those with hearing loss.

There are several phone apps available that translate speech to text. The apps aren’t perfect yet, but people who suffer from hearing loss are adept at puzzling bits of conversations together.

3. New treatments are available for tinnitus. Almost worse than hearing loss is the constant ringing in your ears. Tinnitus is a common side effect of hearing loss.

While scientists have yet to pinpoint what causes tinnitus or finding a cure, there are new treatments discovered to minimize the annoying sounds.

4. Stigma over hearing loss receding. There was a time where people with hearing loss were stuck in institutions or labelled “deaf and dumb.” While there are still misconceptions about hearing loss, it isn’t as stigmatized as it once was.

Hearing Loss is Often a Fact of Life

We all know that our lives have an expiration date. As we get closer to that date, our bodies basically start to give out on us. The hearing sensors are one part of the body that slowly dies off as our age increases.

It doesn’t have to be scary if you accept that it’s likely inevitable and see your audiologist as soon as you begin noticing your hearing decline.