How Does Hearing Work?
The hearing system is complex. It’s important to understand how the ears work and translate sound to properly diagnose hearing loss and find a suitable treatment option. How we hear is broken into a few parts.
1. First, sound is transmitted through the air as sound waves. The sound waves are collected by the outer ear and sent down the ear canal to the eardrum.
2. These sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate, setting the tiny bones in the middle ear into motion.
3. The motion of these tiny bones causes fluid in the inner ear, cochlea, to move.
4. The movement of this fluid in the inner ear causes the hair cells in the cochlea to bend and change into electrical impulses.
5. These electrical impulses are transmitted to the hearing nerve and sent up to the brain where they are interpreted into sound.
Hearing and Cognition
The brain plays an essential role in our ability to hear. We don’t really hear with our ears, we “hear” with our brain. Healthy hearing is essential for maintaining an active and healthy brain. When left untreated, hearing loss affects your ability to hear certain sounds. This can make it difficult to understand what someone is saying and puts an excessive amount of strain on your brain. Over time, this can lead to feelings of embarrassment, social isolation, depression, and cognitive decline.
To keep your brain active and healthy it’s important to treat hearing loss at the first signs. Hearing aids are a great option as they will provide your brain with the proper sounds and stimulation it needs to stay healthy. Don’t let hearing loss affect your mental health and well-being, contact us today for a hearing check.
Signs of Hearing Loss
- Voices sound muffled
- You ask people to repeat themselves
- You often respond with “What” or “Huh”
- You feel tired after conversations
- It’s difficult to hear when there is background noise
- It’s harder to hear when the speaker isn’t looking at you
- You turn the TV or radio up louder than people like
- A friend or family member has asked you to have your hearing checked
Types of Hearing Loss
Not every hearing loss is the same. There are three different types of hearing loss: sensorineural, conductive, and mixed.
Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by a problem with the sensory receptors of the hearing system, either the cochlea or the auditory nerve. This can be caused by age, head or ear trauma, medications, or genetics. This type of hearing loss is the most common in people of all ages and responds well to hearing aids.
Conductive hearing loss is when there is a problem with the way sound is conducted through the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. This can be due to a problem with the ear canal, eardrum (tympanic membrane), or the middle ear. Conductive hearing loss can be caused by ear infections, earwax blockage, perforated tympanic membrane (hole in the eardrum), head or ear trauma, or deterioration of the middle ear bones. This type of hearing loss typically requires surgery or antibiotics to be resolved.
Mixed hearing loss is a combination of sensorineural and conductive hearing loss.
In addition to the type of loss you have, there are also varying degrees. Hearing loss affects people differently and can be mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe or profound in degree. During your hearing evaluation we will determine what the degree of your hearing loss is.
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