Otolaryngology Advice on Hearing Loss and Tinnitus

Millions of people suffer from hearing loss and tinnitus, but only few of them know they are actually developing these conditions. This is why fewer people are going to otolaryngology clinics to have their hearing assessed. But everyone should have their hearing assessed once in every three years—more often for those who already have mild hearing impairment.

How do you know if you have hearing loss?

It’s one of the most common disabilities now, but people don’t usually know the signs. If you are developing hearing loss, you usually have difficulty understanding speech at first. Commonly people will have trouble hearing consonant sounds. This causes problems during conversations. If you keep asking someone to repeat himself or herself, you probably are developing mild hearing loss.

Another indication is this: when you turn up the volume of the television and everyone else at home is complain, you probably are having less sensitive hearing.

Some patients also report hearing ear ringing noises inside their ears. This ringing noise is called tinnitus in the medical literature and is an indication that something is wrong with your ears. Damage to the delicate nerve endings in the inner ears is the usual cause of tinnitus, and this damage also results in hearing impairment. Noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus are irreparable. Furthermore, the signs can be elusive and many people who suffer from these symptoms are commonly in denial.

Can you prevent them?

The good news is that you can prevent these conditions by simply staying away from noise, turning televisions and stereos at home at lower volumes, and wearing ear plugs when working in noisy environments. Bear in mind, also, that many places you commonly go to are noisy with ambient sound levels that go well above the safe limit. If you own portable music players (mp3 players and iPods), keep their volume below two-thirds of the maximum volume. Manufacturers have designed these gadgets to have maximum volumes that may reach more than 100 dB.

Where to get help?

There is no treatment for most cases of tinnitus and hearing loss, but you can avail of help from otolaryngology or audiology clinics. Hearing aids shall work for mild and moderate cases hearing impairment and to clear Tinnitus. Tinnitus can also be addressed through wearing of hearing aids. Sometimes, a combination of a hearing aid and tinnitus masker is used. There are also forms of alternative medicine that helps people with these issues.