Did you know that close to 2.5 billion people are predicted to have some kind of hearing disorder by 2050? Or that hearing disorders are among the most common sensory processing disorders, affecting more than 1 in 10 Americans. Though people of all ages can have hearing loss disorders, those aged 60 and up are more likely to be affected.
If you deal with partial hearing loss, it can be difficult to follow or participate in conversations, affecting your ability to carry out daily tasks and enjoy life. Hearing loss should not be confused with deafness. A deaf person can hear almost nothing and cannot participate in conversations. In contrast, people with hearing loss disorders can still hear partially and can improve their hearing ability with the help of hearing aids.
Keep reading to understand more about hearing loss and hearing aids.
Types of Hearing Loss
There are three major types of hearing loss, classified based on the underlying causes.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
This is the most common hearing loss disorder where the inner ear or the hearing nerve is damaged. It happens when some of the hair cells within the cochlea are damaged.
Aging, exposure to loud noise, injuries, diseases, certain medications, or even a genetic condition are a few reasons that can cause this type of hearing loss. This type of hearing loss is not treatable with medical or surgical procedures.
Conductive Hearing Loss
For people with conductive hearing loss, sounds cannot travel from the outer ear to the middle or inner ear. Hearing soft and muffled sounds becomes difficult. However, this hearing loss can possibly be treated medically or surgically and is not always permanent. It is common in children with recurring ear infections or who put foreign objects into their ears.
Mixed Hearing Loss
Sometimes, people can develop both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss. In this case, both the inner ear, and the outer or middle ear may be affected.
Getting your ears tested by hearing healthcare professionals will help with a proper diagnosis and determine the right treatment for you.
How Do Hearing Aids Work?
Hearing aids are small electronic devices that receive sounds from the outside environment, and then processes, analyzes, amplifies them It then sends them to the inner ear after making the necessary adjustments based on your hearing abilities and the environment around you.
Hearing aids come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and designs. These variations are primarily found in their size, positioning, and level of amplification. Here are the two most common types of hearing aids:
Behind-The-Ear (BTE)
Behind-the-ear hearing aids consist of a plastic case worn behind the ear and a thin wire or tube that goes into the ear canal. This style is appropriate for all ages and can assist people with mild to severe hearing loss.
In-The-Ear (ITE)
These hearing aids are worn fully in the ear, with nothing behind the ear. They come in a variety of sizes, ranging from the full size of the ear down to invisible deep in the ear canal.
