Published in November 19th, 2009
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Whether, you are a previous hearing aid wearer or not there is a certain period of adjustment that the brain has to make while learning to hearing again. It is important to understand this process and also to have realistic expectations of your hearing aids.
First let us start with how we hear. There are three major parts to the ear that work together to send sound to the brain where it is interpreted the outer, middle, and inner ear. The Outer ear’s job is to collect sound waves and funnel them along the ear canal to the eardrum. The Middle ear is an air-filled cavity that contains three bones. Sound waves hit the eardrum, which cause these bones to vibrate sending the signal to the inner ear. This movement sets the fluid of the inner ear into motion, which shears thousands of microscopic hair cells. The shearing of al hair cell stimulates the auditory nerve which then sends an impulse to the brain where it is interpreted.
Now that we understand a little of about how we hear we need to review what can happen to this system to create hearing loss. Hearing loss can occur as a result from a disruption of normal function anywhere along the auditory system. Some types of hearing loss are Conductive Hearing Loss which is a result of a disorder of the outer and/or middle ears. Basically, sound is prevented from entering a normal functioning inner ear. Examples of causes are middle ear infection, fluid in the middle ear (with no infection), ruptured eardrum, tumors, stiffening or unhinging of the middle ear bones or it could be just earwax. Another type of hearing loss is Sensorineural Hearing Loss which results from disorders or damage to the inner ear (Cochlea) and/or the auditory nerve. Causes of this type of loss are noise exposure, age related, heredity, ototoxic medications, syndromes, infections, head trauma, and tumors on the auditory nerve. Characteristics of this type of loss are that it is usually permanent, can be degenerative, and is usually not treatable by medication or surgery. Hearing aids are the only solution. A third type is Mixed Hearing Loss which is a combination of both a conductive and a sensorineural component.
Realistic expectations are important to have when wearing hearing aids. Some realistic expectations are that your voice and the voices of others may sound different. Background noise will inevitably get amplified in addition to speech, therefore some speech maybe difficult to understand in noise. Also understanding speech depending on the severity of your hearing loss, the speaker, and the environment may also be difficult. It will still be difficult to understand people talking in another room. Hearing aids are less helpful in rooms with hard floors, walls, and no carpet or drapes. A comfortable fit and volume without feedback is also important. They should make soft sounds audible, normal sounds comfortable and loud sounds tolerable. Keep in mind that even people with normal hearing find many listening situations difficult.
Most important is to be patient. Through time noise and meaning will begin to sort themselves out. The more you wear your hearing aids the quicker this “sorting out” process will occur. The brain has to hear what it does not want to hear in order to know that it does not want to hear it!
The Hearing Health Care Professionals at AudHearingAids.com
audhearingaidsdoc is a licensed and practicing doctor of audiology. to learn more please visit http://www.audhearingaids.com” title=”http://www.audhearingaids.com” target=”_blankhttp://www.audhearingaids.com
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