Every day scientists are finding new cures. That might be a positive or a negative. For example, you may look at promising new research in the arena of curing hearing loss and you figure you don’t really have to be all that cautious. By the time you start showing symptoms of hearing loss, you think, they’ll have discovered the cure for deafness.

That would be unwise. Clearly, safeguarding your hearing now while it’s still healthy would be the better choice. Scientists are making some phenomenal advances on the subject of treating hearing loss though, and that includes some potential cures in the future.

It’s no fun to lose your hearing

Hearing loss is just a fact of life. It doesn’t suggest you’re a negative person or you did something wrong or you’re being punished. It’s just part of the aging process. But developing hearing loss has some serious drawbacks. Not only do you hear less, but the disorder can affect your social life, your mental health, and your overall health. Neglected hearing loss can even result in an increased risk of depression and dementia. Lots of research exists that reveals a link between social isolation and untreated hearing loss.

Hearing loss is, generally speaking, a degenerative and chronic situation. This means that there isn’t any cure and, over time, it’ll get worse. That’s not accurate for every kind of hearing loss, but more on that below. But “no cure” is not the same as “no treatment”.

We can help you preserve your levels of hearing and slow down the progression of hearing loss. Hearing aids are often the form of treatment that will be most appropriate for most types of hearing loss. So there are treatments for most people but there’s no cure. And those treatments can do a lot of good when it comes to improving your quality of life.

Two types of hearing loss

There are differences in kinds of hearing loss. There are two main classes of hearing loss. You can treat one and the other can be cured. Here’s how it breaks down:

• Conductive hearing loss: This kind of hearing loss takes place because something gets in the way and obstructs your ear canal. Perhaps it’s a clump of earwax (a little gross, but it happens). Perhaps it’s inflammation from an ear infection. When something is blocking your ear canals, whatever it might be, sound waves won’t be capable of getting to your inner ear. This form of hearing loss can indeed be cured, normally by removing the obstruction (or treating whatever is creating the obstruction in the first place).
• Sensorineural hearing loss: This form of hearing loss is more permanent. Vibrations in the air are sensed by tiny hairs in your ears known as stereocilia. Your brain is able to interpret these vibrations as sound. Unfortunately, these hairs are compromised as you go through life, typically by overly loud noises. And once they are damaged, the hairs no longer function. And when this occurs your ability to hear becomes diminished. Your body doesn’t naturally regrow these hairs and we currently have no way to heal them. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Sensorineural hearing loss treatments

Sensorineural hearing loss may be irreversible but that doesn’t mean it can’t be treated. The goal of any such treatment is to allow you to hear as much as possible given your hearing loss. Keeping you functioning as independently as possible, enhancing your situational awareness, and letting you hear conversations is the objective.

So, what are these treatment methods? Here are some common treatments.

Hearing aids

Hearing aids are probably the single most prevalent means of treating hearing loss. They’re especially useful because hearing aids can be specifically tuned for your distinct hearing loss. Using a hearing aid will let you better understand conversations and interact with others during your daily life. Many of the symptoms of social isolation can be prevented by using hearing aids (and the risk of depression and dementia as a result).

Getting your own pair of hearing aids is incredibly common, and there are many styles to choose from. In order to figure out which model is suited to your taste and level of hearing loss, you’ll need to come see us for a consultation.

Cochlear implants

When hearing loss is total, it often makes sense to bypass the ears altogether. That’s what a cochlear implant does. Surgery is used to insert this device into the ear. The device picks up on sounds and converts those sounds into electrical energy, which is then transmitted directly to your cochlear nerve. This allows your brain to convert those signals into sounds.

When a person has a condition called deafness, or complete hearing loss, cochlear implants are sometimes used. So there will still be treatment options even if you have totally lost your hearing.

Novel advances

Scientists are always working on new ways to treat hearing loss.

In the past, curing hearing loss has proven impossible, but that’s exactly what new advances are aimed at. Some of these advances include:

• Stem cell therapies: Your own stem cells are used in this kind of therapy. The idea is that these stem cells can then turn into new stereocilia (those tiny hairs inside of your ears). It’s not likely that we will see prescription gene therapy for some time, but for now, studies with animals are showing promise.
• Progenitor cell activation: So the stereocilia in your ear are being created by your body’s stem cells. The stem cells go dormant after they create stereocilia and are then known as progenitor cells. New therapies seek to reactivate these progenitor cells, stimulating them to once more create new stereocilia. This particular novel therapy has been used in humans, and the outcomes seem encouraging. There was a significant improvement, for most patients, in their ability to hear and comprehend speech. It isn’t really known how long it will be before these treatments will be widely available.
• GFI1 Protein: There’s a protein which has been discovered by researchers that is critical for the regrowth of stereocilia. Scientists are hoping that they can get a better concept of how to get these stereocilia to grow back by identifying this protein. Once again, this is one of those therapies that’s more in the “drawing board” stage than the “widely available” stage.

Live in the moment – treat your hearing loss now

Lots of these innovations are encouraging. But let’s not forget that none of them are available to the public at this point. So it’s not a good plan to wait to get treatment for your hearing loss. Be proactive about safeguarding your hearing.

Don’t try and hold out for that miracle cure, call us today to schedule a hearing exam.

Call Today to Set Up an Appointment

References

https://hsci.harvard.edu/major-step-toward-treatment-leading-form-hearing-loss
https://news.mit.edu/2022/frequency-therapeutics-hearing-regeneration-0329