Every day scientists are coming up with new cures. That can be a good thing and a bad thing. You may figure that you don’t really have to be very cautious about your hearing because you read some encouraging research about possible future cures for deafness. By the time you start exhibiting symptoms of hearing loss, you think, they’ll have found the cure for deafness.
That’s not a good idea. Without a doubt, it’s better to protect your hearing while you have it. Scientists are making some phenomenal strides on the subject of treating hearing loss though, including some potential cures in the future.
Hearing loss is awful
Hearing loss is just a fact of life. It doesn’t suggest you’re a bad person or you did something wrong or you’re being penalized. It just… is. But there are some distinct drawbacks to experiencing hearing loss. Not only can you hear less, but the disorder can affect your social life, your mental health, and your overall wellness. You will even raise your risk of developing dementia and depression with untreated hearing loss. Lots of research exists that shows a link between social isolation and untreated hearing loss.
Hearing loss is, generally speaking, a degenerative and chronic situation. So, as time passes, it will keep getting worse and there is no cure. That’s not accurate for every form of hearing loss, but more on that in a bit. But “no cure” is not the same as “no treatment”.
If you come see us, we can help slow down the progression of your hearing loss and protect your current levels of hearing. Frequently, this means using a hearing aid, which is usually the ideal treatment for most forms of hearing loss. So, for most people, there’s no cure, but there are treatments. And your quality of life will be immensely improved by these treatments.
Hearing loss comes in two main kinds
Not all hearing loss is the same. There are two primary classes of hearing loss. You can treat one and the other can be cured. Here’s what you need to know:
- Conductive hearing loss: When the ear canal gets obstructed by something, you get this kind of hearing loss. Possibly it’s a clump of earwax (a bit gross, but it happens). Maybe it’s swelling 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 will be cured when the source of the obstruction is removed.
- Sensorineural hearing loss: This form of hearing loss is irreversible. Vibrations in the air are picked up by delicate hairs in your ears known as stereocilia. Your brain is capable of interpreting these vibrations as sound. Unfortunately, these hairs are destroyed as you go through life, typically by exceedingly loud noises. And these hairs stop working after they get damaged. This diminishes your ability to hear. There’s currently no way to heal these hairs, and your body doesn’t create new ones naturally. When you lose them, it’s forever.
Treatments for sensorineural hearing loss
Just because sensorineural hearing loss is irreversible doesn’t mean it can’t be treated. Given your loss of hearing, allowing you to hear as much as possible is the goal of treatment. Keeping you functioning as independently as possible, improving your situational awareness, and letting you hear conversations is the objective.
So, what are these treatment methods? Here are some prevalent treatments.
Hearing aids
Most likely, the single most prevalent way of treating hearing loss is hearing aids. They’re particularly beneficial because hearing aids can be specially calibrated for your distinct hearing loss. Over the course of your day, a hearing aid will help you hear conversations and communicate with people better. Many of the symptoms of social isolation can be staved off by using hearing aids (and the risk of depression and dementia as a result).
Having your own set of hearing aids is extremely common, and there are many styles to pick from. You’ll need to speak with us about which is ideal for you and your specific degree of hearing loss.
Cochlear implants
Often, it will be necessary to bypass the ears entirely if hearing loss is total. That’s what a cochlear implant does. This device is surgically inserted into the ear. The device picks up on sounds and translates those sounds into electrical energy, which is then transmitted directly to your cochlear nerve. Your brain then interprets those signals as sound.
When a person has a condition called deafness, or complete hearing loss, cochlear implants are sometimes used. So there will still be treatment solutions even if you have completely lost your hearing.
Novel advances
Scientists are continuously working on new ways to treat hearing loss.
In the past, curing hearing loss has been impossible, but that’s precisely what new advances are geared towards. Some of these advances include:
- Stem cell therapies: These treatments utilize stem cells from your own body. The idea is that new stereocilia can be generated by these stem cells (those little hairs in your ears). Studies with animals (like rats and mice) have shown some promise, but some kind of prescription stem cell gene therapy is probably still going to be a while.
- Progenitor cell activation: So, stem cells in your ear initiate the production of stereocilia. Once the stereocilia develop, the stem cells go dormant, and they are then referred to as progenitor cells. New therapies seek to reactivate these progenitor cells, stimulating them to once more grow new stereocilia. This specific novel therapy has been used in humans, and the outcomes seem encouraging. Most patients noticed a significant improvement in their ability to hear and comprehend speech. How long it will be before these therapies are widely available, however, isn’t known.
- GFI1 Protein: Some scientists have identified a protein that’s essential to growing new stereocilia. Scientists are hoping that they can get a clearer idea 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” phase.
Don’t wait to have your hearing loss treated
There’s a lot of promise in these innovations. But let’s remember that none of them are available to the public at this time. Which means that it’s smart to live in the here and now. Be proactive about safeguarding your hearing.
A miracle cure isn’t likely to be coming soon, so if you’re struggling with hearing loss, call us today to schedule your hearing assessment.
References
https://hsci.harvard.edu/major-step-toward-treatment-leading-form-hearing-loss
https://news.mit.edu/2022/frequency-therapeutics-hearing-regeneration-0329
