Hearing Problems

Hearing problems affect a huge percentage of our population causing many individuals to be unable to enjoy even simple social interactions and life's most basic pleasures.

Statistics about Hearing Loss:

• Hearing loss is the third most common condition among older Americans with only arthritis and hypertension being more prevalent.
• 40% of those who are age 65 and older are hearing impaired. Prevalence increases with age, and more than 80% of patients older than 85 suffer a hearing loss.
• An estimated 12.5 million Americans over age 65 have dizziness that significantly interferes with their lives.
• At least 12 million American’s have tinnitus.  They hear a ringing, hissing, or buzzing in their ears when there is no external sound.

Hearing loss is not just a social problem: it is a medical concern.  Since hearing loss occurs very gradually for most individuals, it is easy to just “cope” with it.  Hearing loss is associated increased stress on the job, depression, anxiety about social situations, feelings of isolation (even in groups), and family friction.  For those who are still working, it is especially important that hearing loss is not the cause of miscommunication and mistakes that are often attributed to lack of attention.  There are different types of hearing losses, for more information click here—link to Types of hearing losses.   

How do know if you have hearing problems?

You may have hearing problems if you

Socially:

• require frequent repetition.
• have difficulty following conversations involving more than 2 people.
• think that other people sound muffled or like they're mumbling.
• have difficulty hearing in noisy situations, like conferences, restaurants, malls, or crowded meeting rooms.
• have trouble hearing children and women.
• have your TV or radio turned up to a high volume.
• answer or respond inappropriately in conversations.
• have ringing in your ears.
• read lips or more intently watch people's faces when they speak with you.

Emotionally:

• feel stressed out from straining to hear what others are saying.
• feel annoyed at other people because you can't hear or understand them.
• feel embarrassed to meet new people or from misunderstanding what others are saying.
• feel nervous about trying to hear and understand.
• withdraw from social situations that you once enjoyed because of difficulty hearing.

Medically:

• have a family history of hearing loss.
• take medications that can harm the hearing system (ototoxic drugs).
• have diabetes, heart, circulation or thyroid problems.
• have been exposed to very loud sounds over a long period or single exposure to explosive noise.

Contact us for a FREE hearing screening. 

Types of Hearing Loss:

Conductive Hearing Loss:

Hearing loss in the outer or middle ear space, reducing volume of sound that reaches the inner ear (cochlea).  Common reasons are eardrum perforations, wax in ear canal, ear infections (both outer and middle ear), otosclerosis, and cholesteoma.  Conductive hearing losses can often be medically corrected.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss:

Hearing loss in the inner ear.  Sensorineural can be broken into sensori (organ) and neural (nerves that carry sound).  Hearing loss that is sensorineural is often considered permanent.   The most common forms of permanent sensorineural hearing loss include presbycusis (age-related), noise exposure and sudden sensorineural hearing losses.  Types of sensorineural hearing loss that may be made better with medical treatment include fistulas, initial treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and Meniere’s disease.

Mixed Hearing Loss:

Hearing losses that have both conductive and sensorineural components.  Usually multiple conditions are affecting hearing loss for mixed patterns.