4 Common Myths About Hearing Loss

Around one in eight people in the United States over the age of twelve have hearing loss in both ears; the number is higher for one ear and for different hearing conditions. With that is, it might seem strange that so many people think hearing loss only affects people over fifty years of age. This is one of four myths we hold to clarify in the coming article, including tinnitus and hearing aids. 

Hearing is still something of a mystery to science which is why myths develop, but science has a lot of factual information as well to counter the fiction. If you like to separate facts from fiction and understand hearing better, you are in the right place. Here are four myths ready to bust.  

Old People Have Hearing Loss 

It’s true that hearing loss affects older people more often than younger ones; that’s because of the normal aging process along with lifestyle factors. When someone works in a loud environment for longer periods, their hearing inevitably experiences than those who are only starting out. However, young people also experience hearing loss, that is, people under 50. 

Hearing loss usually happens because of the destruction of cilia in the inner ear. Cilia are tiny hairs that transmit sound waves to the brain by turning them into electrical signals. The cilia tend to disappear with age, but they can also be damaged by loud, persistent noises like the sounds of music at a high volume or a loud working environment like a music stage or a warehouse.   

Only Music Causes Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

All the rock concerts and clubs you went to when you were in your twenties caused your tinnitus or hearing loss today. Or so the myth goes. There’s no doubt that the rock concerts and clubs you went to when you were younger had an effect on your hearing, but the chances are it is not the only factor to consider. The natural effects of aging and your working environment count.

Some of the factors that might have contributed to your current hearing loss include loud rock concerts years ago, the natural effects of aging, genetic factors, medications, smoking, diet and diabetes and persistent loud noises in your home or working environment. If hearing loss is affecting your quality of life, visit a hearing instrument specialist (HIS) for a test.

Tinnitus is Untreatable 

Tinnitus might be incurable, but it certainly isn’t untreatable. In fact, there are many treatments for this relatively common form of hearing loss; one of them is to wear a special auditory device that creates a low-frequency sound signal in the background to drown out the experience of tinnitus. Another is breathing techniques, mindfulness or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to reduce the effects of tinnitus. 

If tinnitus is affecting your quality of life, visit your hearing instrument specialist today for testing and to formulate a treatment plan. Treatment plans involve lifestyle changes like volume control, diet and breathing exercises; they might also recommend tinnitus maskers, apps and tinnitus pillows to help you sleep at night. It’s important to avoid loud noises to prevent it from getting worse.

Hearing Aids Aren’t Effective 

Many people believe that hearing aids won’t be effective for their loss because they’ve heard of someone that didn’t have much success with their device. Luckily, this is very rare and more than 75% of individuals report success after being fitted with their devices.

The trick to finding effective hearing aids is to visit a hearing instrument specialist that can perform a hearing test to determine the severity of your loss. With this knowledge as well as a consideration for your preferences, the HIS will be able to recommend a device that is suitable to your specific needs. This enables you to get technology that is customized to your hearing loss, as well as programmed to your listening profile.

The mechanics of hearing and hearing loss are not fully understood, and more research and science are needed. Perhaps for that reason, some myths have grown up around hearing loss that is not necessarily true. For instance, hearing loss only affects older people and so on. 

In this article, we have taken four of those myths and put them right. Of course, hearing loss can occur at any age, and your rock concerts aren’t solely to blame. If you want to learn more about hearing loss, get in touch with a hearing instrument specialist at Better Hearing of Madison County. Call us today at (315) 693-3637. We can’t wait to hear from you!