Hearing Loss
Hearing education for the people of Long Island
What is Hearing Loss?
Approximately 48 million Americans experience some degree of hearing loss. Although being hearing impaired is incredibly common, many people still don’t understand the condition.
Hearing loss is the inability to hear sounds in one or both ears. What many people don’t realize is that hearing loss also affects your brain. Your brain needs to hear sounds to stay active and healthy. When left untreated, hearing loss can prevent your brain from hearing certain sound signals, and over time this can cause problems with memory or even cognitive decline.
Signs of Hearing Loss
It can be difficult to recognize the signs of hearing loss because it often happens gradually, over a few years. Some common signs it’s time to have your hearing checked include:
Voices sound muffled
You often ask people to repeat themselves
You can hear but you lack clarity
You hear a ringing in your ears (tinnitus)
It’s difficult to understand when there is background noise
High pitched sounds such as children’s voices are hard to hear
You feel tired after conversations
How to Prevent Hearing Loss
The best way to be proactive about your hearing health is to schedule regular hearing exams and avoid loud sounds. Noises over 85 decibels can be detrimental to your hearing, so it’s important to wear hearing protection such as earplugs if you are going to be in a loud environment.
If you already have hearing loss, a good way to prevent it from worsening is to wear hearing aids. Hearing aids will help you clearly hear the sounds you have been missing, keeping your brain active and healthy.
Tinnitus
Ringing in the ears, medically known as tinnitus, affects millions of individuals. Tinnitus is when you hear a ringing, buzzing, humming, clicking, or whistling sound in your ears or head when no external sound is present. Tinnitus can range from mildly annoying to debilitating.
Tinnitus itself is not a disease, but rather a symptom of an underlying problem. There are some medications that can cause tinnitus as well as loud noise exposure, head or ear trauma, hearing loss, or stress. Fortunately, there are many tinnitus treatments available that can help alleviate the ringing in your ears. Contact us today to explore your options.