Hearing impairment: Is it reversible?

There are numerous causes of hearing impairment, and more importantly, most of them are irreversible depending on their initial impact. Loss of hearing ability is often considered as one of the most traumatic experiences. The range of problems faced by the affected person might vary and so does the reaction of those people. Hearing impairment is indeed one of the rarest problems that can lead to a wide array of social, psychological, and physical problems. In the meantime, you might be wondering whether it’s possible for you to reverse the effects of hearing impairment.

In case you have already developed such a problem or you feel like such an issue is slowly arising, make sure that you read our piece thoroughly. And yes, the good news is that in many cases hearing impairment can be reversible.

Different types of hearing impairment

Before getting into the details of this particular disease, let us briefly discuss the different types of hearing impairments. Well, there are three main types of hearing loss syndrome. And they are as follows:

• Sensorineural
• Conductive
• Mixed

Let’s now discuss these hearing loss types in detail.

Sensorineural hearing loss

Sensorineural hearing loss is considered to be the most common type of hearing impairment. This kind of permanent loss is caused because of damage to the cilia, which is your auditory nerve. They are tiny hairlike cells present inside your inner ear. Meniere’s disease might often lead to sensorineural hearing loss.

Reversing the sensorineural hearing loss

Once your auditory nerve and cilia are damaged, they cannot be repaired. However, depending on its severity, sensorineural hearing loss has already been successfully treated by using hearing aids or cochlear implants. A cochlear implant bypasses the injured portion of your auditory system and stimulates your auditory nerve directly. With the help of cochlear implants, many people have successfully been able to partially reverse hearing loss.

Conductive hearing loss

While conductive hearing loss is less common than sensorineural hearing loss, it’s caused because of an obstruction or damage that happens to your middle or outer ear. Under such a scenario, the sound is prevented from being conducted to your inner ear. In the case of a conductive hearing loss, your inner ear and auditory nerve remain undamaged. Depending on its root cause, conductive hearing loss might be either temporary or permanent. Such a problem might arise as a result of a traumatic break and wax impaction in the connection between the bones of your middle ear.

Reversing the conductive hearing loss

People affected by conductive hearing loss might be able to get most of their hearing abilities back. However, it’s worth noting that not everyone can regain their hearing abilities. Blockage removal processes are often used to get rid of certain elements that initially caused the hearing impairment. Treatment procedures such as stenosis of the ear canal, exostoses, otosclerosis, ossicular chain discontinuity, or the separation of the middle ear bones are most commonly practised.

Mixed hearing loss

More often than not, hearing loss might be the result of a combination of several conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. For instance, your sensorineural hearing loss might be further complicated because of wax impaction. Such a scenario is termed as a mixed hearing loss. To reverse its effects, we recommend that you consult it with your doctor.