What are the most common causes of hearing loss?
There are several causes. The main ones include excessive noise, infections, genetics, birth defects, infections of the head or ear, aging, and reaction to drugs or cancer treatment.
What is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the medical term for the sensation of hearing sound in your ears or head when no external sound is present. Typically, sufferers describe the sound as "ringing in ears," though others describe it as hissing, buzzing, whistling, roaring and even chirping.
The key thing to know is that tinnitus is not a condition or a disease. Instead, it’s a symptom — typically of something bigger, like ear infections, high blood pressure or, most common, hearing loss.
It’s also important to know that everyone’s tinnitus is different, which is what has made finding relief so elusive — until now.
Doesn’t hearing loss only affect old people?
Hearing loss can occur at any time, at any age. In fact, most people with hearing loss (65%) are younger than age 65! There are six million people in the U.S. ages 18-44 with hearing loss, and around one-and-a-half million are school age.
If I think I have a hearing problem what do I do?
You should make an appointment with a hearing professional, like a hearing aid specialist, for an evaluation, consultation and hearing test. Many hearing care professionals offer this evaluation at no charge.
Will a hearing aid restore my hearing?
While no hearing aid can restore your hearing to normal (except in cases of very mild hearing loss), hearing aids are designed to let you hear soft sounds that you couldn't hear before, and prevent loud sounds from becoming uncomfortably loud for you. They are also designed to improve your ability to understand speech, even in noisy environments.
How much do hearing aids cost?
The price of a hearing aid will vary depending on the specific model and features you need, and how effective it is in various noise environments. Whatever the final cost, Restore Hearing Aid Center does offer financing plans.
How will a hearing aid improve my quality of life?
Treatment of hearing loss has been shown to improve:
Communication in relationships
Intimacy and warmth in family relationships
Ease in communication
Earning power
Sense of control over your life
Social participation
Emotional stability
When you consider all the benefits of better hearing, you can see that hearing aids hold great potential to positively change your life.
How do hearing aids work?
At their most basic, hearing aids are microphones that convert sound into electrical signals. An amplifier increases the strength of the signal, then a receiver converts it back to sound and channels it into the ear canal through a small tube or earmold. A battery is necessary to power the hearing aid and to enable amplification.
What are some advances in hearing aid technology?
Like many other high-tech devices (TVs, phones, computers), hearing aids have experienced a major technological revolution in the past decade and especially in the last few years.
The best of today’s hearing aids are designed to track body and brain health; virtually eliminate feedback; make listening in noisy environments easier and more comfortable; stream stereo sound from TVs and radios directly to the hearing aid itself; let you talk on your phone hands-free; and much more. All in instruments that are smaller (in some cases, invisible) and more comfortable, rechargeable and powerful than ever before.
How do I know which hearing aid will be best for me?
There are several factors that will determine which hearing aid will be the right one for you. They include the nature and severity of your hearing loss, your lifestyle and the activities you regularly enjoy, your job, your eyesight and dexterity, and the size and shape of your outer ear and inner ear canal.