FAQ

1. What is a Hearing Loss?

In order to understand hearing loss, we must first understand what hearing entails. When we hear sounds, we really are interpreting patterns of movement of air molecules. We can describe sounds in terms of their frequency (or pitch) and intensity (or loudness). Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz). A person who has hearing within the normal range, can hear sounds that have frequencies between 20 and 20,000 Hz. The most important sounds we hear every day are in the 250 to 6,000 Hz range. Speech includes a mix of low and high frequency sounds.

Intensity, or loudness, is measured in decibels (dB). A person with hearing within the normal range can hear sounds ranging from 0 to 140 dB. A whisper is around 30 dB. Conversations are usually 45 to 50 dB. Sounds that are louder than 90 dB can be uncomfortable to hear. A loud rock concert might be as loud as 110 dB. Sounds that are 120 dB or louder can be painful and can result in temporary or permanent hearing loss.

Impairments in hearing can happen in either frequency or intensity, or both. Hearing loss severity is based on how well a person can hear the frequencies or intensities most often associated with speech. Severity can be described as mild, moderate, severe, or profound. The term “deaf” is sometimes used to describe someone who has an approximately 90 dB or greater hearing loss or who cannot use hearing to process speech and language information, even with the use of hearing aids. The term “hard of hearing” is sometimes used to describe people who have a less severe hearing loss than deafness.

2. How Do I Know if I Have a Hearing Loss?

See your doctor if you:

• Have trouble hearing over the telephone,
• Find it hard to follow conversations when two or more people are talking,
• Need to turn up the TV volume so loud that others complain,
• Have a problem hearing because of background noise,
• Sense that others seem to mumble, or
• Can’t understand when women and children speak to you.

3. What Should I Do if I Have a Hearing Loss?

If you have trouble hearing, see your doctor. Sometimes the diagnosis and treatment can take place in the doctor’s office. Or your doctor may refer you to an otolaryngologist (oh-toh-layr-ehn-GOL-luh-jist), a doctor who specializes in the ear, nose, and throat. The otolaryngologist will take a medical history, ask if other family members have hearing problems, do a thorough exam, and suggest any needed tests. You may be referred to an audiologist (aw-dee-AH-luh-jist). Audiologists are health care professionals trained to measure hearing. The audiologist will use an audiometer to test your ability to hear sounds of different pitch and loudness. These tests are painless. Audiologists can help if you need a hearing aid. They can help select the best hearing aid for you and help you learn to get the most from it.

4. What Causes Hearing Loss?

Hearing loss can have many different causes, including the aging process, ear wax buildup, exposure to very loud noises over a long period of time, viral or bacterial infections, heart conditions or stroke, head injuries, tumors, certain medicines, and heredity.

5. What Different Types of Hearing Loss Are There?

Presbycusis (prez-bee-KYOO-sis) is age-related hearing loss. It becomes more common in people as they get older. People with this kind of hearing loss may have a hard time hearing what others are saying or may be unable to stand loud sounds. The decline is slow. Just as hair turns gray at different rates, presbycusis can develop at different rates. It can be caused by sensorineural (sen-soh-ree-NOO-ruhl) hearing loss. This type of hearing loss results from damage to parts of the inner ear, the auditory nerve, or hearing pathways in the brain. Presbycusis may be caused by aging, loud noise, heredity, head injury, infection, illness, certain prescription drugs, and circulation problems such as high blood pressure. The degree of hearing loss varies from person to person. Also, a person can have a different amount of hearing loss in each ear.

Tinnitus (tih-NIE-tuhs) accompanies many forms of hearing loss, including those that sometimes come with aging. People with tinnitus may hear a ringing, roaring, or some other noise inside their ears. Tinnitus may be caused by loud noise, hearing loss, certain medicines, and other health problems, such as allergies and problems in the heart and blood vessels. Often it is unclear why the ringing happens. Tinnitus can come and go, it can stop completely, or it can stay. Some medicines may help ease the problem. Wearing a hearing aid makes it easier for some people to hear the sounds they need to hear by making them louder. Maskers, small devices that use sound to make tinnitus less noticeable, help other people. Music also can be soothing and can sometimes mask the sounds caused by the condition. It also helps to avoid things that might make tinnitus worse, like smoking, alcohol, and loud noises.

6. How Can I Help a Person with Hearing Loss?

Here are some tips you can use when talking with someone who has a hearing problem:

• Face the person and talk clearly.
• Speak at a reasonable speed; do not hide your mouth, eat, or chew gum.
• Stand in good lighting and reduce background noises.
• Use facial expressions or gestures to give useful clues.
• Repeat yourself if necessary, using different words.
• Include the hearing-impaired person when talking. Talk with the person, not about the person, when you are with others. This helps keep the hearing-impaired person from feeling alone and excluded.
• Be patient; stay positive and relaxed.
• Ask how you can help.

7. What Can I Do if I Have Trouble Hearing?

• Let people know that you have trouble hearing.
• Ask people to face you, and to speak more slowly and clearly; also ask them to speak without shouting.
• Pay attention to what is being said and to facial expressions or gestures.
• Let the person talking know if you do not understand.
• Ask people to reword a sentence and try again.

8. What are Hearing Aids? 

Hearing aids are small devices you wear in or behind your ear. Hearing aids can help some kinds of hearing loss by making sounds louder. However, they sometimes pick up background noises – for example, traffic noise in the street or people talking at other tables in a crowded restaurant. This can affect how well you hear in certain situations. Before buying a hearing aid, check to find out if your insurance will cover the cost. There are many kinds of hearing aids. An audiologist can help fit you with the hearing aid that will work best for you. You can ask the audiologist about having a trial period to try out a few different aids.

9. How do Heaing Aids Work?

A tiny Microphone within the hearing aid picks up sounds from the environment and reports them to a small processor that amplifies the sound. The hearing aid then will amplify the tones of the sound and send it into the hearing canal. These tones can be adjusted based on the severity of the hearing loss. For example, if you have a 20 dB average loss, then the hearing aid compensates for that 20 dB.

10. What other Devices or Treatments Can Help?

• Assistive/Adaptive Devices. There are many products that can help you live well with less-than-perfect hearing. The list below includes some examples of the many choices:
  • Telephone amplifying devices range from a special type of telephone receiver that makes sounds louder to special phones that work with hearing aids.
  • TV and radio listening systems can be used with or without hearing aids. You do not have to turn the volume up high.
  • Assistive listening devices are available in some public places such as auditoriums, movie theaters, churches, synagogues, and meeting places.
  • Alerts such as doorbells, smoke detectors, and alarm clocks can give you a signal that you can see or a vibration that you can feel. For example, a flashing light could let you know someone is at the door or that the phone is ringing.
• Cochlear implants. If your deafness is severe, a doctor may suggest cochlear implants. In this surgery, the doctor puts a small electronic device under the skin behind the ear. The device sends the message past the non-working part of the inner ear and on to the brain. This process helps some people hear. These implants are not helpful for all types of deafness or hearing loss.