Do you have a hearing loss? Then the best way to deal with it is to treat your hearing loss with hearing instruments such as hearing aids or hearing implants.

If you say to yourself “I have a hearing loss”, you are part of a very large group of people. Hearing loss is very common. Hundreds of millions of people all over the world live with a hearing loss. Several surveys in Europe and in the US have found that around one in ten state that they have a hearing loss. Many of these use hearing aids and other hearing instruments to treat their hearing loss.

Causes of hearing loss

Some are born with a hearing loss, others get a hearing loss because of exposure to noise (noise-induced hearing loss). Actually, noise is one of the most common cause of hearing loss. Some get a hearing loss because of diseases or injuries while others have special conditions such as specific syndromes that cause hearing loss.

Many have a hearing loss because of aging. Among seniors, the number of people with hearing loss is even higher, with one in four or one in three having a hearing loss. As we get older, we all lose some of our hearing and as they age many will experience an age-related hearing loss, also called Presbycusis or Presbyacusis.

Untreated hearing loss

Living with an untreated hearing loss has a series of consequences. First of all, if you have an untreated hearing loss, you are not able to hear in many situations: at home, at work and when socialising. But people with an untreated hearing loss also often experience a series of social, mental and physical consequences because of their hearing loss.

Treatment of hearing loss

A hearing loss is normally treated with hearing aids or hearing implants. Treating hearing loss improves both your hearing and your quality of life.

Maybe you already use hearing aids or have a hearing implant such as a cochlear implant.

If you do not treat your hearing loss with hearing instruments, the best advice is to contact a hearing professional to have your hearing tested and start using hearing aids or other hearing solutions if the hearing test shows that you can benefit from using hearing instruments.

A sensorineural hearing loss such as an age-related hearing loss or a noise-induced hearing loss can only be treated with hearing aids or other types of hearing instruments.

In some cases of a conductive hearing loss, an operation can cure or reduce the hearing loss. But it always depends on the cause of the conductive hearing loss.