A common question I am asked by individuals after informing them they have hearing loss is “Isn’t there some sort of surgery or medical procedure to fix my hearing?” For the vast majority, there is currently no medical or surgical treatment to fix hearing loss. The major exception is in cases of conductive hearing loss caused by issues within the outer or middle ear.

Most commonly we find individuals have a type of hearing loss, known as sensorineural hearing loss that involves the inner ear, which does not currently have a cure. When I first started in the hearing healthcare field 18 years ago, many medical doctors still called this type of hearing loss “nerve deafness” and many told patients nothing could be done to help, and even warned against wearing hearing aids. During that period of my career, we had to work to re-educate these doctors to help them understand that hearing aids could actually significantly help individuals with sensorineural hearing loss. We now know that wearing hearing aids not only helps individuals to hear and communicate better, it also provides significant long-term benefits to brain health.

While there is currently no readily available treatments to cure most hearing loss, there is emerging science in the area of stem cell treatments for inner ear damage. Some research studies have already begun and others are planned in the near future. Reviewing the information currently available on these studies has caused me to come up with many questions that have yet to be answered. A few of the most pertinent ones are, “What will the risks and side effects be,” “Who will be candidates,” “How long until it will be available to the public,” and “How much will it cost?”

Since the research is in its infancy, it is possible no treatment will ever actually be available, or it make take decades to fully develop. Even if this treatment does turn out to be effective, all research to date shows that the negative impacts of hearing loss on the auditory system in the brain cannot be reversed. Wearing hearing aids ensures the auditory system is exercised, which includes stimulating the brain. So even if stem cell treatment eventually becomes a universal solution in the future, my thought is that individuals should preserve their auditory system as much as possible by wearing hearing aids to ensure the best long-term outcomes.

When it comes to hearing loss, the first step every individual must take is to start out with an examination of the ear canal, followed by a hearing screening. Thanks to a video otoscope, our patient’s get to see exactly what is in their ear canal, including ear wax. (This is the part where I remind readers not to use Q-tips to clean their ears as it can push wax deeper into the canal and possibly lead to damaging the eardrum.) If a hearing screening indicates a hearing loss is present, a comprehensive evaluation can be performed to determine the type of hearing loss and determine if hearing aids or some other treatment is necessary. If you are or a loved one is struggling with hearing loss, please call today to schedule an appointment.