Surely, many of us have a relative known for their trouble hearing. At family functions, they’ll ask you to repeat your questions a number of times before you finally get annoyed and decide to drop the conversation altogether. Hearing loss is a very serious issue that affects 5% of the world’s population, and this number is expected to jump up to 10% within the next 30 years. With this unsettling prediction, you might wonder how you can protect your own health, and how you can make an effort to keep yourself from becoming a part of this statistic. There is no simple answer since there is no single cause for this issue. Here is a list of some of the known causes of hearing loss and things that you can do to lower your risk.
Drug Side Effects
You might be shocked to find out there are actually many medications that list ‘hearing loss’ as one of their many side effects, and you may be even more surprised to find some of these medications in your own home. The FDA does allow medications that cause hearing loss to be sold on the market, so long as the risk for this side effect is fairly low. Unfortunately, for older adults who need to take medication regularly to function, this risk is increased. Even with these limits though, some drugs with a high risk of causing hearing loss have been passed by the FDA after the manufacturers failed to provide and disclose accurate research on hearing loss in patients who used the drug. You might have heard of this if you’ve seen commercials for Tepezza hearing loss lawsuits. Tepezza was a drug created to treat thyroid eye disease. When the manufacturers applied for FDA approval for the drug, they claimed that the risk for hearing loss was somewhere around 10%, but it was quickly revealed that the risk was much higher–over six times higher.
Hearing loss is not only a side effect of prescription drugs. Believe it or not, over-the-counter painkillers and anti-inflammatories like Asprin, Tylenol, and Advil all have the potential to cause hearing loss as well. Of course, the risk fairly is low. To experience hearing loss from any of these over-the-counter drugs, you would need to them fairly regularly. Some research has found that your risk of hearing loss is increased by nearly 25% if you take these medications two to three times a week. If you’re someone who uses these types of medications on a regular basis, then you should consider switching to more natural alternatives, like chamomile tea, which is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. You should also consider trying to pinpoint the source of your chronic pain and making an effort to resolve the issue.
Noise Damage
An obvious cause of hearing loss is noise damage. This is damage done to the cells and membranes in the cochlea–a spiral-shaped bone in the inner ear that assists in processing audio–after exposure to loud noises. These noises can range from explosive blasts to loud machinery in the workplace to amplifiers at concerts. It’s important to wear ear plugs or other ear protection any time you are exposed to loud noises at a volume that has the potential to damage your ears.
Conductive Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss–caused by factors like drugs or noise exposure–occurs after the inner ear is damaged, while conductive hearing loss occurs when sound can not pass through the outer and middle ear. This distinction is very important when diagnosing the cause of hearing loss, since conductive hearing loss is reversible, while sensorineural hearing loss is permanent.
Conductive hearing loss is most commonly caused by obstructions in the middle or outer ear. Most commonly, this obstruction will be fluid from an infection, a severe cold, or allergies. Once you treat your condition and cause the fluid to drain, your hearing should return. If you aren’t sick or experiencing a fluid buildup, then your ear wax might be impacted. This can happen when your body produces too much earwax, or the earwax isn’t cleared properly. This is why doctors warn you not to use cotton swabs to clean your ears, as you can end up pushing earwax further into your ears and causing it to build up, affecting your ability to hear well. If you suffer from impacted ear wax, then your doctor can prescribe medicated drops that will help the ear wax soften and break down. In severe cases, your healthcare provider can use special tools to remove the impacted wax themselves. To prevent the buildup of earwax, you can regularly flush your ears with a cleaning solution of water and hydrogen peroxide to break down the earwax.
