Unilateral Hearing Loss: When One Ear is Impaired

If you are fortunate enough to one have hearing loss in one ear, then it shouldn’t be too hard to cope with your ailment. But, it is just as important to have proper treatment for your unilateral hearing loss as it is to have treatment for both ears. There are two main types of hearing loss that are most common amongst patients: conducive and sensorineural. One is not as serious as the other, and the causes of each differ in some degree. Conducive hearing loss occurs in which the tiny bones (known as oscilla) inside of the ear are damaged, or the canal leading to the eardrum is blocked. This results in a reduction of sounds being heard. If the oscilla is damaged, they can be repaired with surgery. If the cause of the hearing loss is due to a blockage of ear wax, or other foreign materials, then they can be removed using something as simple as a Q-tip or pair of tweezers.

The other, more serious type of hearing loss is sensorineural. This type of hearing loss occurs when there is damage to the nerve that connects to the auditory section of the brain. Sensorineural hearing loss is permanent and cannot be repaired. Hearing aids may provide some hearing enhancement, but not as much.

Treating Hearing Loss

The type of treatment that you will need depends heavily upon the extent and type of damage to your hearing. The best way to figure how to treat your unilateral hearing loss is to visit your physician, or audiologist, and he or she will inform you of your options. If surgery is not an option, then hearing aids are. With only one hearing aid that you will need for you unilateral hearing loss, it should not be as bad to feel out of place amongst others.

The other, simpler ways to deal with unilateral hearing loss along with using a hearing aid is to simply use your good ear whenever you can, or to let people know that you cannot hear too well out of that particular ear, so they need to speak to you on your good ear. Unilateral hearing loss is fortunate in the way that it is only one ear that is affected. Treating your hearing loss by wearing a hearing aid, and or making others aware of your impairment is the best was to keep communicating with the world.