Category: Earwax

Do you have Temporary or Permanent Hearing Loss?

4/16/2021

If you are not hearing very well, or as you usually do, the cause could be anything from aging to viral infections.

Based on the reason for your hearing loss, it might be temporary or permanent.

Get treated immediately if You experience Sudden Hearing Loss

If you experience rapid or sudden hearing loss in one ear or both ears immediately get treatment. There could be harmful inflammation that can be treated with steroids. Sudden hearing loss that goes untreated could lead to permanent hearing loss.

How do you know if You need to see a Medical Professional?

Here’s a guide to follow:

Have you recently been exposed to many hours of loud noise? (From a live concert, from a fireworks display, or after using power tools?)
Did you recently have a cold or ear infection?
Have you recently engaged in strenuous exercises?
Have you been feeling overwhelmed and stressed out?

If you responded with “No” to all of these questions, you might be experiencing sudden sensorineural hearing loss. This type of hearing loss needs immediate medical attention.

Prevailing causes of Temporary Hearing Loss?

The majority of temporary hearing loss does not suddenly occur. It happens gradually within a few days or weeks, by the time a person notices it. Temporary hearing loss can be caused by a blockage in the ear canal or another ear-related health condition. Here are some possible causes:

Excess Earwax

Stereocilia (tiny hairs) and glands located in your inner ears create cerumen, A.K.A. earwax. Usually, this wax naturally falls out or it can be removed through a gentle wash with water. In some instances, it can build up and obstruct your ear canals. When this occurs, your ears may feel as though they are plugged, you might hear a ringing or buzzing noise (tinnitus), or experience some hearing loss. If you are unable to gently remove the earwax by using a warm washcloth, consult a healthcare professional. Do not attempt to remove the wax with any sharp objects like a hairpin. Q-Tips or cotton swabs can push the earwax deeper into your ear canal, causing the eardrum to become perforated and.

Vigorous Exercises or Stress

Your exercise routine might be the cause of your hearing loss or tinnitus. If you exercise past your personal fitness levels, you could experience temporary hearing loss. Your ability to hear should go back to normal within a few hours. See a hearing healthcare professional if the symptoms don’t go away. Severe cases of stress may induce hearing loss or tinnitus.

Intense Noises

Temporary hearing loss and/or tinnitus is a common result, after being exposed to loud noises. This is known as noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). In most cases, your hearing will go back to normal, but it’s always helpful to protect your hearing by wearing earplugs or earmuffs. Hearing loss prevention is the only way to protect yourself from NIHL. Frequently being exposed to loud sounds could lead to permanent hearing loss.

Typical Causes of Permanent Hearing Loss

Long exposure to extreme noise

One loud blast of noise may only temporarily make your hearing worse, while a repetition of exposure to blasts or other loud noises could cause permanent loss of hearing. This is the most prevalent type of sensorineural hearing loss, which is permanent. The term sensorineural applies to the nerves located inside the ears, along with the tiny sensory cells that are extremely delicate and easy to destroy.

Presbycusis

Presbycusis, also known as age-related hearing loss, is another common form of sensorineural hearing loss. Most people who are 75 years of age or older, will notice they cannot hear as well as they could in the past. The beginning of this type of hearing loss arrives gradually, so it will go unnoticed for months or years. Getting treatment for your hearing loss is not simply linked to better hearing, it also helps reduce other health problems such as dementia, depression caused by isolation, or risks of falling.

Health conditions that cause permanent hearing loss

Autoimmune conditions (Meniere’s disease)
Genetic disorders
Viral infections (mumps, head trauma)
Medications that can cause hearing loss

Get your hearing loss treated

Whether or not you suspect that you are experiencing permanent or temporary hearing loss, get your hearing tested. Contact us at Pure Sound Hearing Aids for a free hearing test and consultation. We offer a wide variety of hearing aids styles and brands that can be programmed for your specific hearing needs.

0 Comments

Why is it Important to Immediately get Treatment for Your Sudden Hearing Loss?

1/12/2021

0 Comments

It’s no secret that everyone’s hearing gets worse as they age. Usually, individuals have one ear that can hear better than the other. In some instances, hearing loss can abruptly occur in one ear for no reason. Under these circumstances, you may have experienced sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), or sensorineural hearing loss (SHL), which is a type of nerve deafness.

According to Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, there are approximately 66,000 instances of SHL each year in the U.S. There are probably more cases because this condition frequently goes undiagnosed.

Most people do not perceive it as being serious enough to get the help that they need. The lack of early intervention and care increases the chances of permanent hearing loss.

Unexplained Causes

The exact cause of SHL is unknown, but specialists who study this phenomenon have identified some potential reasons:

A breakdown in the immune system
An inflammatory injury to the ear
Obstructed blood flow to the ear
Viral infections
A combination of cases

People of any age can experience this problem, but it usually affects people who are in their 50s or 60s. As previously mentioned, it normally occurs in one ear. You might hear a “pop”, or feel as though there is an obstruction in your ear. Oftentimes, your hearing won’t disappear all at once. There is a steady decline that happens within several minutes or hours, like when air seeps out from a tire.

Other than hearing issues, SHL can influence your balance, which can increase your risk of falling. SHL may also be an indication of a small stroke or tumor. It tends to be overlooked because the symptoms resemble a common cold, feelings of impacted earwax, or water that’s trapped in the ear. Most people will try to treat it on their own by using a common cold or sinus medication, ear drops that swimmers use, or by simply cleaning their ears out. Mistaking it for an irritating ear that feels stuffy will cause some to leave it untreated until it’s too late.

Distinguishing the Difference between a Stuffy Ear and SHL

Here is something you can do to determine the difference between a common stuffy ear and sudden hearing loss: hum out loud to yourself. With normal hearing, sound can be heard equally by each ear. If you hum when you notice a new loss of hearing in one ear, the humming will transfer from one side to the other.

For instance, let’s say that your left ear is affected and the hum is heard louder in that ear. The loss of hearing is more likely a conductive hearing loss, and probably caused by obstruction due to a cold or earwax buildup. You may simulate this effect by humming as you cover your left ear.

If the humming sounds louder in the right ear, it indicates that the left ear with hearing loss is caused by recent nerve damage. This will need immediate medical attention.

Getting Treatment

The time period to get your SHL treated is 10 to 14 days. If it goes untreated, your hearing loss may become permanent. Get your hearing tested. You may not regain your full hearing abilities, but you may preserve the hearing abilities that you still have with proper treatment. If you have moderate to severe hearing loss, there’s only a 20% chance that you will completely recover from SHL, even when you get it treated immediately.

If you, or a loved one, are experiencing SHL lasting more than 24-hours, immediately contact us at Pure Sound Hearing Aids for a free hearing test and consultation. If necessary, our hearing instrument specialists can offer a referral and they can go over hearing aid options.

0 Comments

Earwax Facts and Safe Cleaning Tips

1/12/2021

0 Comments

Earwax, or cerumen, naturally produces to protect your outer ears. It is made up of dirt, oil, sweat, and dead skin cells.

Earwax is an organic barrier that stops bacteria and dirt from penetrating the deepest parts of your ears. It has an adhesive element, therefore it can gather tiny debris that travels into your ear’s canal the same way flypaper catches insects. Without this barrier, your inner ear is at risk for infections.
It is a moist, protective coating for the ear canal. Removing too much earwax may cause the outer ear to feel itchy and flaky. This leads to higher risks of infection and irritation.
It is a natural insect repellent. The scent of earwax repels insects, while sticky elements catch the ones who accidentally find their way inside.

Is your earwax dry or wet?

Producing dry earwax is common among Asians, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders.

Producing wet earwax is common among Africans and Caucasians.

What is the pigment of your earwax?

Old earwax is generally dark brown or black. Its color is caused by trapped bacteria and dirt. This earwax color is more common in adults.

Light brown, orange, or yellow earwax are considered healthy and normal. Children generally have softer, light-colored earwax.

Dark brown earwax, with any red, might indicate a bleeding wound.

White earwax that is flaky, is a sign that your body does not produce a chemical linked to body odor.

What produces excess earwax?

Normally, your body will know how much earwax it needs to make. Keep a healthy diet, practice proper hygiene, and move your jaw around (the same way you do when talking and chewing food). Doing this will let your ears naturally remove excess cerumen, debris, or dirt. If you routinely remove earwax, this alerts your body to generate more. Excess earwax can prevent the ability to hear, which will put you at a higher risk of ear infections and other ear or hearing health problems.

Too much stress and over-exercising can increase the amount of earwax that is produced. The same apocrine glands which create sweat, also produce earwax. Excess earwax is typically found in individuals who:

Experience chronic infections in their ears.
Have irregularly-shaped ear canals or osteomata (a benign tumor that is made of osseous tissue).
Are elderly, possess certain skin conditions or certain learning disabilities.
Have an abundance of hair in their ear canals.

Additional facts:

Ears are generally self-cleaning. Do not insert anything small, like a cotton swab, into your ears to remove earwax. You are actually pushing the earwax further into the canal by doing this.
Earwax can buildup in the microphone and speakers of your hearing aids. Ear cleaning kits, brush, and loop tools, along with wax guards, can be used to clean off the devices.

Tips to safely clean out your ears:

Although there are benefits to having earwax, too much wax obstruction can induce conductive hearing loss (when sound waves cannot travel through the inner ear, because of the earwax obstruction). If your ears feel stuffy and believe that earwax may be the cause:

DO NOT use a cotton swab, hairpin, or any small instrument to dig out the wax. The wax will be pushed deeper into your ear where it won’t be able to naturally fall out of your ears. You may also pierce the eardrum.
DO NOT engage in “ear candling”. There have not been any proven benefits. It may cause burns, earwax obstruction, ruptured eardrums, and serious injury.
If the earwax feels unbearable, you may wash your ears with a warm soapy washcloth. Occasionally allowing some warm water from your shower run in your ears can loosen and soften excess earwax.
If you have healthy ears, without any tubes or eardrum perforations, try clearing out excess earwax by using an over-the-counter ear cleaning kit.
For hearing aid users, be sure to properly clean your hearing aids. If necessary, stop by your hearing aid provider’s office for a thorough, professional cleaning.

If you are unable to hear out of your hearing aids and notice that there is too much earwax that is clogging up your devices, contact us at Pure Sound for deep cleaning. We will be happy to help.

Please be aware that Pure Sound services will only be available by appointment and for essential visits at this time. Essential visits include all appointments that require repairs, re-fittings, and new hearing aid fittings. Get in touch with us if you need to schedule a hearing test, or if you are having any problems with your hearing aids. If you need any supplies for your hearing aids, please contact us before your office visit.

0 Comments

Blog

Do you have Temporary or Permanent Hearing Loss?

Why is it Important to Immediately get Treatment for Your Sudden Hearing Loss?

Earwax Facts and Safe Cleaning Tips

Categories