Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid: Small sounds can have big impact for those with hearing loss

April 6, 2011 - PRLog -- Mrs. Niva Arora had never heard such a sound. Sitting out on the back porch with her husband, Dev, she kept hearing the noise. She asked her husband about the noise, and he quickly solved the mystery.

“He said, ‘That’s a squirrel,’” Niva said. “I didn’t know squirrels made noise.”

Until a year ago, Niva had difficulty hearing a lot of sounds that many of us may take for granted, including the shrill bark of a squirrel. Her hearing was damaged by repeated ear infections when she was a child.

“It has been very difficult since childhood to be able to hear and understand and be able to participate in conversations,” Niva said.

Sandeep Malhautra, from Center for Hearing Aids, said hearing loss can occur for a number of reasons. There are those who, like Niva, had damage due to an illness, injury or inherited medical condition. Many older patients come in with age-related hearing loss.

But people of all ages can experience noise-induced hearing loss. Hair cells within the ear carry sound to the brain. These hair cells can be damaged by prolonged exposure to loud sounds or a one-time exposure to an intense sound like an explosion.

Once damaged, the hair cells do not grow back. Sounds less than 75 decibels are considered safe even with long-term exposure. Guns, motorcycles, firecrackers all emit sounds from 120 to 150 decibels (a normal conversation is about 60 decibels), according to the National Institutes of Health.

“If you notice sounds are muffled or you have a ringing, you know you’ve done some damage,” Malhautra said.

Ear plugs or muffs can protect your hearing from continuous loud noises. And keep the volume low with musical headphones.

For Niva, her new digital hearing aids have been a blessing. Now she can hear patients and coworkers at the doctor’s office where she works. She can listen to her granddaughter (born last year) jabber away in her own language.

And the little things have a big impact when you’ve gone your whole life unable to hear them.

“I get up in the morning and it’s like all quiet,” Niva explained. “I put one in, and I immediately hear the ceiling fan. Put the other one in, I just start to hear other things hum in the house.”

If you have any questions, please contact your hearing aid specialist at Center for Hearing Aids, who will be happy to help you.

Center for Hearing Aids
Phone: +91 9810074489
Web: http://www.hearingaidsdelhi.com

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Center for Hearing Aids is the leader in the field of custom hearing aids, complete ear check up for proper audio perception, hearing aid accessories, all types of hearing aids services and fittings.
Visit us at : http://www.hearingaidsdelhi.com