{"id":5196,"date":"2018-12-27T17:24:33","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T22:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehearinginstitute.org\/?p=5196"},"modified":"2021-04-23T13:08:11","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T17:08:11","slug":"hearing-loss-faqs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehearinginstitute.org\/hearing-loss-faqs\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing Loss FAQ\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you recently been diagnosed with hearing loss<\/strong> in Louisville? If so, you\u2019re likely to benefit from hearing aids. New users are bound to have lots of questions about these devices. Don\u2019t worry \u2013 we\u2019ve got answers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following FAQs are ones your Louisville audiologist encounters most often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT IS A HEARING AID?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Young woman assumes a hearing aid<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A hearing aid<\/a> is a small electronic device worn in or behind your ear. It makes some sounds louder so a person with hearing loss can listen, communicate and participate more fully in daily activities. A hearing aid can help people hear more in both quiet and noisy situations. However, only about one out of five people who would benefit from a hearing aid actually uses one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hearing aid has three basic parts: a microphone, amplifier and speaker. The hearing aid receives sound through a microphone, which converts the sound waves to electrical signals and sends them to an amplifier. The amplifier increases the power of the signals and then sends them to the ear through a speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW CAN HEARING AIDS HELP?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hearing aids are primarily useful in improving the hearing and speech comprehension of people who have hearing loss that results from damage to small sensory hair cells in the inner ear. This type of hearing loss is called sensorineural hearing loss. Damage can occur as a result of disease, aging or injury from noise or certain medicines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hearing aid magnifies sound vibrations entering the ear. Surviving hair cells detect the larger vibrations and convert them into neural signals that are passed along to the brain. The greater the damage to a person\u2019s hair cells, the more severe the hearing loss and the greater the hearing aid amplification needed to make up the difference. However, there are practical limits to the amount of amplification a hearing aid can provide. If the inner ear is too damaged, even large vibrations will not be converted into neural signals. In this situation, a hearing aid would be ineffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW CAN I FIND OUT IF I NEED A HEARING AID?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you think you might have hearing loss and could benefit from a hearing aid, visit your Louisville audiologist, who may refer you to an otolaryngologist. An audiologist<\/a> is a hearing health professional who identifies and measures hearing loss and will perform a hearing test<\/a> to assess your type and degree of loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ARE THERE DIFFERENT STYLES OF HEARING AIDS?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are three basic styles<\/a> of hearing aids. They differ by size, their placement on or inside the ear and the degree to which they amplify sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n