Available Surgeries to Improve Hearing Loss There are millions of Americans who suffer from minor to severe hearing loss for a wide variety of reasons, and one of the first questions that people generally ask is if there is anything by way of surgery that will help them to rectify their hearing loss. The surgical procedures used to correct or improve hearing loss will largely depend on the type or form of hearing loss that the individual is suffering from, but the simple answer to the question above is yes, for a great percentage of the people who suffer from hearing loss there is a surgical procedure that can help to improve their hearing. First, before a type of surgery to correct or improve hearing loss can be decided upon by medical professionals, they must first know what is causing the hearing loss. So, for those who are trying to learn more about surgical procedures for hearing loss for themselves, the common causations for hearing loss must likewise be their starting point.
Two Types of Hearing Loss There are two main types or categories of hearing loss—sensorineural and conductive. Sensorineural hearing loss signifies hearing loss due to issues with the inner organ of the ear, the cochlea, or the nerve that attaches to the cochlea while conductive hearing loss is the classification for hearing loss brought on by anything that restricts sound waves from traveling through the ear to the cochlea itself; whether this means issues with the ear canal, eardrum, or the tiny bones that are in line before sound reaches the cochlea, it is all classified as conductive hearing loss. Possible surgeries for conductive hearing loss include procedures such as a canalplasty, the creation of a new or improved ear canal, a tympanoplasty, the repair of damage to the eardrum, a ossicular reconstruction, the repair or replacement of the bones of the inner ear, or a stapedectomy, the replacement of the arch of the stapes in the inner ear with a piston type medical aid. Available surgeries for sensorineural hearing loss include cochlear implants and bone anchored hearing aids.
Surgery and Other Options For those who do not want to go through the process or run the associated risks of undertaking a surgical procedure, there are other options available to them to help them live a full life with their hearing loss. One such available amenity that those with hearing loss can purchase to help them in their daily tasks is a captioned telephone or captioned telephone service that will enable those with hearing loss to communicate with others through telecommunications. But beyond captioned phones, there are likewise other services and amenities that can help a person with hearing loss to conduct their daily duties with greater ease, such as the tried and true procurement of hearing aids. Hearing aids can come in a wide variety of specifications and your primary healthcare provider will be able to help you make the right choice in hearing aids, or if desired the right choice in surgical procedures, that can help to improve your hearing loss.