The word bilateral itself explains the meaning ; the hearing loss in both the ears. Now this can have different degrees such as mild,  moderate, severe or profound. The bilateral hearing impairment may be caused by factors in the outer, middle or inner ear or a combination of these areas.

As the experience of bilateral hearing loss can varies from person to person, it is very important to have your hearing loss evaluated by a hearing care expert.

Additionally, there are other hearing health conditions that might have overlapping symptoms with bilateral hearing loss, so seeking advice from an expert will ensure that you are treated for your specific hearing loss needs.

Symptoms of Bilateral Hearing Loss

The symptoms of a bilateral hearing loss are reduced hearing in both ears.

A bilateral hearing loss can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical. When it is symmetrical, the hearing loss is about the same in both ears. When it is asymmetrical the one ear hears better than the other, but in both cases there is a hearing loss in both ears.

Being proactive will help you to receive a proper diagnosis as early as possible so that you can seek treatment if required. Any recognizable symptoms can be a sign of mild, moderate, severe, or profound hearing loss.

Common Symptoms of Hearing Loss Include:

• Difficulty understanding others, especially in noisy environments
• Turning up the TV volume louder than usual
• Asking others to repeat themselves
• Relying on lip reading to understand what others are saying

Causes of Bilateral Hearing Loss

A bilateral hearing loss can be caused by many factors. The most common causes are: age, noise exposure, heredity (genes) and medication, which all mostly lead to a sensorineural hearing loss. You can also have a bilateral hearing loss if both of your ears’ ability to conduct sound into the inner ear are blocked or reduced. This is called a conductive hearing loss. When the bilateral hearing loss is both conductive and sensorineural, it is called a mixed hearing loss.

Treatments of Bilateral Hearing Loss

Some cases of bilateral hearing loss can be treated with surgery. Other types of bilateral hearing loss are best treated with hearing aids. Whether you need one or two hearing aids depends of the degree of hearing loss in each ear. 

In some cases of bilateral hearing loss both surgery and the use of hearing aids are recommended.

If you only have a hearing loss in one ear it is called single sided deafness.

If you think that you have a bilateral hearing loss, you should contact your family doctor or a hearing health care professional.

If a profound hearing loss has been present since birth, we may recommend that you be referred to an appropriate specialist for cochlear implants. This electronic device is surgically inserted into the inner ear to replace the work of the damaged nerves by sending sound signals to the brain. Cochlear implants are a popular solution for patients who showcase no benefit from hearing aids.

Imagine one day all of a sudden you are unable to hear certain sounds. Isn’t that very disturbing and the first question that comes in mind is the hearing loss temporary or permanent.

It is very important to understand the source of hearing loss which will help you to find the impact that whether it is permanent or not.

If we discuss about the temporary hearing loss most audiologists will agree that they would have dealt with a temporary hearing loss in their journey of life at one point of time.

Temporary hearing loss tends to come suddenly or in short intervals of few days. The symptoms for this includes muffled sounds, difficulty hearing, high pitched sounds.

Oftenly, temporary hearing loss will clear up on its own. However, it is best if you go to the doctor to get the problem diagnosed and examined. Depending on the cause of your hearing loss, your doctor might have different ideas for treatment. They might advise you to rest or administer medication to help clear up any infections. Common treatments for temporary hearing loss include:

Silence. If you’ve recently been exposed to loud noises, silence is the most important thing. If you keep listening to loud noises and don’t sufficiently rest your ears, you could end up with serious permanent damage.

Antibiotics. If your problem lies with an infection, you need to take some antibiotics and clear up the infection in your ears. Then, the fluid will drain and you should hear normally again.

Stop ototoxic medications. If you’re taking medications that are impairing your hearing, your doctor might ask that you stop taking them and switch to a different treatment. After that your hearing should improve.

Remove blockages. If you have a foreign object in your ear or impacted earwax, you need to have this blockage removed. Until then, you will likely continue experiencing temporary conductive hearing loss.

Never try to remove foreign objects yourself, and only trust medical professionals with your ears. If we talk about permanent hear loss sometimes ear infections cause irreversible damage to the eardrum or bones within the ear. Bacteria residing in the ear could break them down.

The way is to consult for medical help as soon as possible, as an ear infection could end up causing permanent hearing loss if not taken care properly.

Causes of Permanent Hearing Loss

The main causes of permanent hearing loss are:

Noise exposure: Repeat exposure to loud noises or one-off exposure to extremely loud sounds would cause permanent hearing loss.
Age: Age is another common cause of hearing loss. The data shows that, unfortunately, two-thirds of us will have hearing loss by the time we are 70-79 years old.
Underlying health conditions: Some diseases could lead to permanent hearing loss. Examples include autoimmune diseases, Ménière’s disease, hereditary diseases and viral infections.
Injury or trauma: Physical damage to the auditory system can lead to permanent hearing loss.
Drugs: Hearing loss is a possible side-effect of certain drugs.

Hearing loss can be either permanent or temporary. Hearing loss can sometimes be treatable or be a sign of other underlying health problems. That is why you should always look for medical attention if
you are doubtful you are having hearing loss.

If your hearing loss is indeed permanent, a hearing device might help improve your quality of life andprotect your remaining hearing ability.

According to a study by  Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) it has been analysed that there are  five levels of hearing loss, from normal hearing to profound hearing loss. In a study by HHF, a hearing specialist suggests a hearing aid starting with the second level of hearing loss, moderate hearing loss.

• With moderatehearing loss, it is difficult hearing sounds quieter than 41 decibels to 55 decibels, ex: refrigerator humming or normal conversation. In this case you often ask people to speak louder or repeat themselves.“And when ty the time they reach moderate degrees of hearing loss, at least half the people wear some sort of amplification, either a hearing aid or one of the low-cost personal sound amplification products, or PSAPs,”.

• Secondly with moderately severehearing loss, you find it difficult to hear sounds quieter than 56 to 70 decibels, ex : nearby washing machine or dishwasher. According to the HHF,in this case you are not be able to hear speech without a hearing aid. According to a study the latest digitally programmed hearing aids make it easier for people with this level of hearing loss to pick up conversation without raising the volume or using special speech recognition techniques, like lip reading.

• And with severe hearing loss, you find it very difficult to hear sounds quieter than 71 to 90 decibels, ex : nearby motorcycle. According to the HHF, speech will be inaudible without a hearing aid or a surgically implanted hearing device.

• With profound hearing loss, you find it difficult hear sounds quieter than 91 decibels. According to the a study by HHF, even very loud sounds, ex traffic and fire alarms, cannot be heard without a hearing aid at this point. “By the time you’re at a profound hearing loss, it’s increasingly difficult for people to wear hearing aids because, by the time they turn them up to be effective, they become uncomfortably loud.

Are Hearing Aids Waterproof ? Let’s Discuss

6 Ways to Help Keep Wetness Away From Your Hearing Aids

1. Avoid Moisture Altogether: Remember to take your devices out of your ears before showering, hitting the pool, or getting into the hot tub, and be sure to store them in their own secure case rather than loose in a pocket or purse.
2. Wipe Them Down: Wiping your devices daily with a clean, dry cloth helps clear moisture and debris and helps reduce the risk of damage.
3. Stay Vigilant: Water-resistant hearing aids aren’t waterproof, so keep these types of devices out of the shower, pool, and hot tub, too. Otherwise, they can get damaged when immersed.
4. Use Hearing Aid Covers: These handy helpers can aid in protecting your devices from water splashes and keep out dust and dirt, too.
5. Consider a Hearing Aid Dryer or Dehumidifier: This small appliance not only dries and sanitizes your devices as you sleep but can also double as their regular storage container.
6. Keep a Hat On Hand: You never know when an unexpected rain shower might crash your outdoor fun. Having a spare hat can help keep the rain off you as well as your hearing aids.

How to Put Hearing Aids in Your Ear

Congratulations if you recently purchased a new set of hearing aids! Hearing aids have been demonstrated to enhance memory and brain function in older people in addition to improved listening.

Even while wearing hearing aids has numerous advantages, we are also aware of how expensive they can be. It’s crucial to put and take off your hearing aids correctly if you want to get the most out of your investment.

Here are some pointers on how to put hearing aids in and how to remove hearing aids. Soon, putting and removing your hearing aids will come naturally to you.

Tips for Inserting and Removing Your Hearing Aids

• Insert your right hearing aid using your right hand. That also applies to your left.
• To clearly see what you’re doing, use a mirror.
• The red and blue marks on the gadget let you distinguish between the right and left hearing aids. The right is represented by red, and the left by blue.
• For an optimal fit and hearing experience, keep your hearing aids clean.

How to Put in and Remove Receiver-in-Canal (RIC) and Behind-the-Ear (BTE) Hearing Aids

Because BTE and RIC hearing aids differ slightly from one another in terms of brand, model, and appearance, you might need to modify them. We’ll go over how to insert and remove RIC and BTE hearing aids in the sections below. To give you a better understanding of how each type of hearing aid should be used, we’ve also included pictures of proper positioning. Just keep in mind that every brand and style will differ slightly!

Inserting Receiver-in-Canal (RIC) Hearing Aids

1. Make sure you take out any items that may be tucked behind your ear before starting to insert your RIC hearing aid, including any eyeglasses you may be wearing.
2. Hold the hearing aid’s top in place with your thumb and index finger.
3. Next, put the hearing aid behind your ear like you would a pair of spectacles by sliding it over the top of your ear.
4. On the front of your ear, the wire and the dome now should be dangling. Grip the dome with your thumb and index finger, then insert it into your ear canal.
5. Next, gently press the dome in your canal with your index finger. To further press the dome in, move your finger in little circular motions. When you put your BTE hearing aid in, you shouldn’t feel any pain or discomfort. If you do, seek advice from a hearing care specialist.

• Quick note: A personalized earmold may have been chosen by you and your audiologist. If this is the case, pulling down on your earlobe may be useful as you press in a circular motion to seat the earmold.

5. When the wire at the top of your ear has vanished against the front of your ear and is flush with your head, the dome will be securely in place inside your ear.
6. A stabilizer, which is a slender plastic arm linked to the speaker between the dome and the wire in new hearing aids, will stick out straight across your earlobe. Put the wire into your ear’s bowl using your thumb and index finger. Regular wear will cause the stabilizer wire to naturally tuck within the bowl of your ear and conform to the curvature of your ear.
7. When wearing your RIC hearing aid properly, you shouldn’t be able to see it when gazing in the mirror at yourself directly.

Inserting Behind-the-Ear (BTE) Hearing Aids

BTE hearing aids are extremely similar to RICs, with the exception that a thin plastic tube is used in place of the wire in the RIC. You can use the above instructions because the insertion procedure is practically the same. Just be careful when inserting the dome or earmold in your ear not to kink the tube.

• Removing RIC and BTE Hearing Aids
• Remove the hearing aid’s top from behind your ear using your thumb and index finger.
• To get the dome out of your ear canal, gently tug on it.
• To prolong the life of your batteries after removing the hearing aid, open the battery door.

So, this is how to put hearing aids in. For quality hearing aids, you can get in touch with Healthy Hearing Club.