When you discover that you have a hearing impairment, you may feel like you are somehow a failure. You think that if you had somehow done something differently or done more, you wouldn't be in the situation you are in now. However, blaming yourself does no good. And, in reality, hearing impairment can happen for any number of reasons, many of which you cannot prevent. The key now is not to wonder how your hearing impairment occurred, but rather to figure out how to best treat and adjust to your new condition.
Hearing Aids
The most obvious treatment option for any hearing impairment are hearing aid listening devices. Hearing aids can be useful for even the most extreme hearing loss.
These devices are customized to your needs and fitted to your ears to be comfortable and effective. Even if you are nearly completely deaf, hearing aids can help. In these circumstances, hearing aids can allow you to hear ambient noise that can help you to hear what is going on around you, increasing your safety.
Cochlear Implants
Cochlear implants are devices that can help deaf people to hear again. However, the hearing is entirely different from natural hearing. These are only used in cases of total deafness.
Cochlear implants are surgically installed in the inner ear. They convert sounds into electrical impulses that can be read by the brain. The hearing you experience with a cochlear implant is more limited than natural hearing as the device cannot interpret all nuances of sound waves.
However, if you are in good health and relatively young, these devices can allow you to resume your life. You will need to readjust to your new hearing devices. However, it will be less of an adjustment than adjusting to total deafness.
Speech Pathology
When your hearing becomes impaired, whether you completely lose it or the loss is partial, speech pathology may be a useful tool in your recovery. This therapy helps you to retrain yourself in communicating with the outside world.
When you get cochlear implants in particular, speech pathology will help you to get used to your new hearing devices, the sound of your own voice, and how to speak normally again.
When you find out you have a hearing impairment, your first reaction may be to focus primarily on what you could have done differently to prevent it. However, you should focus instead on what you can do going forward to make your situation as easy as possible.
Share18 November 2014
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