{"id":1006,"date":"2020-07-15T18:29:55","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T23:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/?p=1006"},"modified":"2020-07-15T18:29:55","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T23:29:55","slug":"what-is-hidden-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/what-is-hidden-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Hidden Hearing Loss?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Do you feel like you struggle to hear, even if you\u2019ve passed a hearing test? You may have hidden hearing loss, a condition that is cause by a problem traditional hearing tests aren\u2019t designed to catch.<\/p>\n<p>Hidden hearing loss is not very well understood, and it\u2019s unclear how many people have it. However, one study of 100,000 patient records over a 16-year period found that around 10 percent of patients who visited the audiology clinic at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary had a normal audiogram despite complaints about difficulty hearing.<\/p>\n<h2>Signs of Hidden Hearing Loss<img decoding=\"async\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/full-iStock-164190338-768x511.jpg\" alt=\"senior patient at the doctor's office gets her ears checked\" width=\"342\" height=\"227\" class=\" wp-image-1007 alignright\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/full-iStock-164190338-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/full-iStock-164190338-1280x852.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/full-iStock-164190338-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/full-iStock-164190338-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 342px) 100vw, 342px\" \/><\/h2>\n<p>Again, because <a href=\"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/hearing-loss\/\">hidden hearing loss<\/a> is not well researched or understood, there is no established set of guidelines used to diagnose the condition. Some signs you may have it include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The strong sense you <a href=\"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/hearing-loss\/hearing-tests\/\">have hearing loss despite passing a hearing test<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Preferring quiet settings for conversations.<\/li>\n<li>Being easily distracted or unable to focus in noisy settings.<\/li>\n<li>Frequently hearing people incorrectly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Causes Hidden Hearing Loss?<\/h2>\n<p>During the hearing process, soundwaves move the cilia (tiny hair cells) in the inner ear, and signals are sent to the auditory nerve where they are transmitted across synapses (junctions between nerve cells) then onto the brain to be interpreted as meaningful sound.<\/p>\n<p>Normally, hearing loss is caused by damage to the cilia, but hidden hearing loss is likely due to problems with the synapses. This causes the signal to arrive to the brain incomplete, and the person experiences difficulty interpreting words.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jneurosci.org\/content\/29\/45\/14077.abstract\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Adding Insult to Injury: Cochlear Nerve Degeneration after \u201cTemporary\u201d Noise-Induced Hearing Loss | JNeurosci\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>2009 study<\/u><\/a> on mice found that loud noises could destroy synapses. Researchers exposed mice to 100-decibel noises \u2013 about the volume of a lawn mower \u2013 for two hours and discovered that while the cilia survived, the synapses were gone.<\/p>\n<p>In short, humans with lost or damaged synapses may still be able to hear the beep of a hearing test at a low volume that someone with cell or nerve damage would miss.<\/p>\n<h2>Treating Hidden Hearing Loss<\/h2>\n<p>Unfortunately, there is no direct treatment for hidden hearing loss. Research is currently underway to find medications that could prompt synapses to regrow. For now, some people with hidden hearing loss may benefit from hearing aids that have \u201cspeech in noise\u201d settings, which use directional microphones to pick up sound in front of you and reduce background sounds. Using an assistive listening device may also be helpful.<\/p>\n<p>To talk more about hidden hearing loss or to schedule an appointment with an expert audiologist, call Hearing Systems today.<\/p>\n<h3>Learn More About Hearing Loss<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/is-your-technology-damaging-your-hearing\/\">Is Your Technology Damaging Your Hearing?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/different-degrees-of-hearing-loss\/\">Different Degrees of Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/dining-tips-for-those-with-hearing-loss\/\">Dining Tips for Those with Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you feel like you struggle to hear, even if you\u2019ve passed a hearing test? You may have hidden hearing loss, a condition that is cause by a problem traditional hearing tests aren\u2019t designed to catch. Hidden hearing loss is not very well understood, and it\u2019s unclear how many people have it. However, one study&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"6","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","locid":"","rating":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1006"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1008,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions\/1008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsystemsinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}