{"id":31721,"date":"2024-06-21T12:31:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T16:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/?p=31721"},"modified":"2024-06-21T12:31:30","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T16:31:30","slug":"how-does-inner-ear-damage-affect-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/how-does-inner-ear-damage-affect-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does Inner Ear Damage Affect Hearing?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The auditory system is a complex structure working tirelessly to bring sounds like chirping birds or steaming milk at Southern Fuel Coffee to your brain. When one part of the system breaks down, <a href=\"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/hearing-loss\/\">hearing loss can arise<\/a>. Let\u2019s look at the inner ear&#8217;s anatomy and how damage inside it can lead to hearing loss.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Two Systems of the Inner Ear<\/h2><div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"760\" src=\"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Drawing-of-the-ear-system-1280x760.jpg\" alt=\"Drawing of the ear system.\" class=\"wp-image-31724\" style=\"width:447px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Drawing-of-the-ear-system-1280x760.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Drawing-of-the-ear-system-768x456.jpg 768w, https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Drawing-of-the-ear-system-600x356.jpg 600w, https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Drawing-of-the-ear-system.jpg 1329w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><p>Your ear is made up of the outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. The inner ear consists of the auditory and vestibular systems.<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>The auditory system<\/strong>. The cochlea in the inner ear is responsible for transmitting sound. This spiral-shaped, fluid-filled structure is lined with around <a href=\"https:\/\/my.clevelandclinic.org\/health\/body\/24340-inner-ear\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">18,000 tiny hair cells<\/a>. As sound enters the cochlea from the middle ear, the fluid inside moves, stimulating the hair cells. This movement generates an electrical signal sent to the auditory nerve, which carries it to the brain\u2019s temporal lobe for sound perception.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>The vestibular system<\/strong>. The vestibular system comprises semi-circular canals and the vestibule containing the utricle and saccule organs. The semi-circular canals are coiled, hair-lined tubes in the inner ear responsible for rotary movement. The hair cells in these canals detect changes in movement and orientation. The utricle and saccule are similar fluid-filled organs responsible for motion occurring in a straight line (up\/down or forward\/backward).<\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Does Inner Ear Hearing Loss Occur?<\/h2><p>Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), the most common type of permanent hearing loss, originates in the inner ear. It can result from aging, exposure to loud noises, genetics, illness or ototoxic medications (medications damaging to the auditory system). SNHL may develop suddenly due to extreme noise exposure or gradually with age.<\/p><p>While most SNHL cases are permanent, tools like hearing aids and cochlear implants can amplify external sounds, <a href=\"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/hearing-aids\/benefits-of-hearing-aids\/\">helping to manage the condition<\/a>.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can You Prevent Inner Ear Hearing Loss?<\/h2><p>SNHL causes are not always preventable. For example, genetic and age-related causes can\u2019t be held back. However, by practicing good hearing care, you can help stave off preventable causes like loud noise or certain illnesses by following a couple of tips:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Avoid exposure to loud noise over 85 decibels.<\/li>\n\n<li>Vaccinate yourself and your children against illnesses known to cause hearing loss, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC10305308\/#:~:text=Multiple%20viral%20infections%20have%20been,%2C%20and%20rubella%20%5B1%5D.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mumps, measles, meningitis and rubella<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n<li>Choose medication carefully. There are more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asha.org\/public\/hearing\/ototoxic-medications\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">200 known ototoxic medications<\/a>. While you may be able to substitute some of these, taking the medication is unavoidable in many cases. For example, when it is used to treat cancer or extremely high blood pressure. If you take ototoxic medications, schedule regular appointments with your audiologist to track potential hearing loss.<\/li><\/ul><p>If you&#8217;re having trouble understanding those around you, contact <span class=\"company-name \">Elevate Audiology<\/span> to schedule an appointment with one of our hearing specialists for a treatment plan.<\/p><p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/navigating-the-emotional-journey-of-hearing-loss\/\" class=\"related-post\">Navigating the Emotional Journey of Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/how-does-stress-impact-my-tinnitus\/\" class=\"related-post\">How Does Stress Impact My Tinnitus?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/tips-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-hearing-aids-this-holiday-season\/\" class=\"related-post\">Tips To Get the Most Out of Your Hearing Aids This Holiday Season<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The auditory system is a complex structure working tirelessly to bring sounds like chirping birds or steaming milk at Southern Fuel Coffee to your brain. When one part of the system breaks down, hearing loss can arise. Let\u2019s look at the inner ear&#8217;s anatomy and how damage inside it can lead to hearing loss. The&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31724,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_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":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hearing-aids","category-hearing-loss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elevateaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}