{"id":1188,"date":"2022-11-10T22:13:48","date_gmt":"2022-11-10T22:13:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valleyaudiology.com\/?p=1188"},"modified":"2022-11-10T22:13:48","modified_gmt":"2022-11-10T22:13:48","slug":"common-issues-with-ears-how-to-treat-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valleyaudiology.com\/common-issues-with-ears-how-to-treat-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Issues with Ears & How to Treat Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your ears play an important role in your health and quality of life. Because of this, it\u2019s important to care for them. Below we review common issues that can afflict your ears and what treatments will be effective.<\/p>\n

Hearing Loss\"Installation<\/h2>\n

Hearing loss<\/a> is extremely common. In fact, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders<\/a>, \u201cApproximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Symptoms of hearing loss include muffled hearing, constantly asking people to repeat themselves, feeling as though everyone around you is mumbling, turning up the volume on the TV to a level that is uncomfortable for others and trouble following speech in background noise.<\/p>\n

The first step for getting treated for hearing loss is to undergo a comprehensive hearing test. After this, your audiologist can prescribe an appropriate treatment. The gold standard treatment for hearing loss is hearing aids, which work by amplifying sounds to a level the damaged ear can detect.<\/p>\n

Tinnitus<\/h2>\n

The American Tinnitus Association<\/a> reports, \u201cApproximately 10 percent of the U.S. adult population \u2014 over 25 million Americans \u2014 experience some form of tinnitus<\/a>. Roughly 5 million people struggle with burdensome chronic tinnitus, while 2 million find it debilitating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tinnitus is a phantom ringing, roaring, hissing, whistling, buzzing or humming sound with no external source.<\/p>\n

There is no cure for tinnitus unless the underlying cause can be uncovered and addressed. Treatment options include hearing aids, tinnitus maskers, white noise machines and counseling.<\/p>\n

Infections<\/h2>\n

According to an article<\/a> published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, <\/em>\u201cAbout 50% of all children will have at least 1 ear infection by the time they reach their second birthday. The most common age range in which children are likely to get acute otitis media is 3 to 24 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Middle ear infections are more common in children because their Eustachian tubes, which drain fluid from the middle ears and equalize air pressure between the ears and the environment, are smaller and more horizontal than adults\u2019, making it more difficult for fluid to drain.<\/p>\n

The treatment for ear infections is either a wait-and-see approach or antibiotics.<\/p>\n

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call Valley Audiology<\/span> today.<\/p>\n