Hearing aids come with their share of myths: that they stop hearing loss in its tracks, or that wearing them slowly weakens your hearing. At Presbyterian Ear Institute on Cedar Street in Albuquerque, audiologists Seema K. LaGree, Au.D., FAAA, CCC-A, and Christine Epstein, Au.D., CCC-A, can evaluate your hearing, explain what is causing changes, and help you understand what hearing aids can and cannot do. While hearing aids can’t reverse the effects of hearing loss, they can amplify sounds so you can hear clearly.
Why Doesn’t Hearing Loss Usually Heal on Its Own?
Hearing loss usually doesn’t heal on its own because most of it develops when tiny hair cells in the inner ear become damaged or are lost, and these cells do not regenerate. Hearing aids cannot repair the damage, but they can make sounds easier to hear and help patients communicate more comfortably.
Sound travels through the outer and middle ear to the cochlea, a snail-shaped structure in the inner ear. Thousands of hair cells inside the cochlea convert sound vibrations into electrical signals, which travel along the auditory nerve to the brain.
Hair cells can be damaged by:
- Natural aging
- Exposure to loud noise over time or from a single loud event
- Genetic factors
Some hearing problems, such as earwax blockage or certain middle ear conditions, may be treatable. A hearing test helps identify the type and degree of hearing loss so patients can explore the most appropriate options.
Can Hearing Aids Keep Your Brain Sharp at Understanding Speech?
Hearing aids may help keep your brain sharp at understanding speech by keeping the auditory system active and engaged, although they generally do not prevent or slow the physical progression of hearing loss.
When hearing loss goes untreated, the brain receives less sound information over time. This reduced stimulation, known as auditory deprivation, can make the brain areas responsible for processing sound less active. As a result, patients may find speech increasingly difficult to understand, even once they begin wearing hearing aids.
Consistently wearing properly fitted hearing aids provides the brain with the regular sound input it needs to process. This helps maintain speech understanding, which is often more important than simply making sounds louder. Because many people wait years after noticing hearing difficulties to seek care, earlier evaluation can make a meaningful difference.
Which Hearing Aid Features Make Conversations Clearer?
Conversations become clearer when hearing aids amplify the specific frequencies a patient has difficulty hearing and add features that support communication. Rather than making every sound louder, modern digital hearing aids are programmed to match each patient’s hearing loss, listening needs, and surroundings.
Many speech sounds, particularly consonants such as “s,” “f,” and “th,” fall in higher frequencies that are often the first affected by hearing loss. When these sounds are difficult to hear, words can blend together or seem mumbled. By restoring access to these sounds, hearing aids help make speech clearer and easier to follow.
Helpful features found in many hearing aids include:
- Noise reduction to help in busy environments
- Speech enhancement to emphasize voices
- Feedback suppression to reduce whistling
- Automatic adjustments as listening environments change
Hearing aids cannot eliminate all background noise, and some hearing difficulty may remain. Adjusting to amplified sound also takes time. Wearing hearing aids consistently and sharing feedback with your audiologist helps patients get the most benefit from their devices.
Does Declining Hearing Mean Something Is Wrong With Your Hearing Aids?
Declining hearing while you wear properly fitted hearing aids usually doesn’t mean something is wrong with the devices, because the change is most likely due to the natural progression of hearing loss, but any change is worth having checked. Correctly fitted and programmed hearing aids are designed to support hearing, not damage it.
Some patients notice that sounds seem quieter or more distant when they remove their hearing aids. This happens because the brain becomes accustomed to clearer, amplified sound. It does not necessarily mean hearing has worsened, but any noticeable change should be evaluated.
Hearing aids include maximum output limits to keep amplification safe. Problems may occur when devices are too loud, poorly programmed, or not designed for the patient’s hearing loss. You should never wear hearing aids that belong to someone else. Distorted, uncomfortable, or overly loud sounds may indicate a need for adjustment.
Patients should schedule a follow-up appointment if they notice:
- More difficulty understanding conversations
- Sounds that seem distorted or uncomfortable
- Frequent volume increases to hear clearly
- Changes in hearing in one ear
An updated hearing test can confirm whether hearing has changed. In many cases, our audiologists can reprogram existing hearing aids to address new hearing needs.
How Do Our Audiologists Help You Select a Hearing Aid in Albuquerque?
Our audiologists help you select a hearing aid by evaluating your hearing, discussing your communication needs and lifestyle, recommending appropriate devices, and programming them for your specific hearing loss.
This begins with a comprehensive hearing evaluation to determine the type and degree of hearing loss. From there, the conversation may include where you have the most difficulty hearing, how active your lifestyle is, and which features may be most useful.
Hearing aids vary in size, style, features, and price, including behind-the-ear, in-the-ear, and in-the-canal designs. Seema LaGree or Christine Epstein can explain each option, help you choose a device that fits your hearing needs, comfort, and budget, and guide you through each step of getting hearing aids.
Start Your Hearing Aid Consultation at Presbyterian Ear Institute
If conversations are getting harder to follow, a consultation with Seema LaGree, Au.D., or Christine Epstein, Au.D., can help you understand why. A hearing evaluation can clarify the cause of hearing difficulties and help determine whether hearing aids or other treatment options are appropriate.
Call or text 505-337-4271 or contact Presbyterian Ear Institute to schedule an appointment.