We rely so much on our hearing, but most of us take our good hearing for granted. The sense of hearing is a complex and at the same time an amazing system. A system that demands care and periodic medical checks so that you can enjoy it fully as you grow in life.

But how does our hearing work?

Trying to explain it in plain English, our ears gather sounds, turn them into electric signals and deliver them through our nerve fibers to the brain where they are finally interpreted.

Below you can see how the different parts of our ear make us hear.

-What we usually call ear, is known as the pinna. It helps by gathering sounds, determining the direction where they come from and leads them into the auditory canal. The external auditory canal includes a thin membrane that is known as the Tympanic Membrane. The tympanic membrane turns the sounds into mechanical vibrations and delivers them to the middle ear.

-The middle ear contains the three smallest bones in the human body: the malleus, the incus and the stapes also known as the ossicles. They are set in motion through the Tympanic membrane, and those movements deliver the wide range of sounds into the inner ear.

-Each one of our ears has a small enclosure, filled with liquid that is called the cochlea. The cochlea has almost 20.000 hair cells. These tiny hair cells are responsible for the ‘’translation’’ of the mechanical vibrations into electronic pulses. The electrical stimulants travel through the sound nerve fibers to the brain, which interprets what the sound we hear is.

Your hearing is precious to you and needs your protection.

Did you know that up to 1/3 of hearing loss can be prevented with the right protection of hearing and by taking certain precautions?

At EarPlus we want to help you so that you can enjoy your hearing for the longest time possible. That can be achieved by following these 4 simple tips.

Avoid loud noises

Noise is a major cause of hearing loss, so you must protect your hearing from loud noises exposure for long periods of time. If you work in a place where noise is at high levels , ask your supervisor to make sure that you protect your hearing efficiently , according to national rules.
Wear earplugs, when you use noisy machines ( lawnmowers, chainsaws, etc) or when you take part in noisy activities ( concerts, sport events etc). At home, lower the volume of the TV, radio, and music players. Reduce the volume of noisy appliances that work simultaneously in your environment.

Be careful when you take medication and other substances

Smoke and alcohol are two things that can harm your hearing. Moreover there are many medications that have to be taken carefully, especially certain antibiotics. Ask your doctor for possible side effects on your hearing from the medication prescribed.

Immediate treatment of ear infection

You will have to avoid ear infections and seek immediate treatment to avoid long-term damages. They can be potentially dangerous, especially in children.

Schedule tactical checks

Hearing loss, like other diseases, can be corrected or helped if it is traced as soon as possible. After the age of 30, it is preferable to test your hearing periodically especially if you are exposed to loud or prolonged noise or you already know you have a hearing problem. An annual hearing check is a good solution.

You may be here because a person close to you has expressed that you may be suffering from hearing loss. A lot of people know someone with hearing loss and many of them have the same experiences you may have : difficulty chatting through the phone or in person, difficulty understanding speech on TV.

Conductive hearing loss

Conductive hearing loss appears when the sound cannot reach the inner ear due to blockage or problem in the external and/or middle ear. If you suffer from that, you may have a sense of pressure or fullness in your ears and have difficulty hearing soft sound. The most common causes include ear canal obstruction with wax, otosclerosis of the middle ear, external otitis or impaction of foreign substances in the ear canal. This type of hearing loss can easily be corrected with a medical intervention or surgery.

Sensorineural hearing loss

Sensorineural hearing loss happens when there is damage to the inner ear. If you suffer from that, you may often have difficulty comprehending conversations, especially when there is noise to the environment. Another common symptom that is attached to this is tinnitus, or ringing ears. Sensorineural hearing loss can be caused in birth, by ototoxic medication, genetic reasons, viruses, head trauma, by aging or noise exposure. In general lines, the preferred solution for sensorineural hearing loss is the application of hearing aids.

Mixed hearing loss

Mixed hearing loss appears when there is a problem in your internal as well as your external ear.It is a combination of conductance hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss.

My child’s hearing sense

We have great experience in finding the best and most efficient solution that matches a wide range of children’s hearing losses. As a parent, your participation is of major importance and together we can make it happen so that your child can enjoy the world of sounds.

Children’s hearing loss

There are many cases that cause hearing loss.

Some are due to a mechanical dysfunction, which is known as conductance hearing loss while others are the result of the auditory nerve or Cochlea dysfunction which is known as sensorineural hearing loss. A smaller amount of hearing losses can be caused due to a mixture of both.

Other more rare hearing diseases, that are attached to the auditory nerve in higher levels, or mental, can also cause hearing loss dysfunctions.

The source and causes of hearing loss are many, the most common of which are related to genetical, viral factors and anoxia. Sometimes the cause cannot be accurately defined, and as a result can lead to the lack of acceptance by the hope that there is a treatment. However, this should never delay the early intervention.

What are the effects of hearing loss?

The sooner hearing loss occurs in a child’s life, the more it effects its growth. So, the sooner the problem is detected and intervened with hearing aids, the less serious the effects become.

There are seven major factors by which hearing loss affects children. They are :

-Delay and limited vocabulary
-Bad progress of sentence structure and misconception of meaning.
-Some speech sounds are not heard , so they are not reproduced, like S, F, T, K.
-Therefore speech is difficult to comprehend.
-All areas of education are affected and especially reading and mathematical concepts.
-Impaired and underdeveloped social functioning result in disappointment, misery and social isolation.
-Loss of the sense of space, the possibility of tracking the direction of sounds and generally environmental sounds.

A major delay in speech and language development causes learning problems that lead to reduced academic performance. Difficulty in communication leads to social isolation and reduced confidence. All these can influence the career choices of children later in life.

Is there a choice in the treatment followed?

During your visit to the ENT doctor, the treatment choices will be discussed. Surgery is usually the choice for conductive hearing problems, but not exclusively. Hearing aids are the only choice for sensorineural hearing loss. It is important to fully understand and trust the treatment recommended.