FAQ

Additional information on hearing health.

Mature woman researching hearing health information for her hearing loss

Hearing FAQs

If your ears are feeling clogged, this could be due to impacted earwax. When earwax builds up inside the ear canal and cannot make its way out naturally, it becomes impacted. This can lead to muffled hearing and fullness in the ears. At our hearing health clinic, we can safely and effectively clean your ears, so you can hear clearly again.

Unfortunately sensorineural hearing loss, the most common type, cannot be cured. However, hearing aids are a great management option. Although hearing aids won’t restore your hearing completely, they can help you hear better and with more understanding in difficult listening situations.

If you are prone to swimmer’s ear, then yes, you should wear swimming earplugs. Wearing earplugs when swimming is a great way to prevent water from entering your ear and becoming trapped. At Hearing Heal, we can create custom fit earplugs for many activities, including swimming.

Ototoxicity refers to drug or chemical damage to the cochlea. Certain medications can be toxic to hearing, causing hearing loss. Ototoxic medications include certain antibiotics, Advil, Motrin, and Tylenol – when taken over long periods of time – and certain chemotherapies.

Auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing is used to determine if the inner ear – the cochlea – and the brain pathways for hearing are working properly. This test is used to diagnose sensorineural hearing loss.

On average, hearing aids have a lifespan of 3-7 years. The better you take care of your hearing aids and more often you bring them in for regular check-ups, the longer they will last you. We have noticed though that many patients like to upgrade their hearing aids around the 3–5-year mark to take advantage of new technology.