Studies on hearing loss say that women place an enormous amount of importance on communication. Most relationships rely on good communication to lend strength to understanding one another, experiencing empathy, and feeling socially connected.

It follows that when women experience hearing loss, they are more likely to seek out help at an early stage in the condition. Early intervention with hearing loss is important for everyone. Identifying the cause of hearing loss can lead to medical or rehabilitative solutions that may halt or slow down the progression of loss. Moreover, because the brain’s ability to recognize acoustic patterns deteriorates in the presence of hearing loss, doing something about one’s hearing problem preserves central skills much more effectively than intervening at a later stage.

A common myth about hearing loss is that one should wait until the problem causes a person not to cope in all environments. However, all professional audiologists consistently advise that hearing loss should be managed as early as possible. Women have it right – act early, and maintain your connection to your world, which will result in a better long-term outcome for your brain.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss can happen to woman and men!

Certain conditions, such as autoimmune disorders which are more common in woman, can make woman more vulnerable to this type of hearing problem, commonly caused by a viral infection, but sometimes caused by other factors, such as vascular problems.

What would you experience? Your hearing is normal one day, and the next day it’s not! Suddenly, you can’t hear out of one ear (or more rarely, both).  You may also hear ringing in your ear, feel dizzy or experience or a feeling of fullness in you ear.  THIS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY!

Seeing an ENT specialist and audiologist for a measurement of the hearing loss, as soon as possible, is essential. Timeous treatment, usually with steroids, can reduce the inflammatory process, and prevent further hearing loss, or help some of the existing hearing loss to recover.

Your hearing is too important to wait and see if it gets better on its own!

Author: Reconnect Audiology Network member, Mandy Paterson.

Otosclerosis is a middle ear bone condition that affects double the number of women than men, is present in certain genetic groups more than others, and usually begins somewhere between the ages of 15 and 45. It can begin shortly after pregnancy and is thought to be of greater risk in women because of certain hormonal triggers. Often, women in the same family will report the same problem.

The symptoms are usually a gradually poorer hearing, often on only one ear. Otosclerosis increases the mass of the middle ear bones, making them heavier and taking more sound energy to move them. While otosclerosis is a middle ear condition, it can sometimes invade the inner ear, causing damage to the cells of the cochlea that receive high-pitched sounds.

The good news is, both surgical intervention and hearing aids are usually very helpful in this condition, so visiting your audiologist is important. It is particularly important to have your hearing tested when your ears are not the same, as several different problems should be differentiated to ensure you hearing health can be well managed. Early intervention with uneven hearing loss is vital.