Sadly, about 33% of people over 60 and 50% over 85 have some degree of hearing loss diminishing their quality of life. Not only aging adults suffer from hearing loss, younger patients may suffer from an accident that made it difficult to hear, or job-related noise exposure that slowly impairs hearing.
Hearing problems can make it hard to understand and follow a doctor’s advice, respond to warnings, or to hear doorbells and alarms. Hearing loss also makes it very difficult to enjoy talking with friends and family, forcing many with hearing loss into isolation. All of this can be frustrating, embarrassing, and even dangerous. At Carolina Ear Care, we take hearing loss very seriously, offering free hearing screenings to determine whether you have lost your ability to fully hear.
If Dr. Fox determines you need a more in-depth comprehensive hearing exam for hearing loss, he will assess your results and then personalize a treatment plan for your specific needs, which often includes hearing aids.
Three Types of Hearing Loss
Dr. Fox diagnoses the three types of hearing loss, including conductive, sensorineural, and mixed, which is a combination of the first two. Noise exposure, certain medications, structural or physiological issues, nerve tumors, and hereditary or genetic problems may all contribute to hearing loss.