Because you’re so cool, you rocked out in the front row for the entire rock concert last night. It isn’t exactly hearing-healthy, but it’s fun, and the next day, you wake up with two ringing ears. (That’s not as enjoyable.)
But what if you awaken and can only hear out of one ear? The rock concert is probably not to blame in that case. Something else must be happening. And you may be a bit concerned when you experience hearing loss in only one ear.
Moreover, your general hearing might not be working properly. Usually, your brain is sorting out information from both ears. So it can be disorienting to get signals from one ear only.
Hearing loss in one ear causes issues, here’s why
Your ears basically work together (no pun intended) with each other. Just like having two forward facing eyes helps you with depth perception and visual acuity, having two side facing ears helps you hear more effectively. So the loss of hearing in one ear can wreak havoc. Amongst the most prominent impacts are the following:
- Pinpointing the direction of sound can become a real challenge: Somebody calls your name, but you have no clue where they are! When your hearing disappears in one ear, it’s really very difficult for your brain to triangulate the origin of sounds.
- It’s hard to hear in noisy locations: Noisy places such as event venues or noisy restaurants can become overwhelming with only one ear working. That’s because your ears can’t determine where any of that sound is coming from.
- You can’t be sure how loud anything is: You need both ears to triangulate direction, but you also need both to figure out volume. Think about it like this: If you can’t determine where a sound is coming from, it’s impossible to detect whether that sound is quiet or just away.
- You wear your brain out: Your brain will become more exhausted faster if you can only hear out of one ear. That’s because it’s failing to get the complete sound range from just one ear so it’s working overly hard to make up for it. This is especially true when hearing loss in one ear happens suddenly. This can make a lot of tasks throughout your day-to-day life more exhausting.
So how does hearing loss in one ear happen?
“Single sided Hearing Loss” or “unilateral hearing loss” are scientific names for when hearing is impaired on one side. Single sided hearing loss, unlike typical “both ear hearing loss”, normally isn’t caused by noise related damage. So, other possible factors need to be considered.
Some of the most prevalent causes include the following:
- Irregular Bone Growth: It’s possible, in extremely rare cases, that hearing loss on one side can be the outcome of irregular bone growth. This bone can, when it grows in a specific way, impede your ability to hear.
- Earwax: Yup, occasionally your earwax can become so packed in there that it cuts off your hearing. It’s like using an earplug. If you have earwax plugging your ear, never try to clean it out with a cotton swab. Cotton swabs can jam the earwax even further up against the eardrum.
- Ear infections: Infections of the ear can trigger swelling. And this swelling can block your ear canal, making it impossible for you to hear.
- Other infections: Swelling is one of your body’s most common responses to infection. It’s just what your body does! This response isn’t always localized, so any infection that causes swelling can lead to the loss of hearing in one ear.
- Ruptured eardrum: Usually, a ruptured eardrum is hard to miss. It can be caused by head trauma, loud noises, or foreign objects in the ear (among other things). And it happens when a hole is created between the thin membrane that divides your ear canal and middle ear. Normally, tinnitus and hearing loss along with a great deal of pain result.
- Acoustic Neuroma: An acoustic neuroma is a benign tumor that grows on the nerves of the inner ear and may sound a bit more intimidating than it normally is. You should still take this condition seriously, even though it isn’t cancerous, it can still be potentially life threatening.
- Meniere’s Disease: Meniere’s Disease is a chronic hearing condition that can result in vertigo and hearing loss. It’s not unusual with Menier’s disease to lose hearing on one side before the other. Menier’s disease frequently is accompanied by single sided hearing loss and ringing.
So… What do I do about my single-sided hearing loss?
Depending on what’s causing your single-sided hearing loss, treatment options will vary. In the case of particular obstructions (such as bone or tissue growths), surgery may be the ideal solution. A ruptured eardrum or similar problems will usually heal naturally. And still others, like an earwax based blockage, can be removed by basic instruments.
Your single-sided hearing loss, in some cases, may be permanent. We will help, in these situations, by prescribing one of two possible hearing aid solutions:
- CROS Hearing Aid: This unique type of hearing aid is manufactured exclusively for those with single-sided hearing loss. These hearing aids are able to identify sounds from your impacted ear and transfer them to your brain via your good ear. It’s very complicated, very cool, and very reliable.
- Bone-Conduction Hearing Aids: These hearing aids bypass much of the ear by using your bones to convey sound to the brain.
Your hearing specialist is where it all starts
If you aren’t hearing out of both of your ears, there’s probably a reason. It isn’t something that should be disregarded. Getting to the bottom of it is essential for hearing and your general health. So schedule a visit with us today, so you can start hearing out of both ears again!
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7230949/
https://www.hear-it.org/single-sided-deafness
