Can the Hearing Aids Help With BPPV and Balance Disorders?
As stated by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), in 2008 about 15% of adults had experienced both balance and dizziness issues. A person is bound to feel dizzy because of the balance disorders, and thus experience unsteady feelings while standing, sitting, or lying down.
Head injuries, medication, ear infections, and the issues having adverse impacts in the inner ear or the brains are most likely to cause balance disorders. Similar to other ear and hearing issues, hearing aids are of great help to deal with balance disorders.
There are sensory hair cells and fluid contained in the special canals in the inner ear, which help monitor the head’s position in relation to motion and gravity, by connecting inner ear problems directly balance. For instance, Meniere’s disease that is an inner ear condition results in balance issues such as Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and dizziness. In an estimate, about 2% of the common mass is affected by BPPV and suffers from its impacts. It is a balance disorder symptom when the people experience spinning sensation or dizziness. Even it has also been found out that 75% of BPPV patients even suffer from hearing loss.
On the other hand, another common symptom related to hearing symptoms as tinnitus associated with vestibular migraine. Tinnitus is defined as the constant sound either in one or in both the ears – ringing, buzzing, whistling, or clicking. Though it is not an external sound yet it registers because of the hearing nerve’s misfiring as introduced by vestibular migraine.
Vestibular Migraine Management
Four strategies on vestibular migraine management are helpful in reducing the tinnitus and hearing loss incidence. These strategies are:
• Lifestyle changes
• Physiotherapy
• Trigger avoidance
• Medication
Some specific balance diseases and disorders even contribute to hearing loss fluctuations that are most likely to cause mixed hearing loss and result in permanent hearing loss, which will worsen with time. These balance disorders are also liable to make the patients suffer from ringing in the ear and uneven pressure feelings in both ears. But not to worry, the hearing aids are fortunate to provide relief from these situations. In the first place, the hearing aids help to treat the hearing loss, these are even fruitful to treat the balance disorders. The hearing aids are even useful in alleviating vertigo and dizziness connected to balance disorder through equalization of hearing in the two ears.
The audiologists conduct vestibular or balance assessments, that is the testing done for balance disorders. It could be episodic, acute, or chronic but whenever you experience any symptoms listed below, then you have to visit an audiologist:
• Tinnitus
• Hearing Los
• Unsteadiness
• Light-headedness
• Hearing loss
• Fullness in both ears
The audiologists are the hearing care professionals whom you have to consult for the first step. They are experienced and can help with hearing loss management through the identification of the audio-vestibular symptoms of the patients suffering from migraines. Instead of suffering the wise move is taking the guidance of the hearing care professionals.