Ask Anna: Will an operation restore my hearing?

Ask Anna is a weekly advice column for the hearing loss community. 

Dear Anna,

I’m 19 years old and I’ve worn hearing aids on both of my ears since I was 3 years old. With my hearing aids, I can hear 78 percent and without them 50 percent. I was just wondering, is there any way to get the hearing back? An operation? – Caroline in Denmark 

Hi Caroline,

There are many different reasons why people have to wear hearing aids and without knowing exactly what type of hearing loss you have it is very difficult to say whether or not there are surgical options that could help you.

There are some types of surgery that can be successful for conductive hearing losses. These are the type of hearing loss that are typically caused by some kind of blockage (fluid or bone growth) in the middle ear that can stop the sound reaching the inner ear as well as it should.

The other type of surgery that you may have heard about is for a cochlear implant. Implant criteria varies from country to country but it is generally accepted that if someone can get no usable benefit from hearing aids then implants may be considered for this type of hearing technology. 

Read more: From A Hearing Aid To A Cochlear Implant

All of the above are general options and it will always depend on an individual’s specific needs if a surgical route is the way to go. It’s best to discuss your options directly with your audiologist or physician. 

I hope this has been helpful to you. 

– Anna

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• Author Details

Author Details

Anna Biggins

Anna is currently the Senior Audiology Manager at Phonak. She has worked in the field of audiology and hearing aids for 25 years, and is passionate about all things audiology.