Do you suffer from hearing loss? One in eight people have hearing loss in both ears, causing various psychological and social side effects. Hearing loss can impact your ability to communicate with your family, cause discomfort and feelings of isolation, and even put you in danger. It’s a shockingly common health issue that only grows more likely with age.

Hearing loss is most often caused by overworking hair cells in the ear called cilia. When cilia are overstimulated, these cells can die out without being replaced, resulting in a loss of hearing. Hearing loss can also coincide with tinnitus, also known as ear ringing. While modern technology often works wonders for our ailments, there is no cure for hearing loss at this time of writing. Hearing loss can worsen over time, so protecting your ears and those tiny hair cells within them is important for living a healthy life!

Hearing aids offer crucial relief to people who are hard of hearing. However, they often required a doctor’s prescription, which complicated the process of treating hearing loss greatly. In response to this, the FDA has finally approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids. This allows people to get hearing aids without a doctor’s appointment, which saves you time and money. According to the National Institute on Deafness, about 28 million adults in the US could benefit from using hearing aids; now that they are available over-the-counter, hearing aids have become much more accessible!