There are various degrees of hearing loss and treatment depends on the severity of it. A way to determine what level you have is by going to an audiologist for a hearing test. The different degrees of hearing loss include; normal, slight, mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, and profound.

Those who are going through mild hearing loss can hear loud and intense vowels, but they cannot hear soft spoken people or young children. They may also have to ask someone to repeat themselves. This type of loss can be compared to placing a finger at the ear. Then there is moderate loss of hearing, where there are missing consonant and vowel sounds, making it more difficult to hear people. They can make do without hearing aids, but it is still difficult. Then there are those experiencing moderately severe loss of hearing, where hearing speech without hearing aids is impossible. Even with hearing aids, speech may still be somewhat difficult to understand.

The more intense loss of hearing is severe and profound. With severe loss of hearing, speech is inaudible without hearing aids or cochlear implants. Profound loss of hearing makes loud noises, such as airplane engines, traffic, and fire alarms inaudible without hearing aids. There are many treatments for those going through loss of hearing, but it all depends on the specific needs.

For hearing care, there is of course hearing aids. Hearing aids are usually used if medical treatment cannot help in that situation. A doctor usually recommends a hearing aid consultation and evaluation with an audiologist. If medical treatment is an option, especially for conductive loss of hearing, medication and surgery is recommended for hearing care. Some causes of loss of hearing are sometimes because of fluid in the middle ear, earwax blocking the canal, or a bacterial infection that can be treated with antibiotics. Additional hearing care treatments are signaling and text display. For example, converting sounds and keystrokes into text or flashing lights for TV closed captioning, warning and signaling systems, and TV closed captioning.

If you find yourself experiencing any sort of loss of hearing, from moderate to severe, it is always best to make an appointment with a doctor. A doctor will check for infections/bacteria or send you to an audiologist for a consultation and hearing evaluation, where they can further assist. Heading to a doctor as soon as possible will get you back on track where you need to be.