I'd like to share a few thoughts about NIHL but will start out saying that there are no solid answers other than to know the reality that intense noise whether it's sudden like an explosion or in duration like working at a job or hobby where excess noise exposure takes place over time are realities.

I have NIHL. I believe I have had a genetic tendency towards it. However, I have no proof of that even though I was diagnosed with progressive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in my 20s... decades ago. They have never been able to tell me if it's truly genetic, but watching my siblings and cousins develop SNHL as they have aged enforces my believe that there is a hereditary element there. I just inherited it at an earlier age.

When I became involved in HLAA (Hearing Loss Assn. of America) way back in the early 1980s when it was called SHHH (Self Help for Hard of Hearing People), the National Institutes of Health did not have an institute related to communication disorders. That happened in 1988 during the Reagan administration. SHHH did a lot of advocating as HLAA does today.

The formation of NIDCD within NIH led to more research that has included better understanding of the auditory system and hearing. It took time to change the age-old belief that the auditory nerve was dead or dying when hearing loss happened, and the concept that there would never be a 'cure' or means of bringing back the hearing that was lost due to the loss of that nerve.

Research led to the reality that most SNHL was related to hair cells in the cochlea (inner ear) that were damaged by something, most often extreme exposure to noise. It can also be due to other things like ototoxic medications and head injuries. However, noise is the most common cause, and is most always preventable. Further research showed that the auditory nerve, which was not receiving signals was not dead. It was functional but lying dormant. That is why and how implantable technology entered the scenario. It stimulates the auditory nerve.

The concept of cochlear implants was questioned for years. We can be thankful that researchers continued to believe that implanted devices might bring hearing back to many who were diagnosed with SNHL. Today they are way more sophisticated and successful than they were even a few decades ago.

I cannot find the data, but remember being at an HLAA convention where a researcher from NIDCD told us that approximately 50% of the population had ears that would not be affected by noise, while the other 50% were at risk. I don't know if that theory remains, but most of us do know people who have had noise exposure with no hearing issues. Maybe it's just the luck of the draw. Regardless, we can thank NIDCD and researchers in this field for warning us to protect our hearing from noise. Just as we are warned about risks related to other health issues we do not want to experience.

I grew up in an era where hearing protection didn't exist. I hunted with my dad. I listened to rock bands and enjoyed every minute. Today there is hearing protection to use without losing the enjoyment of those things. You can bet my grandchildren know about and use that kind of protection...at least when I'm around.

A cochlear implant changed my life 20 years ago. My deafness had progressed beyond my hearing aids capability. Today's implants are even more amazing. I encourage people with hearing loss to think positive, to do the research, ask questions, challenge some of the answers and be open to the information that HLAA shares. HLAA is a non profit that does not endorse products of providers. It does share information about them.

It's worth digging around on a few websites: http://www.hearingloss.org http://www.acialliance.org http://www.hhf.org https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/.