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by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, recently treated for a stroke and depression, was fitted with hearing aids due to sensorineural hearing loss. The report then goes on to discuss sensorineural hearing loss and auditory processing disorders.
There are many causes of hearing loss and of sensorineural hearing loss, which involved damage both to the cochlear hair cells and to the nerves involved with transmitting electrical impulses caused by noise from the inner ear (cochlea) to the brain. As discussed in the article, the most common cause of sensorineural hearing loss is noise, and this is almost certainly the cause of Sen. Fetterman’s problem. The article also discusses the possibility that Sen. Fetterman’s new hearing aids may help him process speech better.
Depression is common after a life-altering event like a stroke, which in Sen. Fetterman’s case was apparently caused by an irregular heartbeat due to atrial fibrillation, but is also common in people with hearing loss. I have not seen any studies of whether wearing hearing aids improves depression, and hope that research is being done.
To me, the most important point about this wasn’t mentioned in the article: According to the CDC, noise-induced hearing loss is the only form of hearing loss that is entirely preventable.
If it sounds loud, it’s too loud, and your auditory health is at risk. Avoid exposure to loud noise, turn down the volume, leave the noisy environment, or use hearing protection, and you won’t develop noise-induced hearing loss.
