Can Wearing Hearing Aids Damage Normal Hearing?

While it is unlikely that people with normal hearing would wear hearing aids, it is possible that someone might try a device to enhance sound. While the blast of noise may seem exciting, that person could be taking a serious risk.

Function

• Hearing aids aren't recommended for people with normal hearing. They are designed to amplify sound. If you have normal hearing, and you listen to amplified sound on a regular basis, the device could damage your hearing.

History

• Before the introduction of digital and programmable hearing aids, the devices were basic amplifiers. A person who wore a hearing aid for an extended time eventually experienced hearing loss at frequencies that never caused a problem.

Effects

• If a person with normal hearing wears a hearing aid programmed for someone with hearing loss, or puts on a non-programmable hearing aid, she would develop hearing loss over time. If a person tries a hearing aid programmed for normal hearing, everything would sound muffled--like wearing an ear plug.

Solution

• It’s possible to have a hearing loss at some frequencies and normal hearing at others. With the introduction of computer programmable hearing aids in the 1990s, you can now program a device so it doesn't amplify the frequencies at which you have normal hearing.

Fun Fact

• The most common type of hearing loss is an inability to hear high frequencies. Most people with this type of loss have normal hearing in the low frequencies.