Treatments for Sensorineural Hearing Loss
At Stanford Health Care, we specialize in personalized, advanced treatments for sensorineural hearing loss. We help you regain as much hearing as possible with advanced hearing aids and devices customized to your needs. Our team does everything we can to improve your ability to communicate and engage with your world.
- Specialized expertise from providers at one of the top ear, nose, and throat (ENT) centers in the world who can help identify the cause of sensorineural hearing loss.
- Groundbreaking treatments that use the latest technologies available and require in-depth knowledge and skill.
- A collaborative team of ENT, hearing, and balance specialists working together to provide compassionate care that prioritizes your needs.
- Clinical trials that provide eligible patients with early access to promising therapies available only at Stanford Health Care.
- Ease of access in finding providers, treatment, and support services at convenient locations across the Bay Area.
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Interested in an Online Second Opinion?
The Stanford Medicine Online Second Opinion program offers you easy access to our world-class doctors. It’s all done remotely, and you don’t have to visit our hospital or one of our clinics for this service. You don’t even need to leave home!
Visit our online second opinion page to learn more.
You and your doctor will discuss the hearing loss treatment plan that best fits your needs. We help you regain as much hearing as possible.
Our therapies often focus on getting sound signals to your brain if you have inner ear damage. We also treat any underlying condition that may be causing hearing loss. Our specialists continue to search for effective treatments for hearing loss caused by damage to the auditory nerve.
Active surveillance means we continue to check on your hearing loss without pursuing any treatment. Sometimes you may not want or need treatment immediately.
Your doctor will continue doing ear exams and hearing tests at follow-up visits. If we notice that hearing loss worsens or poses a risk to your health, then we discuss treatment options with you.
In most cases, medications are not helpful in treating sensorineural hearing loss. For certain causes of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, your doctor may recommend medication such as steroid pills or steroid injections. Your doctor may recommend other medications for autoimmune diseases or conditions that harm your inner ear.
You may need a hearing aid (an electronic or battery-powered removable device) to amplify the sound around you. We have a comprehensive selection of hearing aids, including ones that use the latest and most advanced technology. We offer less visible options that are more effective than ever.
Our specialists spend time with you to figure out the type, fit, and settings that work best for your ear, hearing loss, and lifestyle.
For severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss, if a hearing aid is not helpful enough, a cochlear implant in one or both ears may be the best solution.
We specialize in cochlear implants, which mimic the role of your cochlea (sensory organ of hearing). When working properly, the cochlea changes sound into electrical signals for the auditory nerve to send to the brain.
A cochlear implant changes sound into electrical signals, just like the cochlea would. The device sends these signals directly to the auditory nerve.
Our surgeons implant electrodes inside the cochlea and place the device transmitter under your skin behind your ear.
You may find additional devices to be helpful for sensorineural hearing loss, including assistive listening devices, alerting devices, and other communication aids. For example, alerting devices can notify you of sounds around the house, like your phone or doorbell ringing.
You have access to the Stanford Balance Center if you experience balance difficulties from inner ear damage. We develop a personalized treatment plan to improve your balance. Our team combines the expertise of otologists (ENT), neurologists, rehabilitation medicine specialists, and orthopaedists.
Clinical Trials for Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may have access to the latest, advanced clinical trials for sensorineural hearing loss through the Stanford Cancer Institute.
Open trials refer to studies that are currently recruiting participants or that may recruit participants soon. Closed trials are not currently enrolling additional patients.