Treatment depends on the specific cause if known as well as the extent, type, and configuration of the hearing loss. Most hearing loss results from age and noise, is progressive, and irreversible. There are currently no approved or recommended treatments to restore hearing; it is commonly managed through using hearing aids. A few specific types of hearing loss are amenable to surgical treatment. In other cases, treatment involves addressing underlying pathologies, but any hearing loss incurred may be permanent.
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Public health considerations.
Management of hearing loss in older age especially is increasingly gaining specialized attention with "hearing health" becoming a recognized domain within overall health to support for healthy aging. A number of public health studies have shown the presence of a relationship between unaddressed hearing loss in older adults (i.e., not addressed with hearing aids or other strategies) and other conditions such as depression and declines in cognition and dementia. Many of these types of studies however only provide incomplete knowledge about these relationships with hearing loss. Such findings need to be interpreted cautiously as none are currently indicating that one condition causes the other.
The current evidence available can be more properly interpreted as providing scientific rationale for needing to support and conduct more and different types studies in order to accurately decipher whether other conditions like dementia are due to hearing loss. Managing hearing loss through a variety of strategies has been shown to provide substantial benefits for improving quality-of-life, communication, and psychosocial wellness, yet the majority of these studies do not reflect the shifting demographics found within the U.S. population. A systematic review of the literature found that race/ethnicity as well as sex were not well-represented nor at times tracked as participants in a large number of clinical trials.
Hearing aids.
Hearing aids are devices that work by improving audibility of environmental sounds and speech comprehension for users with hearing loss. They amplify sound vibrations traveling through the air so that the user may follow voices and conversations around them better. Hearing aids have been shown to benefit adults with mild to moderate hearing loss in common everyday situations and may potentially contribute to some notable improvements in physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being. Despite these benefits, hearing aid use remains low among older adults in the United States with less than 20% of those with hearing loss reportedly using them in a nationally representative survey. Furthermore, up to 40% of adults who have hearing aids for hearing loss fail to use them, or do not use them to their full effect. A range of factors likely contribute to the low use of hearing aids such as, user dissatisfaction with the quality of device performance (e.g., increasing background noise instead of desirable sounds); issues with comfort, care, or maintenance of the device; aesthetic factors; issues with accessing necessary care; financial factors including challenges in affordability; and other prohibitive factors due to personal preferences.
There is little evidence that interventions to encourage the regular use of hearing aids, (e.g. improving the information given to people about how to use hearing aids), increase daily hours of hearing aid use, and there is currently no agreed set of outcome measures for measuring success for this type of intervention.
US Medicare coverage.
Hearing aids are traditionally acquired through licensed hearing care professionals such as audiologists or hearing instrument specialists in a clinic- or storefront-based setting in the United States. Traditional Medicare policies do not cover the cost of professionally acquired hearing aids nor any rehabilitative services associated with it. The same policy also only provides coverage for hearing exams that are medically relevant, and otherwise do not cover the costs of an exam if one were for purposes of fitting a hearing aid. Some supplemental Medicare Advantage plans offer limited coverage, although a 2016 analysis of the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) revealed that 75% of hearing-related services were still paid out-of-pocket.
Wireless hearing aids.
A wireless device has two main components: a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter broadcasts the captured sound, and the receiver detects the broadcast audio and enables the incoming audio stream to be connected to accommodations such as hearing aids or captioning systems.
Three types of wireless systems are commonly used: FM, audio induction loop, and InfraRed. Each system has advantages and benefits for particular uses. FM systems can be battery operated or plugged into an electrical outlet. FM system produce an analog audio signal, meaning they have extremely high fidelity. Many FM systems are very small in size, allowing them to be used in mobile situations. The audio induction loop permits the listener with hearing loss to be free of wearing a receiver provided that the listener has a hearing aid or cochlear implant processor with an accessory called a "telecoil". Listeners without a telecoil must carry a receiver with an earpiece. As with FM systems, the infrared (IR) system also requires a receiver to be worn or carried by the listener. An advantage of IR wireless systems is that people in adjoining rooms cannot listen in on conversations, making it useful for situations where privacy and confidentiality are required. Another way to achieve confidentiality is to use a hardwired amplifier, which contains or is connected to a microphone and transmits no signal beyond the earpiece plugged directly into it.
Over-the-counter hearing aids.
Growing concerns surrounding the accessibility and affordability of hearing care, including hearing aids, in the United States contributed to the publication of an expert consensus report recommending the introduction of legislative actions. One legislative policy, the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017 compelled the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to create a new class of technologies that would facilitate the regulation of devices which members of the public may purchase over-the-counter. The legislation originally instituted a statutory deadline of three years (August 18, 2020) for the FDA to implement these new measures, but competing priorities due to the COVID-19 response reportedly delayed progress.
Assistive devices.
Many deaf and hard of hearing individuals use assistive devices in their daily lives:
Direct-to-consumer technologies.
There is increasing evidence about the benefits that certain direct-to-consumer technologies, sometimes referred to as personal sound amplification products (PSAPs), provide as an alternative to conventional hearing aids acquired through licensed professionals. Options can range from smaller devices worn at the ear-level which look very similar to some types of hearing aids to larger "body-worn" types that are hand-held, which may be more appropriate for individuals with certain physical limitations.
Smartphone- and tablet-based technologies.
The continuing innovation of consumer technologies introduces more accessibility options through applications and built-in operating system features that people with hearing loss may explore for supporting effective communication. For example, speech-to-text applications can be used to generate live captions to read should an individual be in a more challenging listening environment or situation. Some applications that provide additional amplification are also available that users may download.
Communication strategies.
Hearing care professionals also promote the use of certain communication strategies, which can be used in conjunction with technologies like hearing aids or without, for maintaining effective communication. Strategies broadly include two categories: Communication behaviors and environmental modification. Some examples of communication behaviors include:
Along with environmental modifications like removing background noise and ensuring good lighting, applying communication strategies can help speakers and listeners enhance their conversations.
Face Masks.
The increased use of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted increased reports of the communication barriers they introduce. Face masks reduce the audibility of speech and eliminates many meaningful visual facial cues, making it more difficult for people with hearing loss to effectively communicate. In addition the a few of the behavioral strategies described above, the use of clear face masks are also promoted in addition.
Surgery.
There is no treatment, surgical or otherwise, for sensorineural hearing loss due to the most common causes (age, noise, and genetic defects). For a few specific conditions, surgical intervention can provide a remedy:
Surgical and implantable hearing aids are an alternative to conventional external hearing aids. 
If the ear is dry and not infected, an air conduction aid could be tried; if the ear is draining, a direct bone conduction hearing aid is often the best solution. If the conductive part of the hearing loss is more than 30–35 dB, an air conduction device could have problems overcoming this gap. A bone-anchored hearing aid could, in this situation, be a good option. The active bone conduction hearing implant Bonebridge (a product of MED-EL corporation) is also an option. This implant is invisible under the intact skin and therefore minimises the risk of skin irritations.
Cochlear implants improve outcomes in people with hearing loss in either one or both ears. They work by artificial stimulation of the cochlear nerve by providing an electric impulse substitution for the firing of hair cells. They are expensive, and require programming along with extensive training for effectiveness.
Cochlear implants as well as bone conduction implants can help with single sided deafness. Middle ear implants or bone conduction implants can help with conductive hearing loss.
People with cochlear implants are at a higher risk for bacterial meningitis. Thus, meningitis vaccination is recommended. People who have hearing loss, especially those who develop a hearing problem in childhood or old age, may need support and technical adaptations as part of the rehabilitation process. Recent research shows variations in efficacy but some studies show that if implanted at a very young age, some profoundly impaired children can acquire effective hearing and speech, particularly if supported by appropriate rehabilitation.
Education.
For a classroom setting, children with hearing loss often benefit from direct instruction and communication as such as sign languages. Optimally children with hearing loss will be mainstreamed in a typical classroom and receive supportive services. One such is to sit as close to the teacher as possible improves the student's ability to hear the teacher's voice and to more easily read the teacher's lips. When lecturing, teachers can help the student by facing them and by limiting unnecessary noise in the classroom. In particular, the teacher can avoid talking when their back is turned to the classroom, such as while writing on a whiteboard. Instructing while using a sign language is often consider the best option for Deaf/Hard of Hearing students.
Some other approaches for classroom accommodations include pairing Deaf/Hard of Hearing students with hearing students. This allows the Deaf/Hard of Hearing student to ask the hearing student questions about concepts that they have not understood. The use of CART (Communication Access Real Time) systems, where an individual types a captioning of what the teacher is saying, is also beneficial. The student views this captioning on their computer. Automated captioning systems are also becoming a popular option. In an automated system, software, instead of a person, is used to generate the captioning. Unlike CART systems, automated systems generally do not require an Internet connection and thus they can be used anywhere and anytime. Another advantage of automated systems over CART is that they are much lower in cost. However, automated systems are generally designed to only transcribe what the teacher is saying and to not transcribe what other students say. An automated system works best for situations where just the teacher is speaking, whereas a CART system will be preferred for situations where there is a lot of classroom discussion.
For those students who are completely Deaf, one of the most common interventions is having the child communicate with a Teacher of Deaf and others through an interpreter using sign language.
Deaf school.
Deaf school is where all Deaf/Hard of Hearing students enroll together, the usage of sign language at school is regularly. The Deaf schools refers to a school system established by government-sponsored to incorporate Deaf/Hard of Hearing students into the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures as such as signing community. Most Deaf schools have dormitory living equipped for students and provide academic, health and socialization program, some students choose to commute daily. Bilingual-bicultural education is one of many approaches used by institutional/residential schools, because many view residential life as the ideal opportunity for students who are Deaf to become familiar with the Deaf community and custom through Sign Language and literature. In Deaf schools, Deaf students would have more advantage in social experience than those who don't attend Deaf school, because of the same communication system that they get to use during social and class time. Some consider iDeaf schools as 'Hogwarts',