Hearing loss is often overlooked despite its complexity and how it can be unique to each person. According to the World Health Organization, 1.5 billion people, around the world, live with some degrees of hearing loss out of which around 430 million people require rehabilitation services for their hearing loss.
Types of hearing loss
Hearing loss is defined as one of three types:
Conductive – When sound cannot get through the outer and middle ear. This is often temporary hearing loss and can be fixed with medicine or surgery.
Sensorineural – Occurs in the inner when there are issues which may lead to permanent hearing loss.
Mixed – A combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss due to various conditions that affect different parts of the ear.
Unfortunately, most types of hearing loss are irreversible. However, with proper consultation, you and your doctor or a hearing specialist can take steps to improve what you hear.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of hearing loss may include:
Muffling of speech and other sounds
Experiencing pain or an uncomfortable feeling in your ear
Difficulty understanding words, especially with background noise or in a crowd
Trouble hearing consonants or high pitched sounds like voices of children and women
Frequently asking others to repeat themselves or to speak slowly, clearly and loudly
Needing to turn up the volume on electronics like the television or radio
Withdrawal from conversations as it is too difficult to keep up
If you are suffering from some of the symptoms above, we would strongly recommend you to visit audiologist or hearing specialist to test your hearing and identify hearing solutions that will work well for you.
You can also test your hearing, using this free online hearing test.
Causes
To better understand how hearing loss occurs, we will have to look at how the ear functions and how you can hear sounds.
How you hear
Your ear consists of three major areas: outer, middle and inner ear. Sound waves pass through the outer ear and cause vibrations at the eardrum. The eardrum and the small bones of the middle ear amplify the vibrations as they travel to the inner ear. These vibrations then pass through fluid in a snail-shaped structure in the inner ear (cochlea).
Attached to the nerve cells in the cochlea are thousands of tiny hairs that help translate the sound vibrations into electrical signals that are transmitted to your brain. Your brain perceives these signals as sound.
How hearing loss can occur
There are many causes of hearing loss. It is important to figure out what is causing the hearing loss to determine the right treatment. Some causes of hearing loss include:
Aging: Degeneration of inner ear structures occurs over time resulting in wear and tear on the hairs or nerve cells in the cochlea. Higher pitched tones may become muffled and it becomes difficult for your to pick out words against background noise.
Loud noise: Exposure to loud sounds can damage the cells of your inner ear. Damage can occur with long-term exposure to loud noises, or from a short blast of noise.
Gradual buildup of earwax: Earwax can block the ear canal and prevent conduction of sound waves. Earwax removal can help restore your hearing.
Ruptured eardrum: Loud blasts of noise, sudden changes in pressure, poking your eardrum with an object, and infection can cause your eardrum to rupture and affect your hearing.
Ear infection and abnormal bone growths or tumors: In the outer or middle ear, any of these can cause hearing loss.
Some medications: Drugs such as the antibiotic gentamicin and certain chemotherapy drugs, can damage the inner ear.
Diseases or illnesses: Especially those types that cause high fever, such as meningitis, may damage the cochlea.
Treatments
While there is no cure for hearing loss, there are various treatments. The most common treatment is to wear hearing aids or cochlear implants. Hearing aids and cochlear implants are technologies that amplify and process sound to increase sound clarity and volume.
Our hearing aids, such as the Vista B-R, are designed to improve your hearing while maintaining your lifestyle. With simple interface and intuitive design, you are able to stream music and make phone calls from any smartphones directly to the hearing aids.
With premium performance in up to 7 different environments, the sophisticated features enables you to focus on speech and know where the conversation is coming from in crowds and background noise. It also automatically detects and improves where sounds come from in quiet places or when listening to music.
Although it is a major life adjustment to live with hearing aids, many people with hearing loss view it as another technological empowerment in their daily routines.
Comentários