The inability to hear sounds completely or in part is referred to as hearing impairment, deafness, or hearing loss. Deafness has numerous types and causes.
Deafness versus hearing loss
Differentiating between the various degrees of hearing loss is crucial.
- Loss of hearing refers to the inability to hear sounds in the same way that others do.
- When a person cannot understand speech through hearing, even when sound is increased, this condition is known as deafness.
- A complete loss of hearing is referred to as profound deafness. A person with extreme deafness is completely deaf to sound.
- The degree of hearing loss is determined by how much louder of a volume a person needs to hear a sound.
Others claim that a diagnosis of profound deafness marks the very end of the hearing range, while others define profoundly deaf and totally deaf in the same way.
What happens when we hear?
The eardrum vibrates as sound waves enter the ear, travel down the auditory canal, and hit it. The middle ear's ossicles receive the eardrum's vibrations through three of these bones.
The vibrations are amplified by these ossicles and then detected by tiny hair-like cells in the cochlea.
These move as the vibrations strike them, and the movement information is transmitted to the brain via the auditory nerve. When the input is processed by the brain, it is perceived as sound by someone with functional hearing.
Hearing loss types
Three main categories of hearing loss exist:
1) Conductive hearing impairment
This indicates that the vibrations from the outer ear are not reaching the cochlea in the inner ear. This kind can happen for a variety of causes, such as:
- excessive earwax buildup sticky ear infection with swelling and fluid accumulation
- a dysfunction of the ossicles an eardrum with a hole in it
- Scar tissue from ear infections may make the eardrum less functional. The ossicles may deteriorate as a result of an infection, trauma, or ankylosis, in which case they fuse together.
2) A sensorineural hearing impairment
Damage to the brain, cochlea, auditory nerve, or inner ear can all lead to hearing loss.
Damaged cochlear hair cells frequently cause this type of hearing loss. Human aging results in hearing loss and partial function loss in hair cells.
Another frequent cause of hair cell destruction is prolonged exposure to loud noises, particularly high-frequency sounds. Hair cells that are damaged cannot be regenerated. Currently, scientists are investigating how to create new hair cells utilizing stem cells.
Congenital defects, ear infections, or head trauma can all result in sensorineural complete deafness.
3) Multiple hearing losses
This hearing loss combines conductive and sensorineural loss. The eardrum and the ossicles can potentially be harmed by persistent ear infections. Surgery can occasionally restore hearing, although it is not usually successful.
Speech and deafness
Depending on when it occurs, hearing loss may impair one's ability to speak.
1. Prelingual deafness
A person with prelingual deafness either has a congenital hearing impairment or will lose their hearing throughout infancy.
Prelingual deaf people are typically raised by hearing parents and siblings. Many people also come from families where sign language is not already spoken. As a result, they frequently develop their language slowly. The rare individuals who were born into signing families typically do not experience language development delays.
2. Post-lingual hearing loss
Post-lingual deafness affects the majority of patients with hearing loss. Before their hearing deteriorated, they learned to speak. They may have lost their hearing as a result of a s
ide effect from medication, trauma, an infection, or a disease.
3. Bi- and unilateral deafness
Bilateral deafness refers to hearing loss in both ears, whereas single-sided deafness (SDD), also known as unilateral deafness, refers to hearing loss in just one ear.
If the other person is on their affected side, a person with a unilateral hearing impairment may find it challenging to carry on a conversation. When compared to people who have good hearing in both ears, locating the source of a sound could be more challenging. It could be challenging to understand others when there is a lot of background noise.
Diagnosis hearing loss
Initially, patients who think anything is amiss with their hearing will visit their doctor.
The doctor will speak with the patient and inquire about the symptoms, including when they first manifested, whether they have gotten worse, and whether the patient experiences pain in addition to their hearing loss.
A medical evaluation for hearing loss
An otoscope will be used by the physician to examine the ear. This device has a light at the end of it. The test could reveal the following:
- an obstruction brought on by a foreign object
- a ruptured eardrum
- the buildup of earwax
- uncleanliness in the ear canal
- if the eardrum has a protrusion, there may be an infection in the middle ear.
- cholesteatoma, a skin growth in the middle ear located beneath the eardrum.
- in the ear canal fluid
- a ruptured eardrum
General examination for hearing loss
The patient's ability to hear words uttered at various volumes and their sensitivity to other noises may be tested by the doctor while they ask the patient to cover one ear.
A doctor may send a patient to an audiologist or an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist if they have hearing loss.
Additional testing will be done, such as:
- Tuning fork test : The Rinne test is another name for the tuning fork test. A tuning fork is a two-pronged metal instrument that makes sound when hit. The doctor may use straightforward tuning fork tests to determine whether there is hearing loss and where the issue is.
- Test with an audiometer: The patient wears earbuds, and sounds are played one at a time into each ear. The patient is exposed to a variety of sounds in varying tones. Every time a sound is heard, the patient must signal.
- Test for bone oscillators: This determines how well the ossicles can withstand vibrations. The mastoid is pressed up against a bone oscillator. The goal is to evaluate how well the nerve that sends these signals to the brain is working.
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