Hearing loss : Most Common problem for older adults
Hearing loss is one of the difficult problems to understand, follow or participate in conversations. You will face struggle to understand what people are saying on TV or in telephone calls and you might miss some pleasant natural sounds. Hearing loss plays a major role which affects your ability to work and enjoy life.
Three types of hearing loss:
Usually, you can’t hear back. But there are some ways to improve your hearing power.
This type of hearing loss is associated with the ear canal, ear drum, or middle part of the ear and its little bones of the malleus, incus, and stapes.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL)is a loss of hearing level which is associated with the inner ear, also known as nerve-related hearing loss.
Mixed Hearing Loss
Mixed Hearing Loss is mainly associated by a mixing of both conductive damage in the outer part of the ear or middle part of the ear and also it causes sensorineural damage in the inner ear of cochlea or auditory nerve.
How you hear
Three main parts of the ear: the outer ear, middle ear and the inner ear.When you speak, sound waves pass through the outer ear which cause the eardrum to vibrate.Usually the eardrum and three small bones in the middle ear makes that vibrations bigger which travels to the inner ear. In there, vibrations pass the fluids in a snail-shaped part of the inner ear which is known as the cochlea.
Generally nerve cells are attached to cochlea which has thousands of tiny hairs that help to turn your sound vibrations into electrical signals. That electrical signals are transmitted to the brain. And then, the brain turns these electrical signals into sound.
How hearing loss can occur
Major Causes of hearing loss includes:
Damage to the inner ear. Age and loud noise both can cause you to wear and tear on the hairs inside the inner part of the ear or nerve cells in the cochlea which send sound signals to the brain. If the damaged or missing hairs or nerve cells which don’t send electrical signals well. This damage causes hearing loss.
High pitch tones might seem muffled. This will be hard to pick the words against loud background noises.
Buildup of earwax. Over a period of time, earwax can block the ear canal and it keeps the sound waves from passing through. This removal of earwax can help restore hearing.
Unusual bone growths or tumors or Ear infection. In the outer or missile part of the ear, any of these infections or unusual growths can cause hearing loss.
Ruptured eardrum, also known as tympanic membrane perforation. Sudden loud blast of noise, and changes in pressure, poke an eardrum with an object and infection which can cause the eardrum to burst.
Ageing. Over a period of time, the inner ear breaks down.
Loud noise. If you are around loud sounds can cause damage to the nerve cells of the inner ear. Damages can be caused by being around by loud noises over the period. Or damage can also happen by hearing sudden gunshots.
Heredity. Your genes will cause you to have ear damage from sound or ageing.
Noises on the job. Jobs based on loud noise like farming,construction or factory work which leads to damaging inner parts of the ear.
Noises at play. If you are around explosive noises like firearms and jet engines will cause immediate and permanent hearing loss. Some other playing activities of dangerous high noise level games and hobbies are snowmobiling, motorcycling, carpentry or listening to loud music.
Some medicines. If you undergo any medications like antibiotic gentamicin, sildenafil (Viagra) and specific medicines which help to treat cancer that damages the inner part of the ear. If you take high doses of aspirin, pain relievers,antimalarial drugs or loop diuretics which cause short-term effects on hearing.These includes tinnitus, or hearing loss.
Some illnesses. Illness like meningitis which causes high fever, and it can harm the cochlea.
Should protect your ears. You should stay away from dangerous loud noises is the best prevention. If your workplace is around loud noise, use plastic earplugs or glycerin-filled earmuffs which helps to protect hearing.
Test your hearing level. If you work under a lot of noise, you should think about taking regular hearing tests. If you lost some hearing level, you can take some treatments to prevent it from further loss.
Should avoid risks from hobbies and play. If you have hobbies like Riding a snowmobile or a jet ski, hunting, using power tools, or listening to rock concerts will damage your hearing power over the period of time. If you wear hearing protectors or take some breaks from the noise, it will protect your ears. And another point is to turn down the volume of music helps too.
- Conductive hearing loss,this type usually involves the outer or middle part of the ear.
- Sensorineural hearing loss, this type usually involves the inner part of the ear.
- Mixed hearing loss, this type usually is a mix of the two, both middle and outer parts.
Usually, you can’t hear back. But there are some ways to improve your hearing power.
Types
Conductive Hearing LossThis type of hearing loss is associated with the ear canal, ear drum, or middle part of the ear and its little bones of the malleus, incus, and stapes.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL)is a loss of hearing level which is associated with the inner ear, also known as nerve-related hearing loss.
Mixed Hearing Loss
Mixed Hearing Loss is mainly associated by a mixing of both conductive damage in the outer part of the ear or middle part of the ear and also it causes sensorineural damage in the inner ear of cochlea or auditory nerve.
Symptoms
Symptoms of hearing loss may include:- More of Muffel speech and other sounds.
- It’s very hard to understanding words particularly in a crowd or noisy place.
- Troubleness of hearing alphabets that are not vowels
- Most often asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly to understand.
- Need more volume of the television or radio to watch.
- Bothering by large background noises
- Hearing Ringing sounds in the ears, known as tinnitus.
Causes
If you want to know how hearing loss happens, it will be helpful to understand how your hearing works.How you hear
Three main parts of the ear: the outer ear, middle ear and the inner ear.When you speak, sound waves pass through the outer ear which cause the eardrum to vibrate.Usually the eardrum and three small bones in the middle ear makes that vibrations bigger which travels to the inner ear. In there, vibrations pass the fluids in a snail-shaped part of the inner ear which is known as the cochlea.
Generally nerve cells are attached to cochlea which has thousands of tiny hairs that help to turn your sound vibrations into electrical signals. That electrical signals are transmitted to the brain. And then, the brain turns these electrical signals into sound.
How hearing loss can occur
Major Causes of hearing loss includes:
Damage to the inner ear. Age and loud noise both can cause you to wear and tear on the hairs inside the inner part of the ear or nerve cells in the cochlea which send sound signals to the brain. If the damaged or missing hairs or nerve cells which don’t send electrical signals well. This damage causes hearing loss.
High pitch tones might seem muffled. This will be hard to pick the words against loud background noises.
Buildup of earwax. Over a period of time, earwax can block the ear canal and it keeps the sound waves from passing through. This removal of earwax can help restore hearing.
Unusual bone growths or tumors or Ear infection. In the outer or missile part of the ear, any of these infections or unusual growths can cause hearing loss.
Ruptured eardrum, also known as tympanic membrane perforation. Sudden loud blast of noise, and changes in pressure, poke an eardrum with an object and infection which can cause the eardrum to burst.
Risk factors
Some of the factors which damage or leading to loss of the hairs and nerve cells in the inner part of the ear which includes:Ageing. Over a period of time, the inner ear breaks down.
Loud noise. If you are around loud sounds can cause damage to the nerve cells of the inner ear. Damages can be caused by being around by loud noises over the period. Or damage can also happen by hearing sudden gunshots.
Heredity. Your genes will cause you to have ear damage from sound or ageing.
Noises on the job. Jobs based on loud noise like farming,construction or factory work which leads to damaging inner parts of the ear.
Noises at play. If you are around explosive noises like firearms and jet engines will cause immediate and permanent hearing loss. Some other playing activities of dangerous high noise level games and hobbies are snowmobiling, motorcycling, carpentry or listening to loud music.
Some medicines. If you undergo any medications like antibiotic gentamicin, sildenafil (Viagra) and specific medicines which help to treat cancer that damages the inner part of the ear. If you take high doses of aspirin, pain relievers,antimalarial drugs or loop diuretics which cause short-term effects on hearing.These includes tinnitus, or hearing loss.
Some illnesses. Illness like meningitis which causes high fever, and it can harm the cochlea.
Diagnosis
Some test to diagnose hearing loss which include:- Physical exam
- Screening tests
- App-based hearing tests
- Tuning fork tests
- Audiometer tests
Prevention
Follow these steps to prevent you from hearing loss from loud noises and it keeps hearing loss due to ageing from getting worse.Should protect your ears. You should stay away from dangerous loud noises is the best prevention. If your workplace is around loud noise, use plastic earplugs or glycerin-filled earmuffs which helps to protect hearing.
Test your hearing level. If you work under a lot of noise, you should think about taking regular hearing tests. If you lost some hearing level, you can take some treatments to prevent it from further loss.
Should avoid risks from hobbies and play. If you have hobbies like Riding a snowmobile or a jet ski, hunting, using power tools, or listening to rock concerts will damage your hearing power over the period of time. If you wear hearing protectors or take some breaks from the noise, it will protect your ears. And another point is to turn down the volume of music helps too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What are 3 types of hearing loss?
Ans: There are three basic types of hearing loss:- Conductive hearing loss.
- Sensorineural hearing loss.
- Mixed hearing loss.
Q2. What is the cause of loss of hearing?
Ans: Hearing loss is a common problem caused by loud noise, ageing, disease, and genetic variations. About one-third of older adults have hearing loss, and the chance of developing hearing loss increases with age. People with hearing loss may find it hard to have conversations with friends and family.Q3. What is the best treatment for hearing loss?
Ans: A cochlear implant is a small electronic device that can help improve the hearing of people with severe, irreversible hearing loss. It helps to understand more speech than was possible with a hearing aid.Q4. How can I test my hearing?
Ans: Pure-tone hearing test helps to test your hearing level.Q5. Can ear drops improve hearing?
Ans: If your ears are blocked with wax or if your eustachian tubes are stopped up, a prescriptive drop helps which helps to reduce the blockage and it helps to improve your hearing to a degree.
Comments
Post a Comment