Conductive Hearing Loss Research Paper

Hearing loss continues to linger in the elderly population of today’s society. Yet, the onset of hearing loss can occur at any age and at any point in

When a person with normal hearing hears the sound travels along the ear then bounces against the ear drum. The eardrum, the bones inside, and the cochlea vibrate and move thousands of tiny hairs inside the ear. When these hairs move an electrical response occurs. This electrical response goes to the hearing nerve and then it is send to the brain.

This happens in two ways: listening at too high of a volume, or listening for too long. Studies have confirmed the obvious fact that “the louder the noise and the longer you’re hearing it, the greater the risk of hearing loss” (Siegel). This study concluded that an increasing amount of teens are suffering hearing loss and “wearing earbuds to listen to music may be to blame” (Siegel). The knowledge of loud sounds hurting the ear is well known, but not as many people are aware of the problems caused by listening to music for an extended amount of time. “Constant low-level noise might cause hearing problems, a new study in rats finds” (Cheung). Even music at a low level can damage a listener’s hearing if heard for an extended period of time, but what can losing some hearing really do to a

The ear is an extraordinary human organ that many people take for granted until it doesn’t function. It is the only device that allows the human to hear sounds in their environment. The ear is made up of many parts that distinguish various sounds through different means. The ear anatomy and physiology along with how sound waves are transmitted into meaningful sounds will help one understand how hearing loss occurs.

The patient stated suffering several ear infections during her childhood. As a result, she states she has developed occasional ringing in her ears, but she reports that it does not distract her hearing.

This is when sound cannot pass efficiently through the outer and middle ear to the cochlea and auditory nerve. The most common type of conductive deafness in children is caused by ‘glue ear’. Glue ear (or otitis media) affects about one in five children at any time.

Long-term noise exposure is an example; this is due to the damage that the noise exposure can have on the sensory hair cells. Sensory hair cells are what allow you to hear and if damaged the ability to hear is reduced and these hair cells do not grow back. As Colin was a car mechanic this meant he will have been in contact and close proximity to loud equipment and machinery daily, this could have had a detrimental effect to his hearing and prevented him from hearing Mary. Other environmental factors include ototoxic drugs, genetic factors and cell damage and neural degeneration which are common effects of aging. Ototoxic drugs can effect hearing as they can damage the inner ear including the hair cells and also the auditory nerve, this is important as it carries the sound information to the

The hearing tests with the tuning fork demonstrated a form of conductive hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss is seen in people with cerumen impaction, middle ear effusions, cholesteatomas and otoslcerosis. However, inspection of the external ear canal and middle ear revealed cleared tympanic membranes. Upon a further audiometric work, up, a carhart notch was noted which is consistent with otoslcerosis.

Deafness can be the result of many different causes such as otitis media (middle ear infections), hereditary disorders, genetic mutations at birth, prenatal exposure to certain diseases such as meningitis, and trauma to the eardrum or auditory nerves. (Better Health Channel, 2013)

Hearing loss can affect one or both ears. It may be difficult to hear particularly low sounds. Also due to the change in pressure of the endolymph fluid, patients may feel fullness or pressure deep in the ear. Eventually most people will experience long term hearing loss. Other symptoms may include feeling anxious, sensitive to noise or feeling sick and vomiting. Although the symptoms take place unexpectedly, Ménière’s is a progressive disease which occurs over three main stages of symptoms.

Cerumen impaction happens when the wax get built up and stuck in the ear canal. Things that can cause cerumen impaction is cleaning your ears with a Q tips, bobby pins, and tooth picks. When you put objects in your ears you push the wax down further into your ear, while

Conductive hearing loss is from one or more deformity with the outer, inner, or middle ear which impacts sound from transferring to the nerves 5. Conductive hearing loss is often corrected with surgery, drugs, or hearing aids. Sensorineural hearing loss affects the cochlea, which transfers the sounds vibrations to the nerves 5. Although hearing aids are typically used for conductive hearing loss, a profoundly deaf sensorineural patient needs to complete a 6-month trial with them before they are considered ineffective and referred on for further testing for cochlear implant candidacy 5. Sensorineural hearing loss is primarily due to a malfunctioning cochlea so doctors run a hearing test to see how many decibels can be picked up by the cochlea. For pediatric patients to qualify for implants they need to be considered profoundly deaf in both ears. The tone threshold for mild hearing loss is between 21 and 40 dBHL (decibels Hearing Level) and profound hearing loss is greater than 90 dBHL 5. Typically, a pediatric patient looking for cochlear implants will go through a battery of speech-recognition testing while simultaneously undergoing the audiological

Age is the most common factor in increasing hearing loss. About 30 percent of people between 65 and 74 experience some difficulty in hearing. That percentage and the severity of the loss increase with age.

Anyone of any age who has highly impaired hearing loss or suffers from being deaf could have a cochlear implant. Damage to the inner ear, Aging, prolonged exposure to loud noise and diseases such as rubella (German measles) or mumps may cause wear and tear on the hairs or nerve cells in the cochlea that send sound signals to the brain. When

only by the patient. Because the inner ear has no pain fibers, damage is not