Who is affected by hearing loss?
Hearing loss is the most common physical disability in the whole wide world. In the United States alone, about 28 million people have some level of hearing impairment that interferes with their ability to understand normal speech and participate in conversations. Another 2 million cannot hear at all.
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.
Younger people can develop hearing loss as well. Fourteen percent of people between the ages of 45 and 65, and another 8 million people between 18 and 44, suffer from some form of hearing impairment. A
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The following are causes of sensorineural hearing problems in infants:
Infection while still in the womb, such as rubella.
Low birth weight.
High bilirubin count (jaundice).
Problems during delivery.
Some medications harmful to the ear taken during pregnancy, such as amino glycosides (a class of antibiotics), certain water pills, and certain chemotherapy drugs.
The following may increase the risk of hearing loss:
Diabetes.
Blood vessel disorders, including high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis.
A tumor or a blood clot that affects the hearing part of the brain or the auditory nerves.
Multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases.
Trauma to the ear or a sharp injury.
Lack of oxygen during birth.
Medications
Certain medications, if used for long periods of time or in big amounts, may lead to permanent damage to the inner ear. They include:
High doses of aspirin.
Quinine, used to treat malaria, can produce deafness and tinnitus. The effect is usually reversible if it is discontinued.
Certain antibiotics, including certain "mycins," like high-dose erythromycin, gentamycin and tobramycin.
Symptoms
People with hearing loss may experience some, or all, of the following problems:
Difficulty hearing conversations, especially when there is background noise.
Difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds, such as the voices of women or children.
Difficulty hearing the television or radio at a normal
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 sound of your parents voice, hearing your favorite song playing on the radio, even knowing the sound of your own voice, these are just a few sounds that sadly many of us take for granted, and unfortunately many will never get to experience. Hearing loss affects about 10% of the Global population, with 124.2 million people affected from a moderate level to a severe disability. (WHO 2008)
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
Peripheral hearing loss, in addition to other types of hearing loss, is very common among the elderly. For those who develop permanent, peripheral hearing loss in older age, there are two main etiologies. Exposure to severe acoustic trauma can cause hearing loss at any age. However, a life-time exposure of lower level environmental noise can also lead to hearing loss due to noise. In addition, the phenomenon of presbycusis, age related hearing loss, also occurs in a large number of elderly people. This paper seeks to untangle the connections and interactions between noise induced hearing loss and presbycusis in older adults.
Between the ages of ten and thirty is when hearing loss generally begins. The beginning stage is called otospongiosis. The remodeling of the otic capsule is now
Hearing loss can be caused by congenital defect or acquired illness or accidents. In order to simulate people with hearing loss, I wore earplugs for 8 hours last Saturday to experience their feeling. Even though earplugs have pretty good sound insulation, my experience was still a little better than those people with hearing loss because I could hear my voice clearly when talking to others. Except this little pity, it was a special day for me. It happened from that morning.
The official cause of Meniere’s Disease isn't still completely understood. It is presumed to be caused due to a large amount of fluid called endolymph built up in the inner ear. When different events cause the inner ear fluid to fluctuate, this disease can occur. There are other possible triggers such as, improper fluid draining, head trauma and viral infections. Since there is not a known single cause for this disease doctors believe Meniere's is due to a combination of these different factors.
By your history and description, I must suggest that you stop taking azithromycin for now, return to your physician and ask for a replacement drug. Senineural hearing loss is usually reversible but may be irreversible on low dose azithromycin, if taken over longer period.
Tinnitus is an ongoing ear noise affected by the build-up of wax or medicine that is dangerous in the ear structures. It also caused by the inner ear cell damage. Once these hairs split in the inner ear, they leak random electrical impulses to the brain, resulting in tinnitus (Brinson, 2006). These are tiny soft hair in the inner ear that moves about due to the pressure of sound waves. The hairs activate ear cells to release electrical signal over the auditory nerve to the brain. Then the brain will convert these signals into sound, the perception of sound such as ringing in the absence of any external stimulus. Thus, can distress and affect the person’s freedom (Burkey. 2006).
However, you should make an appointment with your doctor if you notice the symptoms occurring with regularity, especially if it is accompanied by bouts of vertigo. Tinnitus is most commonly caused by exposure to loud noises. Typical work regulations require you to use hearing protection in environments that have noise levels around or above 80-85 dB. The louder the noise, the less you need to be exposed to it for typical Tinnitus symptoms to manifest. Aside from exposure to loud noises, Tinnitus can also be caused by blood vessel related disorders, illnesses like Meniere’s disease, physical injuries to the head and neck area etc. There are many serious causes that Tinnitus can alert you to, which is why it’s so important to have it checked
People who are hearing impaired experience issues at school, work, and in their personal life. Although there are varying degrees of hearing impairments, there are several accommodations that could be made to support individuals with hearing loss. Each individuals is unique therefore, accommodations may vary from person to person. The March of Dimes defines a hearing impairment as “the decreased ability to hear and discriminate among sounds.” There are several degrees of hearing loss but the most important thing to remember is that any individual with a hearing impairment will need accommodations that a person without a hearing impairment won’t. People often have preconceived ideas about people with disabilities and that can
It is estimated that 48 million people have some form of hearing loss; most of these individuals are between the ages of 20 and 69. Adults should establish a baseline test as early as possible in order to receive the proper care and treatment if hearing loss does occur later in life.
In some cases, a vitamin deficiency isn't the cause. Tinnitus can be a symptom that resulted from trauma to the ear due to prolonged loud noises or hobbies like scuba diving. Studies have shown that magnesium can help with those who suffer from trauma. It should be increased to 250 mg three times per day to be
Infections are treated with antibiotics or other antifungal medication. Chronic ear infections, fluid in the middle ear, and the benign tumors are corrected with surgery. When conductive hearing loss is caused by head trauma surgery is also used to correct the damage in the middle ear structures (Hearing Loss Association of America). The most common reason older people have conductive hearing loss is from impacted earwax. As we age, ear wax becomes drier and sticker. This makes it more likely for the ear wax to build up and become impacted. When this occurs, your hearing will become muffled because the ear canal is blocked and cannot receive the sound waves as well. This can be treated by simply having your doctor remove the impacted earwax (HealthinAging,
In previous studies, researchers were unable to distinguish the effects of age and hearing loss due to issues of sample size. Gallun et al. (2013) conducted a study to investigate the effects of age on SRM. Four