WHAT ARE THE COMMON SYMPTOMS OF HEARING LOSS ??

In layman term - A Person who is not able to hear completely or partially, a normal conversation

According to World Health Organization :

  • By 2050 nearly 2.5 billion people are projected to have some degree of hearing loss and at least 700 million will require hearing rehabilitation.

  • Over 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices.

Signs and symptoms of hearing loss may include:

  • Muffling/Fading/Blurring of speech and other sounds.

  • Difficulty understanding words, especially against background noise or in a crowd or some talking from behind or making distance or not visible speakers face(specially Lips)

  • Frequently asking others to speak again, clearly or loudly.

  • Needing to turn up the volume of the television or radio or mobile phone

  • Withdrawal their self from conversations

  • Avoidance of some social gathering etc.

CAUSES OF HEARING LOSS?

We divide causes of hearing loss in three major categories:

   1. Pre-Natal: Various infective etiologies causing prenatal deafness include maternal Toxoplasma, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, and Herpes (TORCH) infections, meningitis, mumps, measles, and others like if mom consumed alcohol or taking stress this may also affected the hearing health of baby.

  2. Natal: Delayed birth cry or some medical issues can also affect the hearing health of baby.

  3. Post-Natal: After birth, head trauma or childhood infections, such as meningitis, measles or chicken pox, can cause permanent hearing loss. Certain medications like mycine family also can be the cause of the child's hearing health.

Apart from above mentioned factors some more factors are:

  A. Aging: Gradually as a person gets older due to that there are some changes in inner ear, auditory nerve and inside the blood circulation in inner ear, that’s affect our hearing health.

  B. Loud noise: Exposure to loud sounds can damage the cells of our inner ear. That’s affect our hearing health.

  C. Heredity: It’s also at risk side to transmit like diabetic, blood pressure and thyroid.

  D. Occupational noises: Jobs where loud noise is a regular part of the working environment, like factory worker, construction site worker etc. that’s affect our hearing health also.

  E. Recreational noises or Loud Music: Like firearms or crackers, motorcycling, carpentry or listening to loud music, can cause immediate, permanent hearing loss.

  F. Some illnesses: Diseases or illnesses like high fever (meningitis) may damage the cochlea.



TYPES OF HEARING LOSS:

There are basically four types of hearing loss:

  1. Conductive Hearing Loss: The problem is in our outer ear or external ear. This type of problem mostly resolved by the way of medicine or surgery, some time also required Hearing Aids.

  2. Sensorineural Hearing Loss: The problem is in our inner ear or internal ear. This type of problem is resolved by USING HEARING AIDS or doing COCHLEAR IMPLANTS.

  3. Mixed Hearing Loss: The problem is in our middle ear as well as inner ear (involving two areas). This type of problem mostly resolved by the way of medicine or surgery, some time also required Hearing Aids.

  4. Central Hearing Loss: Referring to conditions in which partial or complete loss of hearing occurs due to damage or dysfunction of the CENTRAL AUDITORY NEVOUS SYSTEM.