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If a person does not hear a single sound, this is a serious problem. It is more difficult to navigate in space, vision alone is not enough for a comfortable life. Furthermore. Deafness can lead to accidents.
What is deafness
Doctors in their practice use the terms deafness and hearing loss. It is important to understand how they differ.
– Hearing loss and deafness are variants of hearing loss. In clinical practice, hearing loss implies hearing loss, divided into 4 degrees, depending on the severity of hearing loss. Deafness is the complete loss of hearing. otorhinolaryngologist Alexandra Gershevskaya. Hearing loss can be congenital or acquired, acute or chronic.
Causes of deafness in humans
There are two forms of deafness:
- congenital – a child is born with it;
- acquired – a person loses hearing during life.
The causes of these two conditions are different.
With congenital deafness, this may be the genetic, hereditary nature of the lack of hearing. If one or both parents are deaf, the risk of having a deaf child is extremely high. Also, a child can be born deaf, if during the period of laying the hearing aid in the early stages of pregnancy, damaging factors – infections, toxins, drugs – acted.
Acquired deafness can occur as a result of:
- infections that damage the inner ear, auditory nerve, or auditory cortex;
- serious injuries to the ear itself or the brain, conductive nerves;
- taking ototoxic drugs (antibiotics, chemotherapy, etc.);
- negative influence of environmental factors (noise, pressure fluctuations).
Hearing loss can develop suddenly, abruptly, literally on the same day, or develop gradually over months or years.
What are the types of deafness
There are also three types of deafness, which can have different causes of development:
Conductive – This is deafness, which occurs due to the fact that the transmission of sound from the outer ear to the inner is disturbed. It can progress from mild hearing loss to complete hearing loss. Its main reasons:
- the presence of sulfur plugs in the ear canal;
- severe injuries of the outer ear and tympanic membrane;
- otitis (inflammatory processes);
- various diseases of the ear.
Сенсорная Deafness is deafness that occurs when the auditory nerve, which transmits information from the ear to the brain or structures of the inner ear itself, is affected. The main causes of this type of problem (cochlear pathology) are:
- serious infections, including complications of colds;
- frequent and severe stress;
- taking certain drugs;
- injuries.
Mixed – This is hearing loss due to damage to both the outer ear and internal structures, the nerve.
Signs of deafness in a person
The signs of hearing loss seem to be obvious – we are less able to hear the sounds around us. But they are not limited to just this complaint. Sometimes a person may notice a gradual hearing loss over time.
Based on the cause that led to deafness, the signs of the disease may also differ. But the main symptom will be a sharp decrease in hearing acuity, when a person poorly distinguishes speech, music, noises, sound signals. Additionally, there may be:
- subjectively unpleasant sensation, hum or sound, squeak, hiss, buzzer;
- sounds at high frequencies are perceived much worse;
- speech is poorly recognized in conditions of extraneous noise, in places where it is crowded;
- there is a feeling that the body is moving, rotating, or coordination is disturbed;
- dizziness occurs, the image floats;
- sometimes nausea or even vomiting can occur.
Symptoms may be unilateral or appear in both ears at once.
Degrees of deafness in humans
According to severity, deafness is divided into 4 degrees:
- at the first, mildest degree, a person quite clearly hears sounds and speech from a distance of up to 6 m;
- in the second degree, hearing changes progress, the patient hears clearly up to 4 m;
- with the third degree of deafness, the lesions are quite severe, people can make out sounds no further than 2 m – hearing aids can help in this case;
- at the fourth degree, speech is generally indistinguishable, complete deafness occurs.
Treatment of deafness in humans
При появлении признаков снижения слуха нужно обращаться к врачу. Многие формы потери слуха обратимы, и можно восстановить слух хотя бы частично. Есть варианты коррекции слуха аппаратами, но без лечения можно полностью оглохнуть, что снижает качество жизни.
Diagnostics
First of all, the ENT doctor conducts an external examination, assesses the condition of the outer ear, checks hearing using speech (normal and whisper), tuning forks and electro-acoustic devices. He also examines the condition of the auditory tubes using manometry, otoscopy and salpingoscopy, acoustic reflexmetry, photobarometry and impedance audiometry.
If hearing problems are identified, the person is referred for a consultation with an audiologist, who conducts a more detailed clarifying examination. It is important to determine the type of deafness – whether it is sensorineural or conductive. It is possible to consult an otoneurologist if damage to the auditory nerve or cerebral cortex is suspected – he conducts an audiogram (tone), threshold audiometry and examines evoked potentials.
Modern treatments
“Treatment of hearing loss and deafness,” says otorhinolaryngologist Alexandra Gershevskaya, “is possible with both conservative and surgical methods. Conservative therapy is used for sudden hearing loss, most often it takes place in a hospital, since the patient first receives hormonal therapy intravenously, which requires monitoring. In such cases, with timely treatment, hearing recovery is about 90%. For chronic hearing loss, preventive courses of therapy are recommended 1-2 times a year, which are aimed at preventing the progression of the disease.
Surgical methods are used for conductive hearing loss, if otosclerosis, developmental anomalies of the outer and middle ear, purulent or exudative otitis media are detected.
Another group of methods of surgical interventions includes cochlear implantation – it belongs to high-tech operations.
Prevention of deafness in humans at home
Constant noise exposure leads to hearing loss. In our modern world, you need to try to reduce noise loads as much as possible.
Popular questions and answers
What is the danger of hearing loss, how big a problem is it, we asked otorhinolaryngologist Alexander Gershevskaya.