Hearing loss in adults

The ability to hear is a unique feature of a person, it allows you to actively contact the outside world, communicate with people, recognize danger when it is not visible to the eye. Therefore, it is very important to preserve your hearing, and in case of problems, contact a specialist as soon as possible.

Causes of hearing loss in adults

Hearing loss in medicine is called the term “hard of hearing”. The severity of the condition can range from mild to complete deafness. The reasons for this are numerous and it is important to know them all in order to avoid serious problems.

Of course, the influence of heredity is high – often the gene for hearing loss is transmitted from parents to children. Then hearing problems can begin in early childhood. In addition, congenital diseases, difficult childbirth, the development of cerebral palsy, trauma during childbirth, if the areas of the outer or inner ear are affected.

Hearing gradually deteriorates with age, problems can occur after the age of 50, when sensitive hair cells gradually die off, wear out, resulting in a decrease in the functioning of the hearing organ. Senile deafness is called a separate term – presbycusis.

Hearing problems can be affected by injuries. These can be damage to the ear itself, craniocerebral, acoustic damage and barotrauma.

Hearing damage is possible when taking certain medications – the so-called ototoxic drugs (especially certain antibiotics).

Some diseases can lead to complications in the ears – these are otitis media, influenza, labyrinthitis, meningitis, otosclerosis, etc.

Foreign bodies in the ear canal, tumors, sulfur plugs can also reduce hearing acuity.

Strong noise, loud noises, music, volleys of guns or fireworks are reflected negatively on hearing. Some professions are dangerous for the development of hearing loss, so the enterprises must wear protective headphones (pilots, mine workers, metro workers, construction workers, bombers).

Symptoms of Hearing Loss in Adults

Hearing loss can be either unilateral or bilateral. Additional manifestations, complaints of patients will depend on this. Symptoms can occur instantly, literally within 1 to 2 hours, or develop over months and years. There are several signs of hearing loss:

• you have to constantly ask again, others repeat what was said several times, raising the volume of their voices;
• you lose the thread of the conversation, do not hear the voices of the interlocutors in the company;
• it is difficult for you to concentrate on a person’s speech, if it is noisy around, you will not hear the words;
• a constant feeling that people around you are talking too quietly;
• it is difficult to communicate in noisy places where there is a background hum;
• you do not hear the voices of children and women;
• when watching TV, you need to add a lot of sound;
• on a subconscious level, you follow the lips of the interlocutor in order to accurately understand what you hear;
• when you are in very quiet places, you hear ringing, noise, squeaking in your ears.

Such feelings can provoke irritation, anxiety, low self-esteem and self-doubt.

Degrees of hearing loss in adults

In ENT practice, there is a term “hearing threshold”. This is the lowest possible volume that a person can hear without extraneous noise or echo. A healthy ear can perceive sounds from 20 dB and below. This is good hearing. Based on the threshold of hearing, doctors can distinguish 4 degrees of severity of hearing loss:

• I degree (rather mild violations) – threshold values ​​​​of 21 – 30 dB, people recognize sounds from a distance of up to 4 – 6 m;
• II degree (more pronounced violations) – threshold values ​​​​of 31 – 50 dB, sounds are heard clearly at a distance of 1 to 4 m;
• III degree (serious hearing impairment) – threshold values ​​​​of 51 – 70 dB, sounds and speech are heard at a distance of no more than 1 m;
• IV degree (extremely deep disorders) – threshold values ​​​​from 71 to 90 dB.

If a person does not hear well even sounds over 90 dB, this is almost complete deafness.

Treatment of hearing loss in adults

When it comes to problems with the outer and middle ear, this is conductive hearing loss. If auditory receptors are damaged, it will be sensorineural hearing loss. A mixed form of pathology is also possible. Each of them is treated in its own way, with drugs, devices or operations.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis of hearing loss can be made by an ENT doctor during an examination. The following procedures and studies are shown:

• otoscopy with a special device;
• audiometry;
• hearing test with tuning forks;
• tympanometry;
• CT or MRI.

If necessary, the doctor consults with an audiologist or otoneurologist.

Modern methods of treatment of adult hearing loss

“Treatment of hearing loss is possible with both conservative and surgical methods of treatment,” says otorhinolaryngologist Alexandra Gershevskaya. – Conservative therapy is used for sudden hearing loss, most often the treatment takes place in a hospital, since the patient first of all receives hormonal therapy intravenously, and his condition requires observation. In such cases, with timely treatment, the percentage of 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.

Doctors can also offer hearing aids to correct hearing. Currently, these are modern, inconspicuous devices that are very convenient to use. The device is selected individually and adjusted to the patient so that wearing is as comfortable as possible – this allows you to achieve maximum sound and correction of hearing loss.

If a person has bilateral hearing loss, then it is preferable to have both ears prosthetics. A comparison can be made with buying glasses: if a patient has a decrease in vision, he will not wear glasses in only one eye. Same here. In other cases, hearing aids are used in the better hearing ear.

Prevention of hearing loss in adults at home

“The basis of prevention,” says otorhinolaryngologist Alexandra Gershevskaya, is the limitation of noise load, timely treatment by a specialist of diseases of the ENT organs. It is also necessary to avoid taking ototoxic drugs, timely vaccination against infections that can affect hearing acuity should be carried out.

Popular questions and answers

What problems can be with hearing loss, how dangerous it is and whether it is possible to restore hearing, she told us otorhinolaryngologist Alexandra Gershevskaя.