What affects our hearing

According to WHO ^{[1] [2]}Today, approximately every 20th inhabitant of the planet has hearing problems, and by 2050 this problem may affect every 10th person. According to rough estimates, in Russia the number of such people is more than 13 million, of which 1 million are children. According to statistics, one thousand healthy babies are born deaf every year. Two more of this number lose the ability to hear during the first year of life. This happens for various reasons: due to prematurity, as a result of a birth injury, as a result of an infectious disease during pregnancy. About half of the cases of congenital deafness are hereditary.

What is hearing

Any specialist will say that in fact a person “hears” with the brain. However, if any part of the ear is damaged or does not function properly, hearing is also impaired. The ear loses the ability to “catch” sound signals and transmit them to the brain.

In order for a person to be able to hear a sound, it must be of a certain level, that is, exceed the threshold of audibility. Anything below the threshold is perceived as silence. Everything that is much higher is perceived with pain. Different people perceive sounds differently, but for most, the pain threshold for sound is about 130 decibels. ^[3]. But the sound, for example, at 35 dB for some may be too loud, while others may not even hear it. Why this happens, we now find out.

What causes hearing loss?

There can be many reasons for hearing loss. In addition, even seemingly harmless human habits can affect the operation of the hearing aid.

Elderly age

The influence of the age factor on the functioning of the hearing aid is already evidenced by the fact that most people with hearing problems are elderly. Let’s look at the statistics again. If among 45-year-olds only 17% have poor hearing, then in the age category after 65 years there are no less than 35% of them.

The reason is that the ears, like any other organ, are subject to age-related changes. And what is important, all parts of the body are aging – starting with the outer ear, ear canal, tympanic cavity and ending with the ear labyrinth. With age, the auricle becomes thin and flabby, the ear canal narrows, and in many it even bends, which disrupts the transmission of sound waves. In older people, the tympanic membrane thickens greatly, the system of functioning of the bones of the middle ear and the joints between them is disrupted. But most importantly, with age, some changes occur in the cerebral cortex, and the functionality of the auditory nerve is also impaired. As a result of these changes, the entire sound-perceiving apparatus suffers.

Heredity

Today, experts know more than 400 genetic disorders that cause hearing problems or complete deafness. ^[4]. In some cases, disorders may appear immediately after birth, in others they may develop at different rates with age.

Injuries and water

Everyone knows cotton swabs, which are used to remove wax from the ears. But if the procedure is carried out incorrectly, the inner ear can be damaged, and this is fraught with deafness.

Hearing loss can be called an occupational disease of swimmers. Of course, not everyone. But only those in which water regularly enters the ears and accumulates behind the eardrum.

Taking certain medications

Almost every medication has a list of side effects. But how often do we read these warnings and, most importantly, how seriously do we take what is written in the instructions for using the medicine? And by the way, some groups of drugs (especially if you take them without a doctor’s prescription or do not follow the treatment regimen) can cause side effects in the form of hearing loss. The most dangerous for the hearing aid are:

• ototoxic antibiotics;
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
• loop diuretics.

Past illnesses

Many ENT diseases (and not only them) can forever leave their mark on the work of the hearing aid.

The most dangerous is otitis media. Moreover, both chronic and acute otitis media, which gave complications, are equally dangerous for the apparatus. In any case, after the illness, scarring can begin in the ear canal, which has an extremely negative effect on the mobility of the auditory ossicles and the tympanic membrane. Therefore, the most common consequence of otitis media is persistent hearing loss.

Infectious diseases that occur with complications can affect the work of the hearing aid. They are the second most common cause of hearing loss. Parotitis (mumps), measles, scarlet fever, and even the common flu can lead to a deterioration in the functioning of the hearing aid. By the way, during a common cold, hearing can also deteriorate for a while (usually within 10-15 decibels). If a runny nose is not treated or treated incorrectly, then it can develop into otitis media (inflammation of the ear), and that can cause damage to the auditory nerve. In addition, during a runny nose, it is very important to properly clean the nose. So that the mucus from it does not get into the ear and does not cause purulent inflammation behind the eardrum, you should first blow out one nostril, then the other. But it is absolutely impossible to clamp both at once, as children do, or it is absolutely impossible to draw mucus inside – a complication in the form of otitis media is guaranteed.

No less dangerous for the hearing aid and thrombosis. Many are afraid of thrombosis, as it can cause blockage of the heart artery. But in the same way, a detached blood clot can clog the vessel of the inner ear, resulting in possible damage to the auditory nerve and deafness. By the way, something similar can happen after a concussion or other head injury.

Other diseases, the complications of which are hearing loss:

• rheumatoid arthritis;
• diabetes;
• Meniere’s disease;
• atherosclerosis.

Noise

The fact that very strong noise or sharp vibrations is bad, even children know. However, we are talking not only about the usual “you can’t shout loudly in your ear”, but also about workers in “noisy” industries. For miners, construction workers, machine builders, machinists and many others, hearing loss is one of the occupational ailments. According to experts, about 4 million people in Russia alone have hearing problems due to their professional activities.

Speaking of excessive noise, one cannot fail to mention concerts and discos. The sound strength on many of them can reach 120-130 dB. To understand what happens to the hearing aid at such events, it is enough to say only one thing: irreversible damage in the ears can begin after just a few hours of listening to sound at 85 dB.

Headphones

Headphones deserve a separate discussion. ENT doctors say it is the main cause of hearing loss in children and young adults. Prolonged listening to the player through headphones with a sound volume of 85 decibels (about the same noise a vacuum cleaner makes) triggers irreversible processes in the ear. If the volume in the headphones is increased by only 3 more points, then the time during which the hearing aid is able to withstand such sound without consequences is reduced by 2 times. But as the researchers found, the sound in the headphones of most young people usually reaches 90-110 dB. Experts have calculated that without harm to the ears, the player can be listened to no more than 1 hour a day and it is better not to use in-ear headphones. And ideally, it is better to completely abandon the players and headphones in favor of a healthy hearing aid.

Long conversations on the phone

Many do not even know, but even talking on the phone can lead to damage to the auditory nerve, and therefore to hearing impairment. Prolonged contact with the ear is an unsafe effect of electromagnetic radiation on the hearing aid. Experts advise talking on a cell phone for a maximum of 3 minutes in a row, then take a break.

Stress

It would seem, what relationship can there be between stress and the work of the hearing aid. But it exists. Let’s say even more: due to stress, you can lose your hearing. The fact is that stress is accompanied by the release of a large amount of adrenaline, due to which the vessels in the body spasm. Everything would be fine, but in the inner ear there is only a single vessel – the labyrinth artery. If a stressful state causes a spasm in it, you can not even dream of the ability to hear well.

Smoking

A group of Japanese researchers came to the conclusion that smoking tobacco can cause hearing loss. Scientists conducted a study ^[5] with the participation of 50 thousand people aged 20 to 64 years. It turned out that people who smoke up to 10 cigarettes a day, the risk of deafness increases by 1,4 times. For those who smoke 10 to 20 cigarettes daily, this figure rises to 1,7.

Scientists believe that the whole point is the toxic effect of nicotine on the body and the violation of blood circulation in smokers, which in combination has a very negative effect on the functioning of the inner ear. But after giving up a bad habit, the hearing of former smokers is almost the same as that of people who have never smoked.

Causes associated with disorders in different parts of the ear:

1. External ear.

In such cases, the cause of hearing loss usually lies in sulfur plugs or in an infection that has entered the ear canal. Eliminating these causes, as a rule, is not difficult.

By the way, recently scientists from the University of Montreal found out that the shape of the auricle also affects the perception of sound, and, as you know, it is unique for all people. If you artificially change its shape, then the ability of the hearing aid to determine the source of sound in space is impaired. In other words, a person hears a sound, but cannot understand where it comes from. True, researchers still recognize that over time, the brain adapts to new conditions and hearing is restored.

2. Middle ear.

The most common cause of this group is damage to the eardrum. This may be an inflammatory process, fluid accumulation or rupture of the membrane. In addition, among the common problems of the middle ear, experts call otosclerosis (impaired mobility of the bones of the middle ear). Most problems associated with impaired functioning of the middle ear are treatable (although some are only through surgery).

3. The inner ear.

If a person completely or partially loses the ability to hear, then in most cases the reason is in violation of the functioning of the inner ear. The cause of such disorders may be the already mentioned age-related changes, excessive exposure to loud sounds in the ear, the use of toxic drugs, head trauma. Unfortunately, changes in the inner ear are usually irreversible processes. With the help of drug therapy, they cannot be stopped or restored to the patient’s condition, but progression can be slowed down.

Hearing impairment: what are

There are 4 degrees of hearing loss:

Grade 1 – slight hearing loss. A person can distinguish sounds from 26 to 40 dB (a healthy hearing aid can pick up the quietest sounds up to 20 dB). With such a deviation, it can be difficult to make out the quiet speech of the interlocutor or to hear distant (6 m or more) speech or noise in silence. The person asks questions often.

Grade 2 – moderate hearing loss. The ability to distinguish sounds only at frequencies from 40-55 dB. In other words, the patient is able to hear only what will be said quite loudly and then at a distance no further than 4 m from him. With such a deviation, the whisper is distinguishable only if you pronounce the words right next to the ear.

Grade 3 – severe hearing loss (55-70 dB). This condition is characterized by the inability to distinguish most sounds. A person will hear loud conversational speech only from a distance of 2-3 m.

4 degree – deep hearing loss (71-90 dB). The condition borders on complete deafness. A person can hear very loud sounds from a distance of up to 1 m.

Complete deafness – the patient will not hear even a cry near the ear.

The first signs of the development of hearing loss

You may have hearing loss if:

• often ask the interlocutor what he said;
• it can be difficult to hear everything that the interlocutors say if there are more than two of them;
• hear ringing in your ears;
• sometimes it seems that people around you are talking in a low voice;
• in a noisy environment it is difficult to make out the speech of the interlocutor;
• regularly turn up the volume of the TV, radio;
• Do you already have people with hearing loss in your family?
• have been taking medications that are harmful to the hearing aid for a long time;
• had to be close to the site of an explosion or other source of very loud sound.

How important it is to have a good ear, many begin to understand only when they lose this ability. Hearing can get worse with age, but besides age, there are many other factors that can be prevented.

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