Description

The hearing loss that comes gradually with age, also known as presbycusis, is common. More than half of the people in the united States older than 75 years of age have some age-related hearing loss.

There are three types of hearing loss:

  • Conductive, which consists of the outer or middle ear.
  • Sensorineural, which consists of the inner ear.
  • Mixed, which is a mixture of the two.

The aging and being around loud noises both can cause hearing loss. Other factors, such as excess wax in the ears, can decrease how well the ears work for a while.

Generally, you may not get to hear again. But there are ways to improve what you hear.

Symptoms

The symptoms of hearing loss may include:

  • Amortization of voice and other sounds.
  • Difficulty understanding words, especially when in the middle of a crowd or in a noisy place.
  • Problems listening to the letters of the alphabet that are not vowels.
  • Often asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly.
  • Need to increase the volume of the radio or television.
  • Staying away from some social environments.
  • To be bothered by the noise in the background.
  • Ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus.

When to see a doctor

If you have a sudden loss of hearing, especially in one ear, seek medical attention immediately.

Talk with your health care provider if the hearing loss is causing problems. Age-related hearing loss happens gradually. So you may not notice it at first.

Causes

To understand how the loss of hearing that occurs, it may be helpful to understand how hearing works.

How to listen

The ear has three main parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The sound waves pass through the outer ear and cause the eardrum to vibrate. The eardrum and three small bones of the middle ear, making the vibrations more big as you travel into the inner ear. There, the vibrations pass through liquid snail-shaped part of the inner ear known as the cochlea.

Attached to the nerve cells of the cochlea are thousands of tiny hairs that help to convert sound vibrations into electrical signals. The electrical signals are transmitted to the brain. The brain converts these signals into sound.

How hearing loss can occur

Causes of hearing loss include:

  • The damage to the inner ear.Aging and the loud noise may cause wear and tear on the hairs or nerve cells in the cochlea that send sound signals to the brain. Damaged or missing hairs or nerve cells are not sent electrical signals as well. This causes loss of hearing. Higher pitched tones may seem drowned. It can be difficult to choose words against background noise.
  • The accumulation of wax in the ears. Over time, the wax can block the ear canal and keep the sound waves passing through. Remove the wax of the ear can help to restore hearing.
  • Infection in the ear or unusual bone growths or tumors. In the outer or middle ear, any of these can cause hearing loss.
  • Rupture of the eardrum, also known as tympanic membrane perforation. Loud bursts of noise, sudden changes in pressure, stick a tympanum with an object, and the infection can cause the eardrum to burst.

The damage to the inner ear. Aging and the loud noise may cause wear and tear on the hairs or nerve cells in the cochlea that send sound signals to the brain. Damaged or missing hairs or nerve cells are not sent electrical signals as well. This causes loss of hearing.

Higher pitched tones may seem drowned. It can be difficult to choose words against background noise.

Risk factors

Factors that harm or lead to the loss of the hairs and nerve cells in the inner ear are:

  • Aging. The inner ear is broken over time.
  • Loud noise. Being around loud sounds can damage the cells of the inner ear. The damage can occur from being around loud noises over time. Or the damage can come from a short burst of noise, as of a gunshot.
  • Of the inheritance. Your genes may make you more prone to damage in the ear of sound or of aging.
  • Noise in the work. Works where the noise is constant, such as the agriculture, construction or factory work, can lead to damage in the inner ear.
  • Noises in the game. Exposure to noise explosives, such as weapons and jet engines, can cause immediate, permanent hearing loss. Other activities with dangerously high levels of noise include snowmobiling, motorcycling, woodworking, or listening to music at high volume.
  • Some medications. These include the antibiotic gentamicin, sildenafil (Viagra) and certain medications used to treat the cancer, which can damage the inner ear. Very high doses of aspirin, other pain relievers, anti-malarial drugs, or loop diuretics may cause short-term effects on the audience. These include ringing in the ears, also known as tinnitus or hearing loss.
  • Some diseases. Diseases such as meningitis, which causes a high fever can damage the cochlea.

By comparing the intensity of the sounds common

The following chart shows common sounds and their decibel levels. A decibel is a unit used to measure the volume of sound. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the noise above 70 decibels over time may start to damage hearing. The louder the noise, the less time it takes to cause permanent hearing damage.

Greater amount of time to be around loud sounds

Below are the most strong, the levels of noise which can be the people around you in a job with no hearing protection, and for how long.

Complications

Hearing loss can make life less enjoyable. Older adults with hearing loss often report being depressed. Due to the loss of hearing may make it more difficult to talk about with other people, some people with hearing loss feel separated from others. Hearing loss is also linked to the loss of the skills of thinking, known as cognitive impairment.

Hearing loss is also associated with the risk of falls.

Prevention

The following steps can help prevent hearing loss from noise and maintain the hearing loss of aging worse:

  • Protect your ears. Keep away from the noise is the best protection. In the workplace, plastic plugs for ears or glycerin-filled earmuffs can help protect your hearing.
  • Has your hearing test. If you work around a lot of noise, think about the hearing tests. If you have lost part of the audience, you can take steps to prevent further loss.
  • To avoid the risks of hobbies and play. Riding a snowmobile or a jet ski, hunting, use of power tools, or listen to concerts of rock can damage hearing over time. Use hearing protectors or take breaks from the noise can protect your ears. Lower the volume while listening to music also helps.

Diagnosis

Tests to diagnose hearing loss can include:

  • Physical exam. A health care provider is seen in his ear that the cause of your hearing loss, such as earwax or an infection. The way that your ear is formed may cause hearing problems, as well.
  • The screening tests. The whisper of the test, which involves covering one ear at a time while listening to words spoken in many volumes, you can show how you react to sounds.
  • App-based hearing tests. You can use a mobile app on your tablet to the screen himself for the loss of hearing.
  • Tuning fork tests. Tuning forks are two-pronged, metal instruments that make noise when hitting. Simple tests with tuning forks can help you find the hearing loss. Can also show that the damage of the ear is.
  • Audiometer tests. A specialist in the loss of hearing, known as an audiologist, do these more-extensive testing. The sounds and the words are directed through the headphones of each ear. Each tone is repeated at a low level to find the quietest of sounds you can hear.

Treatment

You can get help for hearing problems. The treatment depends on the cause of the hearing loss and how bad it is.

The options include:

  • The removal of the wax of the ears. Earwax blockage is one cause of hearing loss that can be corrected. A health care provider can remove the wax of the ear using suction or a small tool with a loop at the end.
  • Surgery. Some types of hearing loss can be treated with surgery. By repeated infections that cause fluid in the ear, a service provider could be put into small tubes that help the ears drain.
  • The hearing aids. If the hearing loss is damage to the inner ear, a hearing aid may be helpful. A hearing specialist, known as an audiologist, you can talk about how hearing aids can help, and what types there are. Audiologists can also be fit with a hearing aid.
  • Cochlear implants.When a regular hearing aid is not likely to help much, a cochlear implant may be an option. A cochlear implant is not as a hearing aid makes sounds louder and drives it into the ear canal. In its place, a cochlear implant is around the parts of the inner ear that do not work to stimulate the auditory nerve. An audiologist and a health care provider trained in the ears, nose and throat (ENT) can tell you the risks and benefits.

Cochlear implants. When a regular hearing aid is not likely to help much, a cochlear implant may be an option. A cochlear implant is not as a hearing aid makes sounds louder and drives it into the ear canal. In its place, a cochlear implant is around the parts of the inner ear that do not work to stimulate the auditory nerve.

An audiologist and a health care provider trained in the ears, nose and throat (ENT) can tell you the risks and benefits.

Coping and support

These tips can help you to stay connected with the loss of hearing:

  • Tell your friends and family. Let them know that you have lost some hearing.
  • Placed in a good position to hear. The face of the person you are talking to.
  • Turn off the background noise. For example, the noise of a tv can do the talking and listen more.
  • Ask others to speak up, but not too hard, and speak with clarity. Most of the people are going to be of help if they know that you are having trouble listening to them.
  • Get the person's attention before you speak. Don't try to talk with someone in a different room.
  • Choose a quiet area. In public, choose a place to talk, and away from noisy areas.
  • Consider the use of a listening aid. Hearing devices may help you hear better, while the decrease of the noise around you. These include TV listening systems or devices to make the phone sound louder, smartphone or tablet apps, and closed-circuit systems in public places.

Preparing for your appointment

If you think that you have a hearing loss, call your health care provider. Your doctor may refer you to a hearing specialist, also known as an audiologist.

Here's some information to help you prepare for your appointment.

What you can do

  • Write down your symptoms and how long you have had. Is the loss of hearing in one ear or in both? Ask friends and family to help you to do list. They may know of changes that are not.
  • Make a note of the key medical information, especially related to ear problems. Include any repeated infections, lesions in the ear or ear surgery that you had. Also the list of medicines, vitamins, or supplements you are taking, including dosage.
  • Describe your work history. Include jobs with high levels of noise, even if they are from a long time ago.
  • Have a family member or friend. Someone can help to remember all the information that you get.
  • Write down your questions so that your health care provider.

The loss of hearing, some questions are:

  • What is the most likely cause of my symptoms?
  • What else could be the cause of my symptoms?
  • What tests do I need?
  • Should I stop taking my medications?
  • You should see a specialist?

What to expect from your doctor

Your health care provider may ask you questions such as:

  • How would you describe your symptoms? Does ear hurt? Make leaking fluid?
  • Did your symptoms begin all at once?
  • Do you have ringing, roaring or ringing in the ears?
  • Do you have dizziness or balance problems?
  • Do you have a history of ear infections, ear trauma or ear surgery?
  • Have you ever worked in a job with great noise, with flown in airplanes, or state in military combat?
  • Does your family complain that the television or radio too loud?
  • Do you have problems to listen to people speaking in a low voice?
  • Do you have trouble hearing on the phone?
  • Do you often ask others to speak up or repeat themselves? This happens more often in noisy places such as a restaurant full of people?
  • You can hear when someone's coming up behind you?
  • Does your audience affect your quality of life?
  • Would you be willing to try a hearing aid?
Symptoms and treatment of Hearing loss