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Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment of Hearing Loss

The sense of hearing is an important part of life. If nothing else, it serves as a safety valve against danger. If you hear car tires screeching, your hearing will tell you from what direction it is coming from. You suddenly look in the direction of the sound and see the car careening towards you, enabling you to get out of the way quickly. If you suffer a hearing loss, you may not hear the tires at all, causing you to be injured or worse.

Hearing impairment is the result from damage to the auditory system of the ear. The ear is composed of external, middle, and inner ear chambers. The chambers in the ear contain the structures that help us to hear. Hearing loss presents itself when these structures are damaged by illness, trauma, or infections.

In all, there are four types of hearing loss; they include conductive, sensorineural, mixed, and central hearing loss. Unfortunately, hearing loss is often mistaken for other chronic ailments such as depression and dementia. Additionally, hearing loss is quite prominent in the senior population due to the destruction of hair cells in the cochlea due to age. Once these vital hair cells have been destroyed, the body can not replace them. This means hearing loss is permanent.

Signs and Symptoms:

Constantly needing conversation to be repeated Extreme volume on the TV, radio, or other electronic device Depression Withdrawal from social activities Unable to understand speech No response to sound

Adults are less likely to recognize a hearing deficiency until severe damage has been one to the auditory system or a visit to the doctor for a completely different ailment brings the hearing loss to light. In most cases, adult hearing loss can be attributed to aging (presbycusis), tumors, and viral infections such as the flu or herpes. Once the physician has diagnosed the hearing loss, they will then need to determine the type, severity and location in the auditory system.

Children fall prey to hearing loss for the most part due to bacterial or viral infections such as mumps, rubella, meningitis, and multiple sclerosis.

Diagnosis and treatment:

Specialized diagnostic testing combined with a thorough physical examination will determine if hearing loss is in fact present or if some other chronic disorder is the root cause of the loss.

Treatment for hearing loss includes surgical intervention, hearing aids, and medications, and can be prevented by early diagnosis and treatment. It is important to protect your hearing to avoid loss. If you work in noisy places such as a factory where loud machines are running, wearing ear protectors may save your sense of hearing.

Barb Hicks is a licensed registered nurse and featured writer on Clivir.com where she shares her knowledge about Sensorineural Hearing Loss Symptoms with others. You can also find her other lessons including Central Hearing Loss Symptoms on Clivir.