2024-04-09 14:16:23
According to Otorhinolaryngologist Airidas Brazlauskas, a doctor at the Ear, Nose and Throat Diseases Center in Šiauliai, it is only possible to apply appropriate treatment after diagnosing the causes of hearing loss.
“Hearing loss is a disturbance in the function of sound perception in at least three sound frequencies above 30 dB. Generally speaking, this is a weakening of the auditory nerve and reduced sensitivity to sound. According to statistical data, at least 25 percent persons over 65 years of age have more or less hearing damage, but younger people are also not protected from acute ear pathology and hearing damage,” says A. Brazlauskas.
Hearing disorders are divided into two types – conductive hearing disorder, when the pathology is in the sound transmission system (outer ear lobe and middle ear) and sensorineural deafness, which means that the auditory nerve or sound-sensing centers in the brain are damaged.
How to identify a hearing loss?
Part of the patients clearly feel the acute onset of deafness, covering one or the other ear. However, with chronic, stable hearing loss, it can be difficult to notice, so you should pay attention to finer details.
“With hearing loss, it becomes difficult for people to understand speech, interlocutors are often asked to repeat what they said, it becomes more difficult to orientate in a noisy environment, you want to turn up the volume of the TV or phone, you focus more on the conversation, so you get tired faster,” says the otorhinolaryngologist.
Eventually, these symptoms begin to debilitate the patient, leaving them with headaches and fatigue from the constant strain of trying to understand the language. Often, for these reasons, some patients become irritable and begin to avoid social situations.
What causes hearing loss?
According to A. Brazlauskas, hearing loss can be caused by various factors:
– acoustic injuries – hearing damage caused by excessive noise;
– head injuries – when, after breaking the temporal bone, the labyrinth of the ear is damaged;
– diseases of the cardiovascular system – since the labyrinth of the ear is fed by a single artery, blood pressure jumps or blood circulation insufficiency can damage the auditory nerve;
– ototoxic drugs, especially aminoglycosides, loop diuretics, some drugs used in chemotherapy, the adverse effect of which is hearing damage;
– neurinomas of the auditory nerve – benign tumors of the auditory nerve;
– senile deafness – hearing damage developed with age, diagnosed when other causes are ruled out. This hearing loss is usually symmetrical in both ears;
– acute neurosensory paralysis – sudden, within 24-72 hours. resulting hearing impairment. Most often, patients feel that they suddenly have less hearing or no hearing at all in one ear. This hearing loss is often accompanied by tinnitus or dizziness.
It is important to note that all patients with progressive unilateral hearing loss should be thoroughly investigated.
How is hearing loss diagnosed?
It is extremely important to correctly diagnose each hearing impairment, because only after correctly determining its cause, specific etiological (causal) treatment can be applied.
“The main study that shows whether it is neurosensory deafness – that is, damage to the system that perceives sound, or conductive – damage to the system that conducts sound, and what the level of this damage is, is audiometry,” notes A. Brazlauskas.
In addition, for differential diagnosis, impedanceometry can be used – a study of the acoustic permeability of the middle ear and the pressure in the tympanic cavity. When one-sided hearing loss or tinnitus occurs, the diagnosis is clarified by applying radiological tests – magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) of the head. Of course, the treatment of hearing loss depends on both the cause and the nature of the hearing loss.
“Acute, 12-72 hours lasting sensorineural deafness, when the hearing loss is above 30 dB, is treated inpatient with hormonal anti-inflammatory therapy. As for chronic, stable hearing damage, the only effective treatment is hearing rehabilitation by fitting the necessary hearing aid,” the otorhinolaryngologist points out.
How to prevent hearing damage?
Patients who are young and do not have other diseases should not worry about their hearing – a preventive hearing test for work, performed at least once every two years, is usually enough. However, it is useful to pay attention to elderly relatives whose hearing is gradually deteriorating, as it may be difficult for them to notice this process themselves.
“As I mentioned, it is especially important to detect hearing impairment and apply rehabilitation measures in time, because in the long run, social life, emotional health and brain degeneration are affected due to poor hearing. Therefore, for those over 65 it is useful for patients to have their hearing checked every year,” emphasizes the doctor.
In order to avoid hearing problems in the future, it is also important to protect your ears from noise – avoid noisy places, and if this is not possible, try to spend as little time in them as possible.
“Work in a noisy environment must be done with ear protection devices – headphones or ear plugs. In addition, taking into account today’s current affairs and the widespread use of headphones, attention should be paid to the sound level – it should not exceed 85 dB”, observes doctor otorhinolaryngologist A. Brazlauskas.
2024-04-09 14:16:23