Overview
Presbycusis, a gradual loss of hearing with ageing, is typical. In the United States, about half of adults over 65 have some degree of hearing loss.
There are three categories of hearing loss:
- Conductive (involves outer or middle ear)
- Sensorineural (involves inner ear)
- Mixed (mix of the two) (combination of the two)
Hearing loss is a result of ageing and repeated exposure to loud noises. Your ears’ ability to conduct sound may momentarily be diminished by other factors, such as heavy ear wax.
The majority of hearing loss types cannot be reversed. However, you can take steps to enhance your hearing with the help of your doctor or a hearing specialist.
Types of Hearing loss
In general, there are three forms of hearing loss: mixed hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, and sensorineural hearing loss.
- The ineffective sound transmission from your outer ear canal to your eardrum causes conductive hearing loss. Due to obstructions in your middle or external ears, it has materialised in reality. Ear wax, moisture, or tumours are to blame. This produces a barrier that prevents sound from passing through to the inner ear. The good news is that there are both medicinal and surgical treatments available for this disorganised hearing disorder.
- The most typical form of hearing loss is sensorineural loss. It happens as a result of damaged cochlea, inner ear, or hair cells. It has a significant impact on the nerve pathway leading from your inner ear to your brain. It typically occurs as a result of ageing and damage from loud noise. You must be aware that there is no urgent medical or surgical treatment for sensorineural hearing loss. With the best hearing aids, your situation can be improved.
- A hearing patient experiences mixed hearing loss when they exhibit symptoms of both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. In these situations, they have the drawbacks of both categories.
What causes hearing loss?
Being affected by hearing loss can result from a variety of factors. It might show up for a variety of reasons. Nonetheless, the following factors will always be the most common causes of having it:
1. Serious trauma or head injury
2. Genetic pass-through inheritance
3. Age Issue
4. Continuous Loud Noise Exposure
5. Ototoxicity
6. Contracting a virus or a particular disease
Risk Factors
The following factors could harm your inner ear’s hairs and nerve cells or cause them to disappear:
- Aging. The inner ear’s structures deteriorate over time.
- The inner ear’s structures deteriorate over time. loud noise. The cells in your inner ear might become damaged by exposure to loud noises. Long-term exposure to loud noises or a brief flash of sound, like a gunshot, can both causeLong-term exposure to loud noises can cause damage, as can a brief explosion of noise like a gunshot.
- Heredity. Your ancestry may predispose you to ear injury from noise or degradation from ageing.
- noises made at work. Activities like farming, construction, or manufacturing work where excessive noise is a common aspect of the working environment might harm your ears.
- Sounds of leisure. Hearing loss can be immediately and permanently caused by exposure to explosive noises, such as those made by jet engines and weapons. Other leisure pursuits with potentially lethal noise levels include biking, carpentry, and loud music listening.
- A few medicines. The inner ear can be harmed by medications including the antibiotic gentamicin, sildenafil (Viagra), and several chemotherapy treatments. If you use extremely high dosages of aspirin, other painkillers, antimalarial medications, or loop diuretics, you may experience temporary hearing symptoms such as ringing in the ears (tinnitus), or hearing loss.
- A few diseases. The cochlea may be harmed by diseases or conditions like meningitis that cause high temperature.
Written by: Nikhil kumar