Hearing Loss & Cochlear Implant

What is Hearing Loss?

Hearing impairment is the inability of a person to hear sounds clearly. This could be due to pathological development, injury, or disease in any component of the hearing process. Hearing is necessary to develop normal speech and language. A youngster learns to speak by listening to the speech of others in their family and surroundings.

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The effects of hearing loss, a disability, can range from infancy to old age (60s and 70s). 6 out of 1000 babies are born with hearing loss in India. Congenital hearing loss occurs at birth, while acquired hearing loss develops later due to factors like infections or trauma. Early hearing rehabilitation and speech-language therapy are vital for babies with hearing loss to develop communication skills.

Although various factors can lead to hearing loss, loud noise exposure is the most frequent hearing loss cause of the condition. Reversing hearing loss is not possible; nevertheless, corrective surgery can enhance auditory perception. Hearing aids are one device that helps lessen ear hearing loss.

What are Cochlear Implant?

Cochlear implants are electrical devices that treat hearing loss. They do not restore hearing. Instead, they boost your ability to comprehend speech and hear additional noises. Most people who get cochlear implant cochlear benefit from audio logic therapy, which helps them relearn how to hear.

Our son was diagnosed with hearing loss, and we were uncertain about the best way to support his speech and language development. 1SpecialPlace provided us with excellent therapy sessions that incorporated both speech therapy and auditory training. He’s now able to communicate more clearly, and his confidence has soared

Parents of a child with hearing loss

Diagnosis

Hearing loss occurs when anything impairs your hearing system. If you have hearing loss, you may struggle to comprehend, follow, or participate in discussions. Hearing loss can impair your ability to work, interact with people, and simply enjoy life. In most cases, hearing loss cannot be reversed.

If you or a loved one struggles to hear every day, even with strong hearing aids, cochlear implants may be an option. Cochlear implants cochlear function differently than hearing aids. Hearing aids help persons who have mild to severe hearing loss and have some residual healthy sensory hair cells in the inner ear that can send sound to the brain using amplification.

Cochlear implants assist people with moderate to profound hearing loss in both ears who are not getting adequate benefit from hearing aids. They are intended to help you recover the sounds you've been missing by providing the clarity you need to hear and interpret conversation even in busy environments.

However, audiologists — healthcare professionals who specialize in diagnosing and treating childhood hearing loss as a disability — can assist. They can recommend hearing loss prevention such as hearing aids or cochlear implants to help with hearing loss.

Pure-tone testing: This common hearing test determines the quietest volume that can be heard at each pitch. You will need headphones or earplugs to hear the noises and speech. You will also be wearing a gadget on your head to measure bone conduction. Your audiologist can establish the type of ear hearing loss you have by using a mix of headphones/earplugs and bone conduction testing.
Otoacoustic emissions test (OAE): Audiologists utilize the otoacoustic emissions test (OAE) to assess inner ear function.
Tympanometry: This test determines how well your eardrums move. Audiologists may do tympanometry tests to determine whether you have a ruptured eardrum, fluid in your middle ear, or wax in your ear canal.
Denver Articulation Screening Examination.
Leiter International Performance scale-3.
Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation 3 (GFTA-3).

What types of hearing loss are there?

The type of hearing loss you have is determined by the afflicted area of your hearing pathway.

Auditory processing abnormalities:

These happen when your brain has difficulty processing sound. This makes it difficult to understand speech and determine where noises are originating from.

Conductive hearing loss:

This occurs when your outer or middle ear fails to transmit sound to your inner ear. It might be causes for conductive hearing loss by:

Possible causes include ear wax, infections, torn eardrums, and fluid in the middle ear.
Otosclerosis refers to abnormal bone growth in the middle ear.
Conductive hearing loss is more prevalent in youngsters and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. It can occasionally be treated.

Mixed hearing loss:

This category includes both conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss.

Risk Factors

When you imagine hearing loss risk factors, you generally envision folks working on construction sites or attending rock concerts. This is not wrong, however, several lesser-known variables can contribute to minor or severe hearing loss disability. We hope the following list helps you assess your own risk of hearing loss and encourages you to prioritize your hearing health.

Various hearing loss symptoms for childhood hearing loss can suggest hearing loss in youngsters. While no parent wants to have a child with hearing loss, it is always best for the child if the condition is identified as early as feasible. You may believe that because you and your partner are not hard of hearing, your child should not be, but more than 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents, and approximately 0.2% to 0.3% of people are born with hearing loss.

Hearing loss risk factors can include:

The most well-known risk factor for hearing loss is exposure to loud noises.
Genetics is one of the risk factors that you cannot control.
Chronic stress can increase your risk of developing a variety of health problems, including hearing disorders such as tinnitus.
There is evidence that certain medications, such as erectile dysfunction and chemotherapy drugs, can harm your inner ear and impair your hearing.
Excessive drinking can harm the central auditory cortex. This can make your brain take longer to process sound.
Vaping can result in hearing damage. What's the reason? Most e-cigarettes include nicotine, which reduces blood flow to different regions of the body, including the inner ear.
Any disease, infection, or illness resulting in a high fever can harm the cochlea. Meningitis and mumps are two of the most frequent pediatric infections.
Multiple studies have indicated that patients with sleep apnea are more likely to experience hearing loss.

A study of nearly 300,000 adults by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania discovered a link between hearing loss and anemia.

What are the early signs of hearing loss?

The initial hearing loss symptoms typically appear gradually, making them difficult to identify. They could consist of:

Hearing difficulties in noisy environments
Not being able to hear someone on the phone or when they are not looking at you
Frequently requesting repetitions from others
Hearing noises that are so muted they sound like individuals are mumbling
Having to turn up the TV louder than everyone else
Missing your phone a lot or hearing the doorbell ring
Feeling a ringing or buzzing sound in your ears
Staying away from situations because you have hearing problems

Treatment and Medical Interventions

What are the therapies for hearing loss?

In children, untreated hearing loss has a significant influence on language development, learning, and social involvement. In adults, hearing loss makes communication difficult, lowering quality of life.

Particularly for persons approaching retirement age, untreated hearing loss has been related to a variety of physical and psychological problems, ranging from cognitive decline and depression to an increased risk of trips and falls. Depending on the type of hearing loss you have, there are several treatments.

lack of conductivity in hearing

drugs to treat ear infections, such as antibiotics.
procedures such as tympanostomy, which inserts ear tubes, tympanoplasty, which repairs a perforated eardrum, or surgery to remove tumors.
Methods for clearing out foreign items or earwax from your ear canal.

Sensorineural hearing loss

Medications to lessen swelling in your cochlea hair cells, such as corticosteroids. (Exposure to loud noises can harm your cochlea hair cells.)

Management such as cochlear implants and hearing aids.

Mixed hearing loss

The exact problems affecting your outer, middle, and inner ears determine the different hearing loss prevention for each.

When engaging in loud activities such as riding motorcycles or snowmobiles, working with loud machinery, or attending concerts, use protective eyewear, such as earmuffs or earplugs

Cut back on the volume. Keep the volume of your music down while using headphones or earbuds so that you can hear conversations going on around you. Avoiding over 80% of the volume level for longer than 90 minutes each day is another wise guideline.

Nothing, not even cotton swabs or hairpins, should be inserted into your ear canal. These things have the potential to burst your eardrum or become stuck in your ear canal.

Steer clear of smoking, as it might damage your hearing and circulation.

Engage in regular exercise to help prevent conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure that can lead to hearing loss.

Treatment

Tips for Parents
In children, untreated hearing loss has a significant influence on language development, learning, and social involvement. In adults, hearing loss makes communication difficult, lowering quality of life.

lack of conductivity in Hearing
● drugs to treat ear infections, such as antibiotics.
● procedures such as tympanostomy, which inserts ear tubes, tympanoplasty, which repairs a perforated eardrum, or surgery to remove tumors.
● Methods for clearing out foreign items or earwax from your ear canal.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
● Medications to lessen swelling in your cochlea hair cells, such as corticosteroids. (Exposure to loud noises can harm your cochlea hair cells.)
● Management such as cochlear implants and hearing aids.
Mixed hearing loss
The exact problems affecting your outer, middle, and inner ears determine the different hearing loss prevention for each.
● When engaging in loud activities such as riding motorcycles or snowmobiles, working with loud machinery, or attending concerts, use protective eyewear, such as earmuffs or earplugs.
● Cut back on the volume. Keep the volume of your music down while using headphones or earbuds so that you can hear conversations going on around you. Avoiding over 80% of the volume level for longer than 90 minutes each day is another wise guideline.
● Nothing, not even cotton swabs or hairpins, should be inserted into your ear canal. These things have the potential to burst your eardrum or become stuck in your ear canal.
● Steer clear of smoking, as it might damage your hearing and circulation.
● Engage in regular exercise to help prevent conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure that can lead to hearing loss.

Tips for Parents

Many parents are surprised to learn that their child has hearing loss. It can take some time and assistance for parents to adjust to their child's hearing loss. Children with hearing loss struggle to learn language unless they receive additional assistance. These youngsters may then be at risk for further delays. Families with hearing loss frequently need to adjust their communication practices or learn particular skills (such as sign language) to help their children learn language. These abilities can be combined with hearing aids, cochlear or auditory brainstem implants, and other devices that assist youngsters in hearing.

There are various forms of help available to parents whose child has recently been diagnosed with hearing loss. Anything that can assist a family is considered support. This could be informational or advisory, the opportunity to meet other parents who are raising a kid with hearing loss, finding a deaf mentor, arranging for daycare or transportation, providing parents with personal time for relaxation, or simply being a listening ear.