Nowadays, problems with human health are becoming increasingly relevant, impaired hearing function is no exception. This is due to the environment, high noise levels, etc. It is also no secret that with age, the body begins to work worse and becomes more susceptible to various kinds of diseases, including hearing problems. According to statistics, disruptions in the functioning of this body are most often found in older people, but sometimes children suffer from such pathologies. The causes of hearing loss are quite diverse. Often, a person does not attach any importance to this during the onset of the first symptoms. Diseases progress and progress to a more severe stage. And then an appeal to a specialist may not help. What causes hearing loss? How do the first signs appear? What are the most effective ways to treat pathology? You will find the answers in our article.
The principle of hearing
To delve deeper into the topic, and talk about the causes of hearing loss, you should first consider the system device. It should be understood that the body only works if all of its elements function. The process is as follows: sound or vibrational vibrations that enter the ear canal become a source of noise. The human auricle is designed in such a way that it is able to determine the approximate location of the stimulus.
Then the sound reaches the eardrum, and at that moment the auditory ossicles start to move . They transmit the signal further along a certain chain. The hair receptors, to which sound reaches, are designed to transform vibrations and transmit a signal to the corresponding part of the brain.
The reasons that can lead to hearing impairment are based on the malfunctioning of one of the elements of the organ. Most often, the pathology is functional. However, if the violation is observed in the work of the neural network, then the person has a different kind of hearing loss.
Causes of hearing loss
What causes hearing loss? The main reason experts consider the loss of sensitivity of the cells and tissues of the ear, which are responsible for decoding the received signals. Such a pathology occurs mainly in the elderly. Its essence lies in the fact that cells cease to perceive normal sounds, and signals reach the brain in a distorted form.
The causes of hearing loss in the elderly are often triggered by certain diseases, such as atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, and disorders of the cardiovascular system.
However, far from always hearing problems appear in people aged, sometimes even children cannot protect themselves from this. If the baby has problems with the hearing aid, then most likely this is caused by the wrong way of life of the mother during pregnancy. We are talking about the use of alcohol and drugs, smoking cigarettes. Sometimes the reason may be the fact that the baby was born prematurely and weighed less than one and a half kilograms.
The cause of hearing loss in an older child may be the intentional inclusion of loud music, especially with headphones. This is often due to quarrels with parents and the stubbornness of children. This process negatively affects the ear cells, which are responsible for the perception of sound. They die, and then do not recover. That is why recently, doctors are increasingly diagnosed with hearing problems in adolescence.
Reasons for hearing impairment
If a person works in a noisy room, then problems with a hearing aid cannot be avoided. Loud machines that function all day can not have a positive effect on the human body. In such a situation, it is imperative to use protective equipment such as earplugs. Hearing impairment occurs gradually, sometimes you will hear strange sounds. In order to have time to turn to a specialist for help in time, you need to pay attention to every extraneous sound and take your health seriously.
Causes that can lead to hearing loss include ear or skull injuries . Especially dangerous to health is the explosion of the eardrum, which occurs as a result of purulent otitis media. In addition, treatment for this disease can only exacerbate the situation. It is not recommended to use antibiotics, because they can have a negative effect on the hearing aid. If you notice that there are hearing problems with a particular drug, you should refuse it and replace it with a new one.
The value of ear cleaning
Oddly enough, even a banal ear cleaning can lead to very serious consequences. If you cleaned the dirt so thoroughly that you left a scratch, then a fungal infection can become infected. Cleaning your ears too deep is not recommended, because you can damage the eardrum, and this is the most dangerous injury. It is attributed to the causes of hearing loss in one ear. Moreover, the violation occurs instantly. Often, the membrane does not heal on its own, so you have to do an operation to restore it.
As for infectious diseases, they should be most feared. Any contact with contaminated objects can lead to bacterial contamination. It is not recommended to use other people's headphones, caps and other objects that are carriers of microbes. Bacteria, when they enter the body, look for a breach in the protective mechanism. Often they find it and begin their attacks, and if you do not consult a doctor in a timely manner, then the microbes can spread so quickly that it will be very difficult to stop them later.
Temporary hearing loss
Hearing impairment is not always acute and chronic. Temporary hearing loss is also possible. This pathology is observed to the same extent in both adults and children. Various respiratory diseases, such as flu, tonsillitis, etc., can cause severe hearing loss. If a patient suffers from these diseases, swelling of the mucous membrane occurs and the infection can spread to the hearing aid.
Inflammation appears when there is not enough air in the middle ear cavity, and this is fraught with a curvature of the eardrum. As a result, the sound signal is distorted and in this form reaches the corresponding part of the brain. In order to prevent such a development of events, it is necessary to make an appointment with a specialist in a timely manner, as well as to prevent respiratory diseases.
A temporary decrease in hearing is also caused by the sulfur plug, which plugs the channel through which sound waves pass. If there is such a problem, it can also shoot in the ear, which is rather unpleasant. Only a qualified doctor can eliminate the sulfur plug, do not do it yourself. After all, inflammation can be found behind it. Then you definitely need a professional look.
Degrees of hearing loss as a disease
As you know, one of the most important components of the human body is the organ of hearing. The causes of hearing loss were discussed above, now it's time to talk about the stages of hearing loss. It is worth noting that the disease in the early stages may go unnoticed, and the more dangerous it is for humans.
After a thorough medical examination, the doctor will come to the following conclusions:
- If the patient distinguishes sound signals well up to 25 dB, then everything is in order with hearing.
- If the patient hears only if the specialist increased the sound to 40 dB. This means that the patient has a first stage of hearing loss.
- Hearing aids can be bought for people with a second degree of illness, when a sound is heard in the range from 40 to 55 dB.
- 55-70 dB - with such indicators already give disability. A person can normally perceive speech at a distance of two steps.
- The most powerful hearing aids should be ordered at the fourth stage of hearing loss. Here already a person hears a sound only from 70 to 90 dB, a disability group is assigned.
Key features
A person may notice hearing loss in noisy crowded places where an incessant buzz constantly sounds. To understand what the interlocutor says, you need to strain your hearing. If you need to increase the volume when watching TV, when everyone else is normally audible, then you should think about it. It is on the little things that you should pay attention to timely identify any problems.
Be especially careful when talking with someone you are talking to. If you need to read lips to understand his speech, this is the first sign of hearing loss. Sometimes, in order to accurately hear what has been said, you need to ask the interlocutor to repeat the same phrase several times. It also indicates some kind of failure. The causes and treatment of hearing impairment cannot be separated, because the treatment methods also depend on the basis. Therefore, it is in your interests not to hide anything from the attending physician and to say everything as it is.
Diagnosis of hearing diseases
If you feel that the perception of sounds has become worse, then be sure to contact a specialist for help, you do not need to postpone this visit. Understand that the sooner the doctor finds the problem, the faster he will solve it. The causes and treatment of hearing loss in the elderly, middle-aged people, adolescents, young children are impossible without diagnosis. First you need to verbally tell the specialist about your problems and situations when you find hearing loss. For the most complete picture, you can ask loved ones to talk about what they noticed in your strange behavior lately.
If there were diseases of the organ of hearing or ear injuries, be sure to share this information. It is also worth mentioning the medicines currently being taken. In order for the doctor to be able to make an accurate diagnosis, a number of medical studies are needed. In cases where the patient came to the reception with the initial stage of hearing loss, the hearing could be completely restored. To achieve this result, you must follow the doctor's recommendations and follow all his instructions.
If a person turned to a specialist with significant problems, then the doctor can only recommend a powerful hearing aid that will help lead a full life.
Causes and treatment of hearing loss
It is worth noting that there are several methods of therapy that are effective in their own way in a particular situation. To conduct a full treatment of diseases, the following approaches are used:
- Drug therapy. The goal of taking medications is to improve the blood supply to the brain and hearing organs. If a patient has certain diseases, then the doctor prescribes anti-inflammatory and antibacterial medications.
- Vitamin Therapy. The main goal is to increase the body's strength, so that recovery occurs naturally. Moreover, treatment is carried out not by taking medication, but by adjusting the diet. Foods containing essential vitamins A, B, C, and E must be added.
- Physiotherapeutic treatment. As a full-fledged therapy, this method looks rather weak, but if you consider it as an additional tool, then it’s very good. Physiotherapy will speed recovery along with standard conservative treatment. This method is well suited for rehabilitation after surgery.
- Ethnoscience. As always, unconventional methods cannot act as the main ones. Moreover, many experts very much doubt the effectiveness of these methods. If we talk about popularity among the people, then excellent reviews from propolis, tar, onions and bay leaves.
- Surgical intervention. Depending on the causes of hearing impairment and the stage of development of pathology, it may be necessary to intervene surgeons. Despite the radicalism, this method is considered the most effective, as it is guaranteed to return the hearing or at least improve it. The operation involves the restoration of damaged elements, as well as the implantation of sound transmitters.
Prevention
Most people do not pay any attention to this, and this is their fatal mistake. After all, it is much easier to prevent the occurrence of pathology than to fight it later. That is why it is necessary to prevent a decrease in the level of perception of sounds, taking proper care of your health.
Prevention of the causes of hearing impairment includes the following measures:
- Protect your ears from hypothermia and frostbite. Cold air has an adverse effect on hearing, possibly causing inflammation.
- Protection against loud signals. Do not listen to music on headphones at maximum volume; avoid sharp, loud sounds. If your work involves noise, use protective equipment such as plugs.
- Eliminate noise pollution. This term means the abundance of monotonous sounds - the movement of vehicles, hammer knocking, etc. Try to minimize these phenomena in your life.
- Timely treatment of diseases. If you find symptoms of any disease, do not delay the visit to the doctor. It is better to avoid diseases of the auditory organ or get rid of them in time.
- Hygiene. Ear cleaning plays an important role, so do it regularly, but remember the rules.
Modern medicine is now at a very high level and can cope with all the causes of hearing loss. However, it’s much simpler to simply follow preventative measures to protect yourself from these kinds of problems.