Hearing loss is experienced by millions of people these days. Ageing is not the only factor that brings hearing impairment. The causes are many. Certain medications, continuous exposure to loud noise, genetic involvement, injury and some medical conditions may cause hearing loss.

There are quite a few myths that people have come to believe about hearing loss over the years. Since it is such a common phenomenon, here we take a look at the common myths surrounding hearing loss.

Myth no. 1: Hearing loss is exclusive to elderly.

Fact: As said before, hearing loss can be an outcome of various causes. Nearly half of the people suffering from the same are below the age of 55 years. No matter what your age is, you must always get your ears checked, especially if you are feeling that are you missing things.

Myth no. 2: Diagnosing hearing loss is easy.

Fact: Most people do not come to know about the condition until it gets worse. Also, your physician never really checks for hearing loss symptoms in a general check-up unless you ask for it specifically.

So, always get a check-up done, like you do for other probable diseases.

Myth no. 3: There's no effective solution for hearing loss.

Fact: Like there have been advancements in the medical field for everything else, there are aids available these days that improve your hearing and have finer adjustments for noise adaptation. Also, there are certain other procedures and surgeries that have proved to improve the condition in many.

So, seek help as soon as possible.

Myth no. 4: The sounds aren't loud enough; my ears are healthy and fine.

Fact: If there is a problem you're experiencing with hearing, you have got to accept that and get it treated. Avoiding a certain condition will only get things worse for you.

Also, hearing aids are no more a stigma. Ear aid devices have designs similar to earphones these days, which are comfortable enough to wear. Ignoring a medical condition or inability to accept the same would only do more harm instead of making things fine.


Common Myths About Hearing Loss

Hearing is one of the five senses that you or anyone else relies on for communication and a whole host of other things. Among the five senses, touch, smell, taste, hearing and sight, it is often hearing, which is the most easily affected. You don't have to be a senior citizen to experience hearing loss as it is quite common among younger people as well. This problem is also getting widespread with each passing day.

Before coping with hearing loss, the first job is to detect it
If you have a hunch that you or any of your loved ones is suffering from hearing loss, it is important that you get it diagnosed. Some of the common symptoms of hearing loss will be:

Hearing difficulties while talking to someone over the phone
Straining to hear conversations with family members or friends in household situations 
People usually need to repeat what they talk to you with a louder voice
You often hear complaints that you keep the TV too loud.
In crowded situations, such as family gatherings or a restaurant, you have problems listening to people.
Although this condition tends to affect senior citizens, an increasing trend shows younger people i.e. people mostly in their 40 and 50s and even younger than that suffer from this condition.

How to deal with hearing loss?
Some of the options to deal with hearing loss are mentioned below.

Once diagnosed with hearing problems, change your ways of communication: If you or your loved ones have been diagnosed with hearing problems, it is important that both adjust your ways to deal with the problem. Rather than getting angry at the other for not being able to communicate effectively, develop and strategize ways to make communication less problematic and erratic.
Cochlear implants: This is a newer technology, which has gained popularity in the past decade or so. These are directly implanted into the inner ear and are designed to bypass the damaged areas of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. These have become very popular, although, are not a replacement of natural hearing. It is only prescribed for people who have severe hearing loss or are deaf.
Hearing aids: Although selecting a hearing aid is difficult as the patient needs to be comfortable, once selected it is one of the best solutions for the hearing impaired. The functionality of these devices can be extended with the hearing assistive technology or HAT devices that can focus the audio waves depending on the situations and give a more tailored approach for every individual's needs.

Coping with Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is not something limited to elderly men or elderly women only. This is something that can affect any adult at any stage of life. The good news is that it can be managed. Today, there are a number of hearing aids that can help improve hearing ability. These aids allow an individual who has lost part of his or her hearing to live a normal life. For best results, hearing loss should be arrested in its early stages.

Here are a few signs you should look out for.

Muffled Speech: When you hear people talk, their speech should be clearly identifiable. If you hear muffled noises that you have to interpret as words, it could be a sign of hearing loss.
Difficulty understanding words: The human ear has the ability to separate conversational sounds from ambient noise. However, in some cases where the inner ear is damaged, a person might find it difficult to separate the two. In such cases, the person might not be able to understand words clearly as they get confused with background noise. This is a sign that must never be taken lightly.
Feeling the need to ask people to repeat themselves: Once in a while if you find yourself asking another person to repeat what he or she said, there is nothing to worry. However, if this becomes a regular occurrence and happens with many people, then the fault lies in your hearing. Thus, if you notice yourself needing to ask people to repeat themselves or talk slowly, consult a hearing specialist.
Increasing the volume of the radio or television: As children, we are taught that playing music or watching TV at a very high volume can damage the ears. The radio, television and other such appliances should be played at a volume where the information being relayed is clearly audible and people can have a conversation alongside without needing to shout. If you find yourself having to increase the volume constantly, it could be a sign of hearing loss.
Withdrawing from conversations: As hearing loss is aggravated, people begin to feel conscious of having to ask others around them to repeat themselves or talk slowly. This can make them withdraw from a conversation and other social situations. In many cases, the simple reason for avoiding a party could be the discomfort of not being able to hear the other person clearly in a conversation.
 All hearing problems can be better handled by proper investigation, different test, sign and symptoms of the patient, which are carried by a specialist of hearing, called as AUDIOLOGIST, who can look your hearing problems, plan out treatment plan, rehabilitation pre and post etc. Audiologist will definitely help you hear again. 

Common Signs Of Hearing Problems In Adults!

A deaf child is the one who suffers from hearing loss. Children with deafness may also fail to develop speech. Such children might have no defect in their speech but they cannot speak anything. The main reason is deafness. They do not hear a speech, therefore, cannot develop it. Deafness may not be hereditary, but it occurs due to several other causes. 

The period of 5 years is crucial in a child s life. During this period, they develop their speech and language. Therefore, parents need to take the utmost care for the early identification of hearing loss and treat the child accordingly. 

Causes of Deafness in Children

There are several causes of deafness in children.

Otitis Media: In young children, if the eustachian tube is not fully formed, it forms fluid behind the eardrum. This fluid can get infected and affect the hearing. The fluid may not cause any pain or infection but still, it can harm and cause hearing loss even if it stays for a short time. 

Problems by Birth: Some children have hearing problems by birth. Sometimes, the problem lies in the genes. But, other times during pregnancy or prenatal care, the problem arises. If a mother, while pregnancy, has diabetes or preeclampsia, she is likely to deliver a deaf child. A prematurely born baby also has a high risk of deafness.

Illness or Injury: Some young children suffer hearing loss due to some injury in the ear or some other illness. Illness includes meningitis, measles, chickenpox, and flu. Head injury or listening to loud music for a long time can also be a reason.

Symptoms of a Deaf Child

A deaf child shows no reaction to the loud noises.

He/she doesn t respond to the voices.

The sound of the child is simple that taper off.

The child may pull or rub the ear several times, which is noticeable.

The child is continuously cranky for no particular reason.

He/she does not pay any attention when anyone is talking.

He/she has very little energy to do anything. 

He/she fails to understand the direction.

Often asks to raise the volume of TV or radio.

Have fever and ear pain.

Treatment of the Problem

Hearing loss affects a child s learning ability. So, the problem must be diagnosed and treated immediately. Here are some treatment approaches: 

Treatment for Otitis Media: The very first thing parents and doctors can do is watchful waiting because sometimes the problem cures itself. Some pediatricians might prescribe some antibiotics. If the problems continue, then the doctor will suggest getting an ear tube to the child that will allow the fluid to drain. For this, the child will have to visit an ENT doctor also called Otolaryngologist. 

Treatment for other causes: The child may use a hearing aid. Some can get cochlear implants. 

Conclusion
It is necessary for parents to accept the child with deformity and stay by his/her side. They must get themselves educated and communicate the problem with others to get help. It is essential to stay in touch with the child and take care of him.

Deaf Child - What Should You Know?

While most noise is just in the background for us, loud noises, either in small spurts or prolonged exposure, can cause hearing loss. This has been happening more frequently as the levels of noise in an industrialized society go further up.

Noise induced hearing loss explained
Loud noises may damage the sensitive structure of your ear, which process the sound waves into information. They eventually become nonfunctional, resulting in a loss of hearing in that range. If exposure to loud noises continues, then this might extend to the entire range of hearing and may cause total hearing loss.

What may cause noise induced hearing loss?
Some of the scenarios which may cause noise induced hearing loss are as follows:
1. Listening to music on high volume: If you constantly listen to music or watch movies at your home on very loud levels, then it may result in noise induced hearing loss. In fact, listening to music or watching movies with headphones in your ears is one of the leading causes for hearing loss. Headphones have deceptively loud levels and may result in damaged hearing overtime.

2. Noise of household tools: Household tools such as drills, mixers, grinders, mowers, and saws can expose you to loud levels of noise. Even a quick exposure for a few seconds could temporarily damage your hearing. 

3. Occupational problems: Occupations such as construction, factory work and military that require the use of power tools on a constant basis can also cause hearing loss. The sound from the resulting friction might damage your hearing very quickly. Explosions and impacts are also causes of hearing loss in the military and law enforcement departments.

Prevention and treatment
Treatment: It is difficult to treat hearing loss as in most cases; it may be permanent, except sudden shocks, when your hearing might come back to normal. The only treatments for hearing loss are hearing aids or cochlear implants which can restore hearing partially.

Prevention: Prevention is the best method to avoid hearing loss and in most cases, you should wear ear protection such as mufflers or sound level reduction devices to protect your hearing. Also, practice listening to music, watching TV or movies at lower levels, especially if you are on the headphones. 

Induced Hearing Loss - Facts You Should Be Careful about It!

Loss or impairment of hearing can happen due to a variety of causes and may be temporary or permanent in nature, depending on the type and severity of the condition. One of the most common causes of hearing impairment is age. The degeneration of one's vital organs and senses becomes a reality for many people as the advancement of age happens, and the delicate insides of the ears are no different. Noise pollution, injury to the ear drum or any other part of the ear, as well as the movement of particles inside are only a few of the many reasons for loss of hearing. One of the many ways of dealing with long term hearing impairment is by using a hearing aid. Read on to know how you can regain your hearing with hearing aids.

1. Long Forgotten Sound: A hearing aid will help you reacquaint yourself with long forgotten and subtle sounds that you may not have been able to hear for a long time. Many times, this kind of impairment also makes us forget to notice the fact that we do not hear so many normal sounds in our everyday lives - sounds that we probably did not notice even earlier. This may include the whirring of a fan, the whoosh of the air, the pitter patter of pets' feet and so much more. A hearing aid will help in bringing about an adjustment to these sounds that you will actually end up discovering again.

2. Technicalities: The hearing aid basically works by letting your hearing and ears readjust to the various volumes, intensity and vibrations that one feels when different sounds reach the ears. This helps in hearing better.

3. Amplification: A hearing aid is basically an electroacoustic device that fits in neatly behind your ear where it is tucked away from plain sight. This device helps in amplifying sounds so that you can catch them and hear them more clearly.

4. Modulation: The ENT specialist will usually prescribe a certain kind of hearing aid based on your individual condition in terms of volume, size, power and circulation. These factors help in modulating the sounds in a certain way so that they reach the nerve pathways from the inner ear and travel to the brain in a proper and effective way. This is usually done in a customised way to cater to the specific type and cause of your hearing loss.

Using a hearing aid is a matter of retraining your hearing rather than restoring it completely. These aids will be helpful in regaining a better sense of hearing within the condition you are going through, rather than reversing the condition completely.

Regain Your Hearing With Hearing Aids

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