Hearing Loss Health Feed

Ear infection is a disorder which can either be viral or bacterial, affecting one’s middle ear the most. This disorder is painful as fluid accumulates in the ear leading to inflammation. Infections of the ear can either be chronic or acute in nature, the damage is more prominent in case of chronic infections. Acute ear infections can be painful but they usually fade away in a few days’ time.

Symptoms
In case of an ear infection, you will experience pain in the ear. A pressure may develop in the ear accompanied by drainage of pus from the ears. Some severe cases might also lead to loss of hearing, be it temporary or permanent. The symptoms of ear infection may develop and affect both the ears. Fever during ear infections is another common auxiliary condition.

Causes
Ear infections tend to occur when the Eustachian tubes in the ear get blocked as a result of fluid accumulation in the ear. The Eustachian tubes can get blocked due to the following reasons –

1. Being affected by allergies
2. Conditions such as cold can lead to ear infection
3. Problems in the sinuses
4. Excessive smoking
5. Infected adenoid glands

In addition to the causes, there are certain risk factors which can make one prone to ear infections, some of them being:

1. Narrow Eustachian tubes in children increase the risks of ear infections
2. Changes in climate and altitude
3. Second hand exposure to cigarette smoke

Treatment
For mild symptoms, simple home remedies will suffice. A warm compress on the affected area can reduce the pain. Taking pain relieving medications such as ibuprofen can also help in reducing pain. For moderate symptoms, antibiotics may be required to treat the bacterial infection.
If other treatments do not work, then surgery may be required. Usually tubes are inserted in the ear to drain the accumulated fluid. If it involves the adenoid glands, then surgical removal of the adenoid glands may be required.

Hearing loss is a common sensory problem that generally develops with increasing age or due to prolonged or persistent exposure to loud noises. It is one of the most typical problems that occurs throughout the world. If you are suffering from partial hearing loss, you may find ways of keeping in touch with your family and friends. If you-re not suffering from such the following may help you keep your hearing intact for years to come.

Types of Hearing Loss 

There are two main types of hearing loss: 

1. Conductive Hearing Loss where the problem lies in the middle ear, ear drum or ossicles

A conductive hearing loss affects the passage of sound between the ear drum and the inner ear. Sound passes down the ear canal to the ear drum and through the middle ear, where the sound is transmitted across the middle ear by the three bones called the ossicles to the inner ear.

Causes of Conductive Hearing Loss are as below:

1. Malformation of outer ear, ear canal, or middle ear structures
2. Fluid in the middle ear from colds
3. Ear infection (otitis media - an infection of the middle ear in which an accumulation of fluid may interfere with     the movement of the eardrum and ossicles
4. Allergies
5. Poor Eustachian tube function
6. Perforated eardrum
7. Benign tumors
8. Impacted earwax
9. Infection in the ear canal
10. Foreign body in the ear
11. Otosclerosis

2. Sensorineural Hearing Loss where there is damage in the inner ear, cochlea or hearing nerve

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) occurs when there is damage to the inner ear (cochlea), or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain. Most of the time, SNHL cannot be medically or surgically corrected. This is the most common type of permanent hearing loss.

Causes of Sensorineural Hearing Loss are as below:

1. Exposure to loud noise
2. Head trauma
3. Virus or disease
4. Autoimmune inner ear disease
5. Hearing loss that runs in the family
6. Aging (presbycusis)
7. Malformation of the inner ear
8. Meniere's Disease
9. Otosclerosis 
10. Tumors

Coping with Hearing Loss

Antibiotics and eardrops are often prescribed to treat hearing loss and its symptoms. In many cases, people suffering from severe hearing loss use hearing aids. Hearing aids are tiny instruments that people use in their ears to make sounds louder. People who suffer from hearing loss cope with their problems through increased concentration and focus. The usual way involves reading the moving lips of the person while they talk. Prevention is better than cure and is the best solution to avoid long term hearing loss. Avoiding continuous loud noises, to the possible extent helps prevent hearing loss to a great extent.
 

Hearing loss is a common sensory problem that generally develops with increasing age or due to prolonged or persistent exposure to loud noises. It is one of the most typical problems that occurs throughout the world. If you are suffering from partial hearing loss, you may find ways of keeping in touch with your family and friends. If you are not suffering from such the following may help you keep your hearing intact for years to come.

Types of hearing loss:
There are two main types of hearing loss: 
1. Conductive Hearing Loss where the problem lies in the middle ear, eardrum or ossicles. A conductive hearing loss affects the passage of sound between the eardrum and the inner ear. Sound passes down the ear canal to the ear drum and through the middle ear, where the sound is transmitted across the middle ear by the three bones called the ossicles to the inner ear.

Causes of conductive hearing loss:

1. Malformation of outer ear, ear canal, or middle ear structures
2. Fluid in the middle ear from colds
3. Ear infection (otitis media - an infection of the middle ear in which an accumulation of fluid may interfere with the movement of the eardrum and ossicles
4. Allergies
5. Poor Eustachian tube function
6. Perforated eardrum
7. Benign tumors
8. Impacted earwax
9. Infection in the ear canal
10. Foreign body in the ear
11. Otosclerosis

2. Sensorineural Hearing Loss where there is damage in the inner ear, cochlea or hearing nerve. Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) occurs when there is damage to the inner ear (cochlea), or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain. Most of the time, SNHL cannot be medically or surgically corrected. This is the most common type of permanent hearing loss.

Causes of sensorineural hearing loss:

1. Exposure to loud noise
2. Head trauma
3. Virus or disease
4. Autoimmune inner ear disease
5. Hearing loss that runs in the family
6. Aging (presbycusis)
7. Malformation of the inner ear
8. Meniere's Disease
9. Otosclerosis 
10. Tumors

Coping with Hearing Loss:
Antibiotics and eardrops are often prescribed to treat hearing loss and its symptoms. In many cases, people suffering from severe hearing loss use hearing aids. Hearing aids are tiny instruments that people use in their ears to make sounds louder. People who suffer from hearing loss cope with their problems through increased concentration and focus.

The usual way involves reading the moving lips of the person while they talk. Prevention is better than cure and is the best solution to avoid long term hearing loss. Avoiding continuous loud noises, to the possible extent helps prevent hearing loss to a great extent.

Proper and sound hearing is essential for a healthy living. If you are suffering from lack or loss of hearing, chances are that you are missing out on life itself. Therefore, it is imperative that you undergo treatments in case you are suffering from any kind of hearing ailment.

There are various reasons that contribute to loss of hearing. Some of the common causes are:

1. Age
2. Increasing noise
3. Genetically inherited

Over the years various surgical and non-surgical methods have surfaced that can help repair loss of hearing and damage. Among the other branches of medicines, Ayurveda is the most old and ancient method. It uses natural herbs in order to correct and treat hearing loss. This has proved to be extremely beneficial and potent and it cures hearing ailments with the help of a number of natural methods. Some of them are:

1. Lukewarm mustard oil or sesame oil: If you are suffering from ache in ears or loss in hearing, try putting few drops of warm mustard oil and sesame oil in your ear and hold it with index fingers. At the same time store air in your mouth and let your cheeks contract and bulge for a minute or so. This ayurvedic tip considerably improves hearing and reduces ear pain.
2. Radish juice and sesame oil: If you are suffering from sores and hearing problems, a mixture of the two can be beneficial. In this method, a small quantity of Radish juice should be boiled with a small quantity of sesame oil, till the juice absorbs the oil. This mixture should be administered twice a day in order to experience the results.
3. Applewood oil: A variety of ingredients are required in order to create the resultant oil. Initially cow's urine should be boiled and the applewood powder must be added to it. This mixture should then be filtered and further added with sesame and goat's milk. This concoction is then boiled and the resultant oil should be stored and applied with cotton daily. This improves hearing a great deal.
4. Mixture of neem and turmeric: In this method turmeric and neem leaves are boiled together. The steam should be taken as well as the water must be applied on the ears and surrounding areas. This has proved to be an extremely effective remedy in treating pus in the ears and consequent hearing loss.
5. Mixture of Radish juice, turmeric, sesame oil and ajwain seeds: All these ingredients must be taken in selective quantities and boiled to get the resultant oil. This oil must be stored and used to treat loss of hearing and other ear diseases.

For someone suffering from Tinnitus, a perpetual sense of ringing in the ears is the main complaint. It’s annoying, to say the least. But more importantly, it is a sign of hearing loss. This is why people need to see an audiologist if he/she has a sense of tinnitus for some time. An audiologist can treat this problem in different ways.

Diagnosis

The first step in treating tinnitus like any other disease involves determining the cause. The doctor may perform different tests such as-Hearing:

• Hearing exam

During this test, one needs to sit in a soundproof room and wear earphones. Specific sounds will be played into the ears, one at a time, through these earphones. People have to indicate when they hear different intensities of sound. The results are compared with empirical results for comparable age. This helps the audiologist identify possible or rule out specific causes.

• Movement

One may need to clench the jaw, move the eyes or neck, or even move the arms and legs as part of the test. If tinnitus symptoms get better or worse at any of these postures, the audiologist can identify the underlying disorder.

• Imaging Tests

The doctor may suggest an MRI or CT depending on his suspicions.

TreatmentRetraining

 Treatment involves identifying an underlying problem, if any. If the tinnitus symptoms are due to some health conditions, the audiologist may take the following steps:

• Clearing the Earwax

Impacted earwax can cause a variety of problems, including tinnitus symptoms. An audiologist can remove the ear wax.

• Treating Vascular Conditions

Underlying vascular problems that require surgery or any other treatment may treat the condition.

• Changing Medication

Tinnitus can also be a side effect of medication. If the doctor suspects that he may recommend reducing or stopping the drug completely. He may also recommend a different medication.

Noise Suppression

If there is no underlying health condition or medication responsible for tinnitus, the doctor may take recourse to noise suppression.  The patient may need to wear an electronic noise suppression device. These devices include:

• White Noise Devices

These machines produce simulated sounds such as those of ocean waves, falling rain etc. This is often found to be effective in treating tinnitus. He may also recommend using pillow speakers, fans, dehumidifiers, air conditioners and humidifiers to suppress internal noise at night.

• Hearing Aids

If a hearing problem is associated with tinnitus, the audiologist may prescribe hearing aid.

• Masking Devices

Such devices mask the internal sounds of tinnitus and are worn in the ear in a similar fashion as hearing aids.

• Retraining

This device delivers programmed music to mask the sound of tinnitus. This technique usually helps the patient get accustomed to the sound of tinnitus.

 Depending on diagnosis and findings, audiologists may also recommend medicines. Audiologists use medicines usually for severe tinnitus only, since these may have side effects. It may also help reduce symptoms.

Ever wondered why you are not getting good benefit in the understanding of speech despite using good hearing aids. The answer may be AUDITORY DEPRIVATION.

What is auditory deprivation?

• Auditory Deprivation is a condition that occurs in individuals suffering from hearing loss where their brain loses the ability to interpret words due to a lack of stimulation over an extended period of time.
• Our brain receives all signal from our auditory senses (i.e. our ears) through auditory nerves but when our hearing sensitivity reduces our brain also starts to function differently. It gives more importance to visual cues rather than auditory cues. 
• With the passage of time, our brain is more dependent on visual cues rather than auditory signals for understanding verbal information. 

How to avoid Auditory deprivation?

1. Early Identification of Hearing Loss:

Look for the signs and symptoms of hearing loss such as

• People seem to mumble more frequently.
• You experience ringing in your ears.
• You often ask people to repeat themselves.
• Your family complains that you play the radio or TV too loudly.
• You no longer hear normal household sounds, such as the dripping of a faucet or the ringing of a doorbell.
• You have difficulty understanding a conversation when in a large group or crowd.
• You have trouble understanding all the words in a conversation.
• You find telephone conversation increasingly difficult.
• You have trouble hearing when your back is turned to the speaker.
• You have been told you speak too loudly.

As you feel that you are having any of these symptoms, please show to an audiologist nearby. It is recommended to have regular hearing screening done by your ENT or Audiologist after the age of 50 years.

2. Early Intervention of Hearing Loss:

As soon as you find that you are having hearing loss, start using proper intervention technique. In most cases, it is using amplification devices i.e. Hearing Aids.

Don't ignore even mild degree of hearing loss as it is proven that our brain re-organization occurs even with a mild hearing loss.

Next question that comes to our mind is, 'should I have to use hearing aids in both ears or can I manage with only one?'

The answer is NO, you have to use hearing aids in both ears if you are having a loss in both ears because our brain is habitual of using both ears.

There are some listed advantages of using two hearing aids rather than one:

• Better understanding of speech
• Better understanding of group and noisy situations
• Better ability to tell the direction of sound
• Better sound quality
• Smoother tone quality
• Wider hearing range
• Better sound identification
• Hearing is less tiring and listening more pleasant
• Feeling of balanced hearing
• Greater comfort when loud noises occur
• Reduced feedback and whistling
• Tinnitus Masking

And the most important thing, you can avoid auditory deprivation to occur in both ears.