How is hearing loss managed or treated?
HEARING LOSS TREATMENTS OFTEN DEPEND ON THE TYPE AND DEGREE OF HEARING LOSS. TREATMENTS INCLUDE
- Hearing assist devices: These devices help restore hearing. Hearing aids are devices worn on or inside the ear to amplify sound. Healthcare providers surgically implant cochlear implants into the inner ear to treat inner ear hearing loss.
- Hearing rehabilitation: helps you adjust to hearing loss and hearing aids. A therapist also can help you learn to use visual cues and lip reading to improve communication.
- Listening devices: Devices can make it easier to hear the telephone, television or videos on your computer.
- Medications:
- Surgery:
- Ear tubes in the eardrum
- Surgeries to remove tumors, repair birth defects and place cochlear implants.
PREVENTION
How is hearing loss managed or treated?
Noise exposure is one of the most common and preventable causes of hearing loss.
Limit your exposure to loud events and environments.
- Wear sound-reducing earplugs (inside the ears) or earmuffs (outside the ears).
- Lower the volume (if possible) on power tools, electronic devices, earbuds and toys.
You should call your healthcare provider if you have hearing loss or you experience or any of these along with deafness
- Balance problems.
- Chronic ringing in ears (tinnitus).
- Severe earache.
- Sudden hearing loss or deafness.
Hearing impairment in infants
The following signs may indicate a hearing problem:
- Before the age of 4 months, the baby does not turn their head toward a noise.
- By the age of 12 months, the baby still has not uttered a single word.
- The infant does not appear to be startled by a loud noise.
- The infant responds to you when they can see you, but respond far less or do not respond at all when you are out of sight and call out their name.
- The infant only seems to be aware of certain sounds.
Hearing impairment in toddlers and children
These signs might become more evident in slightly older children:
Diagnosis
Patients who suspect something is wrong with their hearing will initially go and see their doctor.
A physical examination
using an otoscope. The following may be detected during the examination:
- a blockage caused by a foreign object
- a collapsed eardrum
- an accumulation of earwax
- an infection in the ear canal
- an infection in the middle ear if a bulge is present in the eardrum.
- cholesteatoma, a skin growth behind the eardrum in the middle ear.
- fluid in the ear canal
- a hole in the eardrum
Routine screening \Testing of newborns
The otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test done in high risk newborns
Help is available for people with all types of hearing loss. Treatment depends on both the cause and severity of the deafness.
Sensorineural hearing loss is incurable. When the hair cells in the cochlea are damaged, they cannot be repaired. However, various treatments and strategies can help improve quality of life.
Hearing aids
Help is available for people with all types of hearing loss. Treatment depends on both the cause and severity of the deafness.
Sensorineural hearing loss is incurable. When the hair cells in the cochlea are damaged, they cannot be repaired. However, various treatments and strategies can help improve quality of life.
Examples of hearing aids include:
Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids: BTE hearing aids tend to last longer than other devices, These devices are more popular with children who need a sturdy and easy-to-use device.
In-the-canal (ITC) hearing aids: These devices fit most patients straight away and have better sound quality.
Completely in the canal (CIC) hearing aids: These are tiny, discreet devices but not recommended for people with severe hearing loss.
Bone conduction hearing aids: These assist people with conductive hearing loss, can be painful or uncomfortable if worn for too long.
Cochlear implants
A cochlear implant is inserted to help patients whose hearing impairment is caused by hair cell damage in the cochlea. The implants usually improve speech comprehension.
Children will usually have cochlear implants in both ears, while adults tend to have just one.
Sign language and lip-reading
Some people with hearing impairment may have speech problems, as well as difficulties in understanding speech from other people.
A high percentage of people with hearing impairment can learn other ways of communicating.
Lip reading and sign language can replace or complement oral communication.
Prevention
The following measures may help protect your hearing:
- TV, radio, music players, and toys: Do not set the volume too high. Children are especially sensitive to the damaging
effects of loud music. Noisy toys can put children’s hearing at risk. - Headphones: Focus on isolating the sounds you want to hear and blocking out as much environmental sound as is possible,
instead of drowning it out with high volume. - Occupational health: If you work in a noisy environment, such as discos, nightclubs, and pubs, wear earplugs or earmuffs.
- Leisure venues: If you go to pop concerts, motor racing, drag racing, and other noisy events, wear earplugs.
- Cotton swabs: Do not prod them into adult or infant ears. The same applies to Q-tips or tissues.
Hearing can often deteriorate with age, but the risk can be reduced by taking the correct preventive measure early on.