As More People Succumb to Hearing Loss
According to current statistics, hearing loss has become third common health problem in America. Only arthritis and hypertension have more cases. This should cause an alarm since most people don’t know how many of the cases of hearing loss occur. Many people also go on for a long time with their hearing loss undetected. Some only have their hearing assessed when the degree of hearing is already too pronounced. Early detection of hearing impairment is necessary to prompt action. Audiologists are worried not just for precious hearing lost but for the unnecessary changes in the lives of those afflicted. Aside from not being able to hear the world properly, the hearing impaired may commonly suffer from anxiety and depression. Many stop working and just stay indoors away from the public, and this behavior injures the person’s social life. Currently, one in ten people in the US suffer from some form of hearing loss. But only few of the hearing impaired individuals wear hearing aids because the others either don’t know they have hearing loss or are afraid of the embarrassment brought about by being seen with a hearing aid.
Experts suggest that people with a form of hearing loss should wear hearing aids in order for them to hear well. Prolonged auditory deprivation can further impair the auditory network between the inner ear and the auditory cortex in the brain. Hearing aids also curb the possibility of depression and social withdrawal due to impaired hearing. Moreover, these devices allow people to continue to work and be productive. On the other hand, a hearing aid can reduce tinnitus sensation, which is commonly experienced by people with hearing loss. In fact, it’s one of the most effective tinnitus treatments.
Miracle-Ear Says Hearing Loss Is Third Most Common Chronic Health Condition:
Cochlear Implants in Both Ears Work Better
Hearing aids are popular for people with hearing loss, but for those with severe hearing loss, cochlear implants may be the better option. The implants are installed through surgery and helps amplify the external sound but effectively filters certain frequencies to enhance perception of speech and reduction of background noise. These inner ear implants are recommended to people with 70 dB hearing loss or more. Such severe loss of hearing cannot be addressed by any hearing aid. Cochlear implants may help people with both hearing loss and tinnitus. Ringing in ears treatment may involve by these implants depending on the degree of hearing impairment suffered by the individual.
These implants are particularly expensive but without them, the severely hearing impaired stands no chance against their quiet world. However, there’s an issue between unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants. People with severe hearing loss usually have hard hearing in both ears. As a result, wearing only one cochlear implant isn’t going to help much because the brain is programmed to hear in both ears and to receive signals from both ears for optimum perception. Unilateral implants only give significant hearing improvement in one side while the other side suffers. Installing another cochlear implant in the other ear balances hearing and makes the patient feel better. Cochlear implants in both ears stimulate both sides of the brain and thus improves acoustic perception.
Hearing Mojo: It’s Official: Bilateral Cochlear Implants Improve Quality Of Life:
Woman’s Ear Bleeds After a Baby’s Scream
You have heard a dozen funny air travel experiences but this one is just crazy.
When Jean Barnard got on the Qantas plane, never did she fathom she’d be getting off with a bleeding ear and a permanent hearing loss. And the one to blame, as she claimed, was a toddler! Yes, according to her, a baby screamed in her ear while she was looking for her seat. She was in severe pain that she had to leave and be escorted to Alice Springs hospital.
She filed a case against Qantas airline for what she believed to be a seeming negligence of the flight crew in keeping passengers, like her, safe. However, Qantas’ legal counsel denied Barnard’s allegation of negligence, reasoning that the act of the toddler screaming in the complainant’s ear occurred as a random incident. There was no possibility to determine when toddlers would scream so for people to be forewarned.
However, the 67-year-old woman claims she sustained permanent deafness after the incident. But reports say she has been on hearing aids before it happened. It might have been that the hearing aid amplified the toddler’s scream to unbearable intensities. You know some hearing aids are designed to amplify specific frequencies. Nevertheless, her indignation cannot be abated.
We normally don’t get this kind of freak news, of someone going deaf because somebody screamed in their ear. But audiologists do prohibit people screaming in others’ ears because the loud sound could damage the eardrums.
Toddler’s Scream Leads to Airline Lawsuit – TIME NewsFeed:
How to Find Treatment for Tinnitus
Tinnitus and treatment for it can be a frustrating thing. Having to deal with an incessant ringing in the ears is indeed something which can be difficult to deal with when it is left untreated. The problem is that there is no definitive tinnitus treatment remedies which can rid all people suffering from tinnitus of the irritating ringing.
Tinnitus is the medical term for constant ringing in the ears. While its exact causes are not yet fully understood by the medical community, the list of medical maladies which can trigger it is well known. Tinnitus is a symptom which is characterized by a ringing, whistling, chirping, roaring, crackling or clicking which seems to come from inside the head or one or both ears. This sound experienced by tinnitus sufferers can range in intensity from subtle to piercing and can have a profound adverse effect on a person’s quality of life.
While there is no tinnitus cure, tinnitus can be managed and treated so that it no longer a hindrance to the person experiencing it.
The first place to look for treatment from tinnitus is a qualified medical specialist. He or she is best equipped to inform you about tinnitus and treatment for it. He or she will also be able to help you pinpoint the medical condition that is triggering your tinnitus. Some cases of ear ringing have disappeared when the underlying medical trigger had been resolved. Your doctor will also be able to point you in the right direction should you need to undertake more measures for your tinnitus.
There are devices available which have been effective in granting tinnitus relief. Hearing aids are usually recommended for people who have hearing loss along with their tinnitus. The increased perception of sound brought about by amplifying effect of a hearing aid has been known to mask tinnitus sounds. For other people without hearing loss, tinnitus maskers and white noise generators can help in making tinnitus sounds inaudible.
The Internet, tinnitus groups and forums are mines of information one should look at when it comes to looking for alternative tinnitus treatments. Just make sure that if you do find an alternative treatment that looks promising, you undertake it after clearance with your doctor and under the guidance of an expert in the type of alternative treatment you want to try out.
Tinnitus Acoustic Neuroma Explained
Tinnitus Acoustic Neuroma
What is tinnitus acoustic neuroma and how does it affect you?
When you first go to the doctor with ear problems and tinnitus the first thing that will be done is a hearing test. This is to determine if you have any hearing loss.
The second thing will normally be having an MRI test run.
This is used to find out if your tinnitus is caused by acoustic neuroma. The condition is often referred to as “Vestibular Schwannomas” and it involves non-malignant growths that appear on the “eight cranial nerve”.
This is the nerve that leads from the inner ear to the brain.
In order to understand tinnitus acoustic neuroma, you need to understand what kind of effect these growths can have on this cranial nerve. This nerve is composed of two different parts and it’s located near the facial nerve.
One part carries sound to the brain and the other carries balance. They pass through a very small bony canal that is referred to as the internal auditory canal. This is the canal in which the growths will begin to grow when a person is suffering from acoustic neuroma.
These growths are not cancerous and they grow very slowly over a number of years. They don’t spread to other parts of the ear but they can continue to grow in size. When they grow big enough, they will begin to reach outside of this canal and they can press against the brain. This of course, can become a very serious problem.
The symptoms associated with this condition are tinnitus, dizziness and hearing loss. When the condition becomes severe tingling, facial numbness, headaches, mental confusion and clumsiness can occur. As you can see, this can be a very serious condition but luckily, it‘s very rare.
There are three methods of treating tinnitus acoustic neuroma. First, your health care provider will keep a close eye on the condition to look for any changes. Microsurgery can be performed to remove some or all of the growth in hopes of preserving the hearing if it continues to get worse. Radiation is a non-invasive treatment that is also used for small and medium growths. The radiation, if done precisely, will stop the growths while doing little damage to the nerves thus, preserving the hearing in many cases.
* image courtesy of Northwestern University
