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Hearing Loss Causes

Hearing Loss: Causes


Top Causes

1. Advancing age

The extent of hearing disability varies from person to person after crossing the age of 60 years. The decline in their hearing ability, also known as presbyacusis, occurs when there is a decline in the blood vessels in the part of the inner ear. However, it should be noted that this does not have any impact on the individualโ€™s understanding of words or sentences. Also, this deterioration of hearing ability stops after the age of 70 years. Genetic factors, exposure to loud noises at young age, disease in the middle ear and even medications related to osteoporosis can have an effect on an individualโ€™s hearing ability.

2. Noise

Constant exposure to loud noise can be harmful for your ears. Noise level is measured in decibel (db). A noise of 85 db and higher is usually damaging for the ears. The loud sound which is collected as sound waves by the ear travels down the ear canal towards the ear drum, and it has enough force to damage the hearing system and cause hearing loss. It can also dislodge the tiny bones of the middle ear.

3. Medication related hearing loss

Some medicines which are used for treating serious infections, heart problems, and cancer can result in the loss of hearing among people. These medicines are called oxotoxic. The initial sign of damage done by these medicines usually are a ringing sensation in the ears. This, however, goes unnoticed until oneโ€™s speech gets affected. These medicines damage the sensory cells utilized for hearing and balance. Aminoglycoside antibiotic causes permanent damage, and aspirin, quinine, loop diuretics, etc., cause temporary damage in the hearing ability.

4. Sudden loss in hearing ability

Sudden hearing loss has been defined for diagnosis by doctors as a sensorineural hearing inability of sounds over 30 db over three frequencies over a period of three consecutive days. An individual awakening with inability to hear, loss of hearing which is noted for a few days, disruptions in speech have all been put under this category. Viral illness, damage to the cochlea, damage to the membranes which separate the middle ear from the inner ear are all possible pathological reasons for sudden loss in hearing.

5. Certain illnesses

Mumps is one of the most illness which results in hearing inability among many people all over the US. Scarlet fever, which damages the middle ear bones and the eardrum, is another such illness affecting your hearing. Insufficient blood flow to the ear can also result in loss of hearing. This occurs in people with heart disease or with people with high pressure. Meningitis which affects the membranes covering your brain and the spinal cord also results in hearing disability. You should have a check up done after you recover from the disease. A middle ear disease called otosclerosis and Meniereโ€™s disease, which affects the inner ear, may also result in a loss of hearing. People with AIDS also suffer from hearing loss. Tumors formed in the head and neck can also affect hearing.

6. Trauma

This occurs as a result of injury to the hearing aids of the inner ear due to exposure to loud noise. Trauma occurs when you are exposed to gunshots, loud music, machinery noises, or an explosive bursting near your ears. This can be easily detected by a person who is exposed to loud noises if he/she senses a ringing sensation in ears.

7. Infection or earwax

Earwax, or cerumen as it is medically called, is produced by the glands of the outer ear canal to prevent dust, small particles from damaging the ear drum. In normal cases, this dries up and falls out of the ear. However, a recent survey shows that about 6 percent of people in the US suffer from earwax problem. In these cases, the earwax, instead of falling out, becomes embedded and hence blocks the individualโ€™s listening capability. Ear infection affects the whole ear, mainly the inner and the middle ear, which enables us to hear. The hearing capacity gets affected as sound waves cannot pass through the ear which is filled with fluid. Fluid persistency and chronic otitis media can hamper the hearing ability of children during their speech and language development years. Children who suffer from hearing impairment due to infections in their ear can also have distortions in speech.

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