Presbycusis, often known as hearing loss that develops gradually with age, is frequent. More over half of Americans over 75 have some degree of age-related hearing loss.
Three categories of hearing loss exist:
- Conductive, which affects the middle or outer ear.
- Inner ear is involved in sensory neural.
- Mixed is a combination of the two.
Hearing loss can result through ageing as well as exposure to loud noises. Other conditions, such as excessive ear wax, can temporarily impair how effectively ears function.
Typically, you won’t hear back. However, there are techniques to make what you hear better.
Symptoms
Hearing loss symptoms can include:
- Speech and other noises becoming muffled.
- Words are difficult to grasp, especially in a noisy environment or in a crowd.
- Difficulty hearing the vowel-free letters of the alphabet.
- Requesting loudly, clearly, and slowly that others speak.
- Need the radio or television to be turned up loud.
- Avoiding certain social situations.
- Noise in the background bothering me.
- Tinnitus, often known as ear ringing.
Causes
It can be useful to comprehend how hearing functions in order to comprehend how hearing loss develops.
The way you hear
The outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear are the three major components of the ear. Through the outer ear, sound waves force the eardrum to vibrate. The vibrations become stronger as they pass through the eardrum and three tiny middle ear bones to the inner ear. The cochlea, a snail-shaped portion of the inner ear, is where the vibrations travel through fluid.
Thousands of microscopic hairs attached to cochlea nerve cells aid in the conversion of sound vibrations into electrical messages. The brain receives the electrical signals. These signals are converted to sound by the brain.
Why hearing loss happens
Hearing loss can be brought on by:
- An inner ear injury. The hairs or nerve cells in the cochlea that transmit sound impulses to the brain can deteriorate with age and exposure to loud noise. Electrical signals are not effectively sent by hairs with damage or missing nerve cells. Hearing loss results from this.
- Higher pitch sounds could appear muted. Words may be difficult to distinguish against the background noise.
- Ear wax accumulation. Earwax can eventually plug the ear canal, obstructing the passage of sound waves. Hearing can be improved with ear wax removal.
- Unexpected bone growths or tumors, or an ear infection. Any one of them can result in hearing loss in the middle or outer ear.
- Tympanic membrane perforation, also known as an eardrum rupture. The eardrum can rupture as a result of loud noises, abrupt pressure changes, item insertion into the ear, infection, and poking the eardrum with something.
Risk elements
The following factors can harm or cause the loss of the hairs and nerve cells in the inner ear:
Ageing. Over time, the inner ear degenerates.
Loud sound. The cells in the inner ear might become damaged when exposed to loud noises. Long-term exposure to loud noises might cause damage. Or the harm could result from a brief blast of sound, like a gunshot.
Heredity. Your genes may increase your risk of developing ear damage from ageing or noise.
Noises made at work. Farming, construction, and factory labour are examples of occupations where loud noise is present all the time and can harm the inner ear.
Noises being made. Hearing loss can be immediately and permanently caused by exposure to explosive noises, such as those made by jet engines and weapons. Other noise-producing activities include carpentry, motorcycle riding, snowmobiling, and loud music listening.
A few medications. These include drugs that can harm the inner ear, such as the antibiotic gentamicin, sildenafil (Viagra), and some cancer treatments. Aspirin taken in extremely high amounts, along with other painkillers, antimalarial medications, and loop diuretics, can have short-term affects on hearing. These include hearing loss or tinnitus, a condition that causes buzzing in the ears.
A few diseases. The cochlea can be harmed by illnesses like meningitis that raise the body’s temperature.
Prevention
The following actions can help prevent hearing loss due to loud noises and slow the progression of hearing loss due to ageing:
Keep your ears safe. The best form of defence is avoiding loud noise. Plastic earplugs or glycerin-filled earmuffs can aid safeguard hearing in the workplace.
Get your hearing evaluated. Consider routine hearing testing if you work in an environment with a lot of noise. You can take action to stop more hearing loss if you’ve already lost some hearing.
Play and hobbies should be free of hazards. Hearing loss can develop over time through activities including jet skiing, snowmobiling, hunting, using power tools, and attending rock concerts. Your ears can be protected by donning hearing protection or taking pauses from the noise. Additionally helpful is lowering the music volume.
