The Causes and Symptoms of Severe Hearing Loss

Terdapat beberapa tanda yang mudah dikenali, sebelum berjumpa doktor, jika seseorang itu dikatakan mengalami hilang pendengaran, iaitu terasa sakit pada satu atau kedua-dua telinga, terasa pening atau vertigo dan tinnitus (bunyi bising dalam telinga). Jika anda mempunyai salah satu daripada tanda ini eloklah segera berjumpa doktor/pakar supaya ujian audiogram bagi mengukur intensiti bunyi yang boleh didengar telinga dapat dijalankan. Orang yang mempunyai pendengaran normal boleh mendengar gelombang bunyi pada semua intensiti (julat 0-15 dB) manakala orang yang mempunyai masalah pendengaran yang teruk hanya dapat mendengar bunyi yang kuat berjulat dari 56-98 dB.

Hilang pendengaran boleh dibahagikan kepada 3 jenis, iaitu:

1. Masalah di salur telinga atau telinga tengah – biasanya disebabkan oleh infeksi telinga, tumor atau objek yang menyumbat saluran ini (seperti tahi telinga yang keras dan telah berkumpul lama).

2. Kerosakan sel rambut di telinga dalam atau kerosakan sel saraf atau sel sensori – biasanya disebabkan oleh proses penuaan.

3. Kerosakan di telinga tengah, telinga luar atau telinga dalam (koklea), pada saraf auditori atau otak – biasanya disebabkan oleh kecederaan, infeksi atau faktor keturunan.

Secara umumnya kehilangan pendengaran disebabkan oleh perkara-perkara berikut:

1. Faktor umur (penuaan)

2. Terdedah kepada bunyi yang sangat kuat sehingga merosakkan sel rambut dalam koklea.

3. Infeksi pada telinga yang menyebabkan bendalir berkumpul pada telinga tengah dan menghalang pendengaran.

4. Gegendang telinga berlubang yang disebabkan juga oleh infeksi, terdedah kepada bunyi yang sangat kuat seperti bunyi muzik yg sangat kuat, bunyi kapalterbang, dsb. atau tekanan yang sangat kuat seperti berada di tempat tinggi atau di laut dalam, dsb.

5. Mendapat sakit seperti campak, beguk, meningitis.

6. Tumor.

7. Bahan asing yang berkumpul dan menyumbat telinga (termasuk tahi telinga yang berkumpul dan keras).

8. Struktur telinga tidak lengkap – selalunya sejak lahir.

9. Pengambilan ubat tertentu dalam jumlah yang banyak, termasuk antibiotik, aspirin, dsb.

10. Terdapat gen yang menyebabkan seseorang itu mudah mengalami kerosakan telinga, selaluny boleh dikenalpasti sejak lahir lagi.

Oleh itu, sebelum anda menghadapi masalah pendengaran eloklah diambil langkah pencegahan dengan menghindari penyebab kepada hilangnya pendengaran seperti yang dinyatakan di atas, terutamanya terdedah kepada bunyi yang terlampau kuat.

Perincian tentang kehilangan pendengaran ini termuat dalam artikel di bawah ini….

The Causes and Symptoms of Severe Hearing Loss

Reviewed By Brandon Isaacson, MD

Anyone who deals with severe or profound hearing loss knows how isolating it can be. When you can’t hear, you can’t take part in conversations. You can no longer be an active participant in the world around you.

Timely diagnosis and management of severe hearing loss may significantly improve your quality of life. As soon as you start experiencing the signs of hearing loss, see your doctor for an evaluation.

In this article, you’ll learn the causes and types of severe hearing loss, and what signs to look out for so that you can get diagnosed as quickly as possible.

Signs of Severe Hearing Loss

If you lose hearing, either suddenly or over time, you’ll have trouble making out the details of conversations. Sounds will become muffled and gradually fade.

Depending on the cause of your hearing loss, you might also experience:

Pain in one or both ears

Dizziness, vertigo

Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)

Often, people with severe hearing loss become socially withdrawn because they are embarrassed at having to ask family and friends to repeat themselves over and over again.

Determining the Degree of Hearing Impairment

Your health care provider may order a formal hearing test also known as an audiogram. This test is measured in decibels. Doctors determine the degree of hearing loss by looking at the range of decibels (dB) — a measure of sound intensity — you can hear. People with perfect hearing can hear sounds of all different intensities. Those with severe hearing loss can pick up only very loud sounds.

Normal hearing is considered to be in the range of 0 to 15 dB — which denotes the softest intensity where sound is heard. People with normal hearing are able to discern sounds as faint as human breathing, which measures about 10 dB. Mild hearing loss is in the range of 16 to 25 dB, and moderate hearing loss ranges from 41 to 55 dB. Severe hearing loss is considered to be in the range of 56 – 90 dB. People with severe hearing loss have trouble hearing speech, although they can make out loud sounds, like a truck that backfires or an airplane taking off.

Types of Hearing Loss

There are three main types of hearing loss:

Conductive hearing loss occurs from a problem in the ear canal or the middle ear that prevents sound from being carried effectively to the inner ear. That problem can be caused by an ear infection, tumor, or object (such as wax buildup) in the ear.

Sensorineural hearing loss most commonly results from damage to the hair cells in the inner ear. Other potential causes include damage to the 8th nerve or the brain. This type of hearing loss is often caused by age-related changes to the nerves and sensory cells of the inner ear.

Mixed hearing loss is a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, meaning that there may be damage in the outer or middle ear, as well as in the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve. Mixed hearing loss can be caused by a head injury, chronic infection, or an inherited disorder.

Hearing loss can affect one or both ears. It can occur suddenly (acute) or gradually get worse over time. If you experience a sudden hearing loss, you should see your doctor as soon as possible.

Severe Hearing Loss Causes

In normal hearing, sound waves enter your outer ear. They travel through your inner ear to a shell-shaped tube called the cochlea, which is filled with fluid. As the fluid moves, it sets in motion thousands of tiny hairs which convert the sound vibrations into nerve impulses. Those impulses are then sent to your brain where they are processed into sounds you can recognize.

Hearing loss occurs when there is a problem with the structures of the ear that process sound. Any of these conditions can lead to severe hearing loss:

Age. As people get older, the structures in the ear become less elastic. The tiny hairs get damaged and are less able to respond to sound waves. Hearing loss can progress over the course of several years.

Loud noise. Exposure to loud noises — for example, from power tools, airplanes, firearms, or from listening to loud music on a personal listening device — can damage the hair cells in the cochlea. Hearing impairment severity depends on the loudness of the sound and the length of the exposure.

Ear infections. During an ear infection, fluid can build up in the middle ear. Usually the hearing loss from an ear infection is mild and temporary. However, if ear infections aren’t treated, they can lead to long-term, severe hearing loss

Perforated eardrum. An ear infection, loud sounds, head trauma, or intense pressure in the ear from flying in an airplane or scuba diving can create a hole in the eardrum — the membrane separating the ear canal and middle ear. This typically leads to mild or moderate hearing loss unless there is some other problem.

Illnesses or infections. Measles, mumps, meningitis, and Meniere’s disease are just a few of the conditions that can cause hearing loss.

Tumors. Both cancerous and noncancerous tumors can cause severe hearing loss. This includes acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma) and meningioma. People who have a tumor also might experience numbness or weakness of the face and ringing in the ear.

A foreign object in the ear. When objects get stuck in the ear, they can block hearing. Earwax — the thick, sticky substance that normally prevents bacteria and other foreign substances from entering the ear — can sometimes build up and harden in the ear, muting the ability to hear.

Malformed ear. Some people are born with poorly formed ear structures, which prevent them from hearing well.

Trauma. Injuries such as a skull fracture or a punctured eardrum can be severe hearing loss causes.

Medications. Some types of drugs, including the aminoglycoside class of antibiotics (streptomycin, neomycin, kanamycin), large quantities of aspirin, chemotherapy drugs (cisplatin, carboplatin), Vicodin (in large quantities), macrolide antibiotics (erythromycin) can cause hearing loss. Sometimes these effects are temporary and hearing will return once you stop taking the drug, but in most cases the hearing loss is permanent.

Genes. Scientists have identified certain genes that make people more susceptible to severe hearing loss, particularly age-related hearing loss. Genetic hearing loss often begins with hearing loss diagnosed at birth.

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