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Deafness

Deafness

Alternative Names

Hearing loss

What is Deafness

Deafness - the inability to hear sound. It has many causes and can occur at any age. People can go deaf suddenly as a complication of a virus, or lose their hearing during long time because of disease, damage of nerves, or wound caused by noise. Approximately each 800th baby is born deaf, often because of genetic factors. More than 2 million people in North America cannot hear at all and are considered deeply deaf. 30 million more have serious problems with hearing.

Signs and symptoms

Signs and symptoms of Deafness may include the followings:

Muffling of speech and other sounds
Difficulty understanding words, especially against background noise or in a crowd of people
Often asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly
Needing to turn up the volume of the television or radio
Withdrawal from conversations
Avoidance of some social settings

Possible complications

Hearing loss can have an essential effect on your quality of life. Complications of problems with hearing loss in older people may include:

Depression
Anxiety
An often false sense that others are angry with you

Unfortunately, many people with hearing loss live with these difficulties for many years before seeking treatment — or never seek treatment at all. It also can cause long problems for those who love you if you try to consult, denying your loss of hearing or leaving social interactions.

What causes

When deafness occurs, the source of the problem can be within the ear or within the brain:

Congenital-some people are born with hearing problems
Infections of the ear or the brain
Diseases such as meningitis
Trauma-damage to the structures within the ear e.g. rupture of the ear drum, damage to the hearing center in the brain
Noise induced deafness. Common in men in the music industry, heavy industry (factory, construction work), from firearms
Build up of ear wax blocking the ear canal
Damage to the cochlea
Abnormal bone growths
Tumors
Aging- gradual deterioration that results in less efficient transmission of sound waves

Prevention

Steps you can take to help you to prevent noise-induced hearing loss and avoid worsening of age-related hearing loss include:

Protect your ears on a workplace. Especially developed ear-phones which remind ear-phones, can protect your ears, reducing the loudest sounds to admissible level. The foam, pre-formed, or custom-molded earplugs, made of plastic or rubber also, can effectively protect your ears from destructive noise.
Check up your hearing. Consider regular hearing tests if you work in a noisy environment. Regular testing of your ears can provide early detection of deafness. If you notice any signs of hearing loss, you have possibility to take steps to prevent the further deafness.
Avoid recreational risks. Some actions, such as a trip on a snowmobile, hunting and listening to extremely loud music during long time, can damage your hearing. Carrying hearing protectors or taking breaks from the noise during loud kinds of recreational activity can protect your ears from noise. Turning down the volume when listening to music, can help to avoid damage to your hearing.