Partial hearing loss in one ear. Sudden deafness: causes, treatment

A condition in which a person loses the perception of sounds greatly reduces the quality of life and interferes with communication with other people. This serious pathology which may be congenital or acquired various reasons. Due to hearing problems, a person loses control over his speech, his voice changes.

The concept of deafness

When a patient's auditory function is impaired, this condition is called, and complete hearing loss is deafness. Lack of perception of sounds develops often due to non-conduction timely treatment hearing loss. At complete deafness a person does not hear anything, and if you shout in his ears. This is considered a severe degree of hearing loss, in which a person is considered a first-degree disabled person.

Signs of pathology

Usually, hearing problems occur in old age, and they are explained by some changes in the body. The main symptoms are extraneous noise in the ears, poor hearing. It becomes difficult for a person to speak, he can make mistakes in intonation, put stress in words incorrectly. But senile deafness and hearing loss are problems solved with the help of.

In many children, auditory dysfunction is determined after birth through an examination using the latest techniques. And in older children, pathology can be detected with a careful attitude towards them. Such children often ask again, do not respond until you call them in a loud voice, do not hear the sounds of the phone.

Minor hearing impairments in children subsequently lead to more serious complications in adult life so it's important not to let it drift similar states and at the slightest suspicion auditory dysfunction in a child, contact qualified specialist. The earlier a hearing loss is detected, the less likely it is that deafness will develop in the future.

In adults, the signs of pathology are as follows:

deterioration in the perception of quiet sounds, rustles;
extraneous sounds in the ears, noise;

In some cases, there is sharp decline hearing that develops within twelve hours. Moreover, it is not at all necessary that the disease touches both ears at once, sometimes the absence of hearing or its decrease occurs only on one side. As a result of such an exacerbation, nausea and vomiting can be observed.

Symptoms in children

In children, the following changes indicate hearing loss:

They often ask the same question over and over again, they cannot understand the meaning of the speech addressed to them.
They do not respond to rather high-pitched sounds (phone calls, birds singing outside the window, etc.).
These children have loud speech, without emotion and often with wrong accents.
There are problems with balance.
Children may complain of noise and strange sounds in their ears.
If infant does not respond to adults and does not make sounds, this may indicate a congenital hearing loss.

There are several factors that often become the causes of the development of the pathology in question:

Severe trauma to the head or auditory organ, the restoration of this important function will occur after recovery or due to surgical and medical treatment.
Under the regular influence of strong noise, the development of a disease called "neurosensory deafness" occurs, due to work in noisy production.
The ingress of a foreign body into the ear canal causes a decrease in hearing abilities.
Violation of the functions of sensory cells that occurs in old age. These cells are not able to renew themselves, so older people often develop hearing loss or senile deafness.
Red systemic lupus and other autoimmune pathologies often lead to a decrease in auditory function.
infectious lesions in chronic course, inflammatory diseases is a direct threat to the health of the ears.
Circulatory disorders.
The formation of tumors contributes to hearing loss.
Hypertonic disease, various pathologies of cardio-vascular system.

Main Causes of Hearing Loss

If the disease is detected in a newborn or in small child, the reasons lie in the following factors:

Oxygen starvation during pregnancy and after birth.
Rubella, encephalitis, measles, syphilis and other serious illnesses transferred during pregnancy.
Treatment with ototoxic drugs during gestation.
Heredity.
Jaundice after birth.

According to the mechanism of development, deafness is divided into conductive and neurosensory. Conductive deafness is associated with problems in that area. nervous system, which transmits a signal to the brain about the incoming sound. And sensorineural deafness occurs due to the pathology of the auditory analyzer.

Types and degrees of hearing loss

Deafness can be congenital or acquired. The congenital form of pathology develops even before birth, and its appearance is associated with various diseases of the mother, with the use of certain medicines, alcoholic beverages that adversely affect the growth and development of the fetus.

A sharp decrease in hearing in adulthood is due to the influence of some adverse factors.

When a person develops neurosensory deafness, this indicates that he is able to perceive sounds, but the main difficulty is that these sounds are not recognized by the brain. And with conductive deafness, sounds simply do not reach the brain. It is this form of pathology that usually becomes acquired.

There are 4 degrees of the disease:

First degree - a person hears and perceives speech and sounds, but he is worried about tinnitus.
The second degree - the disease develops, and the patient is already clearly aware that he has problems with auditory function.
The third degree is characterized by the perception of sounds at a distance of no more than one or two meters. There are great difficulties with communication and interaction with other people, so wearing a hearing aid is indicated.
On last stage illness, a person can catch only a very loud sound, he will not hear human speech and other everyday sounds.

Diagnosis of pathology

When a patient has a hearing loss, it is important to examine the patient and find out the exact reason why it happened, what degree of damage is observed and to determine whether the disease is progressing. Otolaryngologists and audiologists are engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of such pathologies.

In audiology, the following diagnostic techniques are used:

Treatment

Chronic deafness is very difficult to treat. Only with timely application for medical care auditory function will be restored. In old age, it is preferable to use a hearing aid, since there is almost no chance of recovery, especially if the development of the disease was due to hypertension, atherosclerosis, etc.

In case of sudden hearing loss, the patient is prescribed certain drugs, depending on the cause of the pathology:

Anti-inflammatory drugs.
Antihistamines.
Vitamin complexes.
Antibiotics.
Nootropics.
Medicines for edema.

It is advisable to prescribe physiotherapeutic procedures, perform breathing exercises.

In some cases, it becomes necessary to surgical operations for the restoration of eardrums, for the replacement auditory ossicles, on the establishment of special modern hearing aids.

Therapy in childhood

For children, the sooner diagnosed and treated, the better. more likely that hearing is restored. But in the absence of a chance to recover, children are taught sign language, lip reading, and various rehabilitation programs are used.

There is a method surgical intervention called cochlear implantation. This is a very expensive operation, during which special electrodes are implanted, which facilitate the transmission of nerve impulses to the brain. Thus, congenital pathologies can also be cured.

Prevention

To avoid the development of deafness and hearing loss, it is necessary to regularly visit an otolaryngologist, especially if there are complaints about well-being or the main work takes place in noisy conditions. It is very important to examine children in time, bring them to the doctor for examination within the prescribed period.

If it occurs, it is necessary to undergo a course of treatment to the end, not to interrupt it after the symptoms are relieved, because in this way the inflammatory process becomes chronic, and subsequently can lead to hearing loss. It is not recommended to frequently use headphones to listen to music, attend concerts and other noisy events.

Video: Hearing loss

Sensing and recognizing sounds important element human perception of the world around, providing communication and mutual understanding between people. These functions are carried out by the corresponding structures of the organ of hearing. If their work is disturbed, there is a partial deterioration in the perception and transmission of sound waves to the brain - hearing loss (hypoacusia) or a complete loss of the ability to feel and distinguish sounds - deafness. Such diseases can significantly reduce the quality of human life and lead to disability.

Features of the sound analyzer

Sounds arising in the space surrounding a person arrive at the surface eardrum and are conducted through the bony elements of the middle ear during inner ear. The structures located here - the cochlea (the organ of Corti), the vestibule and the circumferential canals make up a labyrinth in which sound vibrations are converted into nerve impulses. They are transmitted by nerve fibers to the parts of the brain responsible for processing and recognizing sounds.

The causes of hearing loss can be both in damage to the structures of the outer or middle ear, and in violation of the functions of the elements of the labyrinth. Pathology can affect both ears or only one of them, have varying degrees heaviness in these organs. Sometimes deafness is passed down through the genes. In some cases, it is caused by infectious diseases or the use of drugs. The causes of deafness and hearing loss are the same, the development of diseases also has similarities, so they are considered successive stages of hearing loss.

Types of hearing loss

The classification of deafness distinguishes certain types diseases according to a number of characteristics - the affected section of the auditory analyzer, the degree of severity pathological manifestations, causes. According to the place of localization, hearing loss can be left-sided - affected left ear, right-sided - there are violations in the ear located on the right, and bilateral - the pathology extends to both sides of the hearing aid.

There are the following degrees of hearing loss:

I - light - the hearing threshold begins with sounds with a loudness of 20-40 dB. For example, it is difficult to hear a whisper from about 2 meters away from a person who is talking, or a normal speech from a distance of 5 meters.
II - moderate - sounds up to 41-55 dB are not heard.
III - severe degree of hearing loss - sound waves with indicators less than 70 dB are not distinguishable. In this state, disability occurs, since communication with others is difficult, it is recommended to wear a hearing aid.
IV - very severe - sounds below 90 dB are not heard.
V - deafness - a person is able to hear only extremely loud noise - from 91 dB and above.

According to the type of the affected part of the organ of hearing, there is a classification of the disease into the following types:

Conductive - associated with a deterioration in the conductivity of sound waves through the elements of the outer and middle parts of the ear, it is noted when their functions are impaired or an obstacle appears for the receipt of an acoustic signal.
Touch - Defeat nerve fibers snails;
Neural - with this type of deafness occurs sudden loss hearing. This type of hearing loss, together with sensory hearing loss, is combined into sensorineural.
Central - occurs when the activity of the center of the brain, which processes sound waves converted into nerve impulses, is disturbed.
Mixed - combines two or more of the described types of disease.

According to the time and causes of occurrence, the classification provides for the allocation of three variants of hearing loss: acquired throughout life, hereditary - capable of being transmitted to children from parents and congenital - the development of which occurred during the period of intrauterine development of the fetus or as a result of injuries that occurred during childbirth. There are acute (lasting up to 1 month), subacute (lasting no more than 3 months) and chronic (gradual, slow deterioration in the perception of sounds during long period time) form of the disease. Causes and treatment various forms deafness will be discussed further.

Causes of hearing loss or loss

The causes of deafness in children depend on the type of hearing loss. The appearance of hereditary deafness is associated with the presence in the chromosomes of certain genes that cause hearing loss. She may not only be independent disease, but also one of the symptoms of diseases that are transmitted to children from their parents. In addition, a complete or partial hearing loss can cause mutations occurring in the genes, they can also be transmitted by inheritance to future offspring. Optionally, hereditary deafness manifests itself from the very birth of a child, in 80% of cases this happens later - in youth or more mature age, often it leads to disability.

Congenital deafness is not inherited. This pathology occurs due to improper formation of the fetus during pregnancy, its infection. Hearing loss in a newborn can be caused by the influence of drugs taken by a pregnant woman that adversely affect auditory nerve drugs, long-term poisoning of the body harmful substances contained in polluted air, tobacco smoke, production shops. The presence of congenital deafness may be associated with trauma to the brain tissue at birth, oxygen starvation when the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's neck.

Acquired hearing loss can appear at any age. With this type of deafness, the causes of the disorders can be associated with a variety of various factors:

severe forms of diseases of the upper respiratory tract, for example, hearing loss after otitis media is not uncommon;
the consequences of damage to the structural elements of the sound analyzer during various types infectious diseases;
traumatic injuries, contusion under the action of a loud sound in close proximity to the ear;
damage to the auditory nerve by an inflammatory process, the appearance of a neoplasm;
being in a noisy environment for a long period of time (in a production environment, construction site, highway, etc.);
insufficient blood supply to the organ of hearing with a deterioration in blood circulation in the brain;
use of ototoxic (hearing-damaging) drugs.

What factors contribute to the development of senile deafness

Hearing loss in the elderly is called presbycusis. The cause of senile deafness is age degenerative changes snail hair cells. They perceive sounds entering the ear canal for subsequent conversion into nerve impulses. As scientists suggest, in old people the appearance of hearing loss or deafness leading to disability in most cases is associated with vascular damage by atherosclerosis. Timely diagnosis and treatment of the disease can slow down pathological process and the symptoms of the disease will be less pronounced.

Hearing loss in old age can also be caused by the following factors:

damage to the auditory nerve;
a decrease in the density of bone elements inner ear;
death of hair cells;
high values of blood pressure, diseases of the cardiovascular system;
deterioration of the blood supply to the organ of hearing;
changes in the structure of the eardrum.

Symptoms of hearing loss

The main symptoms of deafness are a deterioration in the perception of sounds, a narrowing of the spectrum of perceived tones, and the range of indistinguishable by the ear of a person suffering from hearing loss expands as the severity of the disease increases. If at mild degree If hearing impairments are not audible, quiet speech, rustling, high sound vibrations, then with an increase in the severity of impairments, only the ability to distinguish between low sounds remains - the noise of trucks, the sound of working mechanisms, thunder.

Symptoms of long-term deafness - constant noise in the ears, a feeling of stuffiness. sudden deafness(a type of acute hearing loss) manifests itself as a sharp, occurring within 12 hours, a significant deterioration in hearing. Only one ear can become deaf while the functions of the other are fully preserved. Sometimes there are disorders of the vestibular apparatus with the appearance of nausea and dizziness. With mild or moderate childhood hearing loss, it is more difficult for a child to notice the symptoms of the disease himself, so parents need to carefully monitor his behavior.

Signs of deafness in early childhood may include:

the baby does not always understand the speech addressed to him and often asks to repeat what was said;
there is no reaction to high sounds - a bird trill, a door or telephone call;
speech becomes monotonous, some words are stressed incorrectly;
the baby is talking too loudly, shuffling while walking;
it is difficult for the child to maintain balance, he does not respond to appeal, music;
disturbed by unpleasant noise in the ears;
congenital deafness in children is usually manifested by silence - the baby does not try to pronounce sounds, repeat the words that adults pronounce.

Diagnostic methods

Diagnosis of hearing loss is based on speech audiometry and a number of other studies. In order for the treatment of the disease to be successful, it is necessary to identify its causes, determine the severity of the pathology. In addition to audiometry, the diagnosis of hearing loss on one or both sides using the Weber test can be used. A tuning fork test allows you to determine the type of hearing loss. You can find the affected area of the auditory analyzer using the impedancemetry method.

MRI helps to find the cause of deafness. Diagnosis by otoscopy provides an examination of the ear canal, determining the condition of the tympanic membrane. To identify the symptoms of hearing loss in infants allows diagnosis using adapted audiometry, tympanometry and otoacoustic emission. To detect mutations in genes, a special genetic study is carried out.

Hearing loss treatment

Treatment for deafness should begin as soon as initial signs illness. When choosing how to treat hearing loss, the doctor takes into account what factors caused its appearance (circulatory disorders, inflammatory processes as a result of infection, poisoning with toxic substances, traumatic injury skull tissue). Hearing loss caused by vascular disorders, Cavinton, Cinnarizine, Complamin, Mildronate, Cerebrolysin are prescribed. Additionally, medications are prescribed that normalize arterial pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels.

For caused by infection or exposure toxic substances, corticosteroids and toxin-neutralizing agents are used - Prednisolone, Hemodez. Nimesulide helps to remove the inflammatory process, improve microcirculation in tissues - Cocarboxylase, Trental. In the treatment of hearing loss, the development of which occurred after a head injury, Cavinton, Complamin, Nootropil are used. These medicines improve blood circulation and cellular metabolism.

In the chronic form of sensorineural deafness, treatment medications combined with physiotherapy. Conservative therapy is not always able to eliminate tissue disorders observed in severe stages diseases. In these cases, it is necessary to treat deafness operational method. Surgery also indicated for conductive hearing loss. To eliminate temporary deafness, for example, if one ear is deaf, additionally used breathing exercises, massage, acupuncture.

Speech therapists work with children with congenital hearing loss, and if necessary, kids are taught sign language. Having previously consulted with your doctor, you can practice the treatment of deafness with folk remedies, using recipes using garlic, propolis, eleutherococcus, bay leaf. Folk remedies in combination with conservative therapy can improve hearing in mild forms of hearing loss.

Methods of surgical treatment

Myringoplasty is used to restore the integrity of the damaged eardrum. If it is necessary to replace the auditory ossicles, prostheses made of synthetic material (tympanoplasty) are installed. These operations can successfully restore hearing in conductive hearing loss. How to cure severe degree sensorineural deafness: if the hair cells of the organ of Corti are not affected, a hearing aid is installed, otherwise hearing can only be restored with the help of. This type of treatment for deafness is difficult and expensive to perform, but it can help people with the most severe degrees of pathology, including those who have inherited the disease and those with disabilities.

In itself, it is not a disease, rather, this condition is a symptom that occurs in the presence of various diseases. This symptom occurs very often, about 30% of the world's population faces a similar phenomenon.

Hearing loss and constant (or periodic) tinnitus in both children and adults is a subjective sensation described by patients as a hum, squeak, "buzzer" hiss, ringing.

How does it manifest noise in ears?

Most often, patients report hearing ringing, hissing, humming, whistling, or rhythmic clicking. And there may be noise in the ear or both ears. It can also be accompanied by increased sensitivity to various sounds and even their intolerance, as well as hearing loss. If you do not take timely treatment of the disease that causes hearing loss, complete deafness may follow.

Noise in the head and ears may be the main concomitant symptom. It is often accompanied by pain. different localization, photophobia, sound aberrations, etc. That is why, before prescribing treatment, the doctor deals in detail with full range symptoms that indicate the presence of the disease, for diagnosis and selection right method treatment.

Causes and treatment of tinnitus

The causes of tinnitus are most often associated with the presence of ear diseases, including:

ear inflammation;
blockage of the ear canal or auditory tube;
otosclerosis;
damage to the eardrum;
middle ear tumors;
ear damage drugs (antibiotics, aspirin, etc.);
hearing loss;
injury (for example, due to an explosion);
sulfuric plug;
foreign body, etc.

Noise in ear and head can also be observed in diseases of other organs, body systems. Anemia can cause it various diseases hearts, blood vessels, among which the most frequent, causing tinnitus - arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis. Cause of tinnitus may also be hypothyroidism low content in the blood of thyroid hormones) and head injury. And finally, diseases such as:

Meniere's disease - caused by an increase in the amount of fluid in the cavity of the inner ear. Manifested by dizziness, impaired coordination, there is also hearing loss in one ear, tinnitus.

Vestibular syndrome is a combination of neurological, autonomic and somatic disorders accompanied by dizziness, unsteady gait, nystagmus, tinnitus.
Labyrinthitis is a disease in which the work of the peripheral parts of the vestibular and sound analyzers is disrupted during inflammation of the middle ear. Observed tinnitus cause which is associated with the inflammatory process, as well as dizziness, nausea, nystagmus.
Sensorineural hearing loss is infectious disease during which the auditory nerve is affected and hearing deteriorates. Accompanied by noise, dizziness, vomiting.

The most common causes of these diseases are inflammatory processes, injury, vascular diseases brain, cervical osteochondrosis, exposure to noise, vibration, as well as the influence of immune, metabolic, chemical and hereditary factors.

Treatment for tinnitus

All diseases causing tinnitus treatment require the most serious. If you are faced with similar symptom, you should consult a doctor, as inactivity is fraught with hearing loss and its complete loss. IN modern medicine exist different procedures diagnostics, allowing specialists to find out the causes of the disease and prescribe adequate treatment.

First of all, a hearing test, magnetic resonance imaging of the head (MRI) and CT scan temporal bone(CT). After the examination, depending on its results, treatment will be prescribed. Sometimes this is a course of "droppers", often the removal of a cork or surgery, in case of otosclerosis or damage to the eardrum.

Remember, it is very dangerous to self-medicate, for example, sensorineural hearing loss is completely curable if you start treatment in the first three days of illness, over time, the likelihood of complete hearing loss increases significantly.

Eat different methods, which help to cope with noise (hearing aids, soft music, special devices), but before resorting to them, you should identify and eliminate causes of tinnitus, treatment must be carried out by a competent specialist.

Which specialists

Otolaryngologist (otiatrist)
Neurologist
Therapist (cardiologist)

The ability to hear plays extremely important role in our life. After all, with the help of hearing, we perceive a lot of information and communicate with each other. Accordingly, the decrease in hearing acuity negatively affects general quality life, and if the ability to hear completely disappears, it is comparable to a disaster. Hearing impairments can be caused by a variety of factors, but in most cases they are successfully amenable to partial or complete correction. Let's clarify why partial hearing loss in one ear may occur, what to do if such a problem occurs.

Hearing loss in one ear can be of varying severity. Doctors distinguish five degrees of hearing loss:

Light;
- average;
- heavy;
- deep;
- complete or deafness.

About eight percent of people suffer from hearing loss, and this is only official data. But in fact, this figure is somewhat higher, because not everyone who has encountered such a problem seeks doctoral help. The second one hears normally, and some sound loss in the ear becomes habitual after a while ...

Causes of hearing loss in one ear

In some cases, hearing loss is due to a violation of the conduction of sound through the outer and middle ear. Similar problem may occur if the external ear canal close the sulfur plugs. Sulfur is a natural secretion, however, in diseases of the hearing aid, mechanical stimulation or insufficient care, it is able to accumulate, forming dense traffic jams.

Also, quite often, the passage of sound is disturbed due to entry into the ear canal. foreign bodies. This situation is especially typical for young children, and requires seeking ENT help.

In some cases, a unilateral decrease in hearing acuity occurs with an average catarrhal or purulent otitis media. If an abscess formed on the surface of the eardrum, which then opened and formed a hole, then the person may completely stop hearing. Hearing recovery occurs after the hole has healed or after surgery. It is worth noting that if a rough or large scar forms on the eardrum during the healing process, a person may develop a persistent unilateral hearing loss.

Loss of hearing in one ear can also be explained by trauma to the eardrum caused by thoughtless picking in the ears, blow sound wave or high pressure. Such a problem may be faced by those who received a sharp blow to the ear with the palm of their hand, as well as hunters who heard a shot above the ear, or divers.

In some cases, the normal passage of sound is disturbed due to the presence of large boils in the ear canal.

Among other things, unilateral hearing impairment can be caused by damage to the auditory nerve, for example, caused by bacterial or viral infection. Partial loss of sound in one ear can develop with influenza, SARS, rubella, mumps, meningitis, etc.

Sometimes partial hearing loss on the one hand is a consequence of the toxic effect of drugs represented by antibacterial agents, anticancer drugs, acetylsalicylic acid, quinine, etc. Also, different chemical elements at work, alcohol and nicotine.

Unilateral hearing loss can occur due to a traumatic brain injury that causes swelling, disrupts normal blood circulation, and also provokes the development of hemorrhages - capillary and arterial.

Sometimes hearing loss on one side occurs in people due to features professional activity due to excessive noise acoustic injuries and vibrations.

In the elderly, unilateral hearing loss may be due to hypertension, age-related changes V hearing aid, circulatory disorders and stroke.

In some cases, doctors fail to find out the causes of a sharp and inexplicable decrease in hearing acuity. In this case, the patient should think for himself whom he did not want to hear for a long time, and from this, perhaps, self-hypnosis arose, which led to some weakening of hearing in the ear.

What to do with unilateral partial hearing loss?

In any case, if you feel that your hearing has become worse, it is better not to hesitate and seek help from a qualified otolaryngologist. The doctor will conduct a full examination and may send you for a consultation with others. narrow specialists. In most cases, unilateral hearing loss can be corrected, especially when timely diagnosis.

The most common cause of hearing loss is sulfur plugs. They are quickly and easily eliminated in the office of the ENT. A few days before the removal, the specialist may advise dripping hydrogen peroxide into the ear canal, and the removal itself involves blowing the ears through the Politzer or washing out the plugs.

Also often partial hearing loss occurs against the background of otitis media. At catarrhal form diseases can be dealt with with the help of simple local drops - Otipax or Albucid. If the doctor found an attachment purulent process, apply antibacterial agents, for example, local - in the form of drops (Polydex) or systemic - in the form of tablets or injections (macrolides, cephalosporins or fluoroquinolones). If there was a perforation of the eardrum, it is absolutely impossible to use drops.

In some cases, hearing loss requires surgical intervention. Therefore, when such a symptom appears, it is better not to hesitate and seek medical help.

Hearing loss is a rather serious problem, because a person's perception and understanding of surrounding sounds is reduced. This phenomenon is quite common, about 5% of the population suffers from such an ailment.

Deafness

Deafness is the complete or partial (hard of hearing) absence of hearing. With this pathology, a person either does not hear at all, or the hearing loss is so strong that it is impossible to perceive speech. As a result, a person cannot communicate normally with other people, his quality of life is significantly reduced. This ailment can be either unilateral or bilateral.

Causes of Hearing Loss

Let's highlight the main factors leading to hearing loss:

Why hearing deteriorates (video)

In this video you can listen interesting information about the causes of hearing loss, especially in the elderly. It also touches a little on the topic of treatment of this pathology.

Types of deafness and degrees of hearing loss

It is customary to distinguish between congenital and acquired forms of hearing loss.

Congenital deafness usually occurs in the womb under the influence of negative factors:

Maternal infections during pregnancy.
Smoking, drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
The use of drugs toxic to the auditory analyzer during the period of bearing a child ("Levomycetin", "Aspirin", "Gentamicin").
Hemolytic disease of the newborn.
Birth trauma.

Acquired hearing loss is distinguished by its occurrence against the background of normal hearing, which decreases under the influence of certain negative factors. These can be: complicated infections, injuries, circulatory disorders, tumors, prolonged exposure to noise for a long time.

Depending on which part of the auditory analyzer is affected, the following classification is distinguished:

Sensorineural deafness. It is caused by a whole complex of pathologies. With this type of deafness, a person is able to pick up sounds. The problem is that they are not perceived and are not recognized by the brain.
Conductive deafness. In this case, the person does not hear for the reason that the sounds do not reach the organ that is able to transmit them to the brain. Conductive hearing loss is predominantly an acquired pathology. Congenital cases of such deafness are rare, usually associated with some kind of genetic disease.
Mixed hearing loss. It is a combination of the two above pathologies.

Degrees of hearing loss

First degree. It is considered the easiest. The auditory threshold that the ear catches will be in this case 26-40 dB. Hearing abilities are still not very much reduced. The patient can hear speech at a distance of five meters. But if present, then the perception of speech will already deteriorate.

Second degree. It manifests itself as the disease progresses. The sound threshold of hearing is in the range of 41-55 dB. The patient hears speech within 2-4 meters. At this stage, the person clearly understands that he has a hearing problem.

Third degree. At this stage, the threshold of sound perception is 56-79 dB. The patient is able to hear speech at a distance of only 1-2 meters. With such a serious defeat, a person can no longer fully communicate. Such a patient is given a disability. IN Everyday life he uses a special hearing aid.

Fourth degree. At this level, the sound threshold rises to 71-90 dB. The patient does not hear even loud speech, except for screams.

Diagnostics

In the diagnosis of deafness, it is extremely important to identify the cause of hearing problems, the degree of impairment, to determine whether the disease is regressing or progressing.

The examination is carried out by an otolaryngologist. To assess the patient's condition, the method of speech audiometry is used. If hearing loss is detected, the patient is also referred for a consultation with an audiologist.

To identify the type of hearing loss, otoscopy, a comparative assessment of bone and air conduction(performed using tuning forks). In conductive hearing loss, tympanometry is used to find the cause.

Electrocochleography allows you to diagnose the activity of the cochlea and the auditory nerve.

Diagnosis of hearing in infants is performed using the induced delayed otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) and distortion product frequency emission (DPOAE) methods. This is simple and fast procedure performed with a special device. Another method used to determine the hearing threshold is the evoked potential method (computed audiometry). He is able to objectively determine the state of auditory function.

Detecting hearing problems early (video)

This video explains the importance of identifying hearing problems in children. Examples of devices and techniques that can be used for diagnosis in this disease are given.

Treatment of deafness in adults and children

It is better not to delay the treatment of deafness, because chronic forms This pathology is difficult to treat. Restoration of ear function is possible only on initial stages diseases.

Relying on Scientific research, we can responsibly declare that the timely started complex treatment will significantly improve hearing (80%) or lead to complete cure. This, of course, applies to acute and sudden deafness. And provided early medical intervention. If it's about chronic pathology (elderly age, occupational hazards, recurrent otitis), then the treatment is no longer so effective - an average of about 20%.

Additional Information. Virtually no treatment for deafness caused by hypertension, impaired blood supply to the auditory analyzer, atherosclerosis.

IN traditional medicine There are two types of treatment for this disease: conservative And surgical.

Conservative treatment

Acute and sudden deafness requires hospital treatment. There, the patient is carefully examined, the cause and severity of the disease are determined. Then a course of treatment is prescribed, which usually contains one of the drugs on this list:

Antibiotics a wide range actions ("Amoxiclav", "Supraks", "Cefixime").
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ("Ibuprofen", "Nurofen", "Ketonal").
Nootropic drugs ("Piracetam", "Nootropil", "Glycine").
B group vitamins.
Antiallergic drugs ("Suprastin", "Zirtek").
Decongestants ("Furosemide").

The main forms of medication used are ear drops.

In addition to drug therapy, are used and helper methods treatment:

physiotherapeutic effects (treatment with current, laser radiation, microcurrents, phototherapy, iontophoresis, darsonvalization, UHF);
massage;
ear blowing;
breathing exercises;
oxygen barotherapy - on the tissues of the body is a beneficial effect of increased atmospheric pressure with oxygen.

Surgery

There are several types of interventions that are used to correct hearing loss:

Myringoplasty. It is performed when the integrity of the tympanic membrane is violated (the damaged membrane is replaced with a synthetic one).
Prosthetics of the auditory ossicles. This operation is performed in case of a violation of their functioning (they make a replacement for synthetic analogues).
Hearing prosthesis (a modern hearing aid is installed).
cochlear implantation. During the operation, electrodes are implanted in the ear that can affect the auditory nerve and transmit signals to the brain. This operation helps to cure even congenital deafness and hearing loss. Hearing is restored completely or partially. But this is a very expensive operation.

Several specialists are involved in the treatment of hearing loss in children: an audiologist, a speech therapist, a defectologist, a child psychologist.

Note! In infants, early diagnosis and promptly initiated therapy will help to avoid delayed speech development.

Infants with congenital hearing loss should be treated as early as six months of age. What can it be?

speech therapy. Specialists teach how to pronounce sounds and words correctly.
Learning sign language.
Cochlear implantation for children with severe sensorineural hearing loss.
Medicines that affect infections.
Non-drug treatment: physiotherapy, pneumomassage of the tympanic membrane, acupuncture.
Surgical operations aimed at correcting structural problems (tympanoplasty, ossicular prosthetics, myringoplasty).

Folk methods of treatment

Hearing improvement folk methods it is indeed possible and it has already been proven by many people. But, of course, before using such treatment, you need to consult an otolaryngologist. Only then can you successfully solve the problem using drug therapy and methods folk treatment in complex.

Garlic. It's efficient natural remedy, which was used by our great-grandmothers:

Recipe number 1. Garlic drops. Take a head of garlic, squeeze the juice out of it, then mix with a few tablespoons corn oil. This tool you need to instill three drops in sore ear, for three weeks. Then a week break is required, after which the course can be repeated.

Recipe number 2. Garlic-camphor compresses. Take a few cloves of garlic, chop them and mix with two tablespoons camphor alcohol. On the basis of this tool, compresses are supposed to be made.

Propolis:

Recipe number 1 (for children). Alcohol tincture of propolis. Mix one tablespoon of vegetable oil with two tablespoons of 30% alcohol tincture propolis. Take cotton turundas, soak them in this solution and keep them in your ears for eight hours. These procedures are performed every other day for two weeks.

Recipe number 2 (for adults). It is very similar to the previous one, the difference is only in the number of components and the exposure time of the drug in the ears. Mix propolis tincture with vegetable oil in a ratio of one to four, and plug the ear passages with cotton swabs soaked in this product. Keep them for at least 36 hours.

Bay leaf. Bay leaf has active substances that help improve blood circulation in the brain and hearing organs. This remedy is often used to treat sensorineural hearing loss.

Recipe: take a few dried bay leaves, grind them, pour a glass hot water. We insist for three hours. Then we filter and instill five drops three times a day in a sore ear. Treatment takes two weeks.

Eleutherococcus. Eleutherococcus tincture can relieve inflammation, increase immunity. It should be taken twenty drops twice a day.

Honey with lemon. Once a day, you need to eat a quarter of a lemon with a peel, smeared with honey. Hearing can be restored within a week.

If you're experiencing hearing loss, don't get discouraged. Remember that more than half of cases of hearing loss can be successfully treated if early diagnosis and timely competent treatment. Be attentive to own health and don't worry!