Hearing Loss Essay, Research Paper

Being deaf is a handicap that afflicts millions of people around the world every

year. Hearing loss can result from any number of afflictions that can affect the

outer, middle, or inner ear. The range of hearing loss can also vary from mild

to severe. The ear is made up of the outer, middle and inner ear. The outer ear

consists of the auricle, the external auditory canal and the lobe. The outer ear

helps to funnel sound and noise into the middle ear. The middle ear consists of

the eardrum and the three middle ear bones, the Mallues, Incus, and the Stapes.

The middle ears primary function is to conduct sound. The inner ear is where

sound is interpreted through electrical impulses relayed to brain into

understandable sounds that we recognize. (Lucente3-8) The labyrinth of the inner

ear contains the nerve endings of the vestibular nerve–the nerve of

equilibrium-and the auditory nerve, which are branches of the vestibulocochlear,

or eighth cranial, nerve. The vestibular nerve ends supply the semicircular

canals and the otolithic membranes in the vestibule. The auditory nerve supplies

the cochlea. Diseases of the labyrinth of the inner ear may affect both the

vestibular nerve and the auditory nerve, or they may affect only the auditory

nerve, with loss of hearing. (Lucente 6) The most common causes of inner-ear

diseases are congenital nerve deafness, viral infections, and ototoxic drugs.

Congenital nerve deafness is a defect of the auditory nerve in the cochlea and

may be present at birth or acquired during or soon after birth. Usually both

inner ears are affected to a similar degree, and there is a severe impairment of

hearing, although in some cases of congenital nerve loss the impairment can be

moderate. Many cases of congenital nerve deafness have been caused by the

rubella (German measles) virus in the mother during the first three months of

her pregnancy. This can happen during a rubella epidemic, even when the mother

has no symptoms of the infection. In most cases the vestibular nerve is not

affected or is affected to a lesser degree, and in most (but not all) cases the

outer and middle ear structures are not affected. A vaccine against the rubella

virus made available in 1969 has reduced the number of cases of congenital nerve

deafness in developed countries. (Lucente 84-87) Congenital nerve deafness

acquired at or soon after birth may result from insufficient oxygen (anoxia)

during a difficult and prolonged delivery or from incompatibility between the

baby?s blood and that of its mother. In a few cases congenital nerve deafness

is an inherited failure of the cochlea to develop properly. When the hearing

loss is severe, speech cannot be acquired without special training. Children

afflicted with hearing loss must attend special classes or schools for the

severely deaf, where they can be taught lip-reading, speech, and sign language.

Electrical hearing aids can be helpful, especially during classes, to use the

residual hearing. Another alternative, although controversial within the deaf

community, is a cochlear implant, which is sometimes useful in cases of profound

hearing loss. In this operation, an electrode is surgically implanted in the ear

to directly stimulate the auditory nerve between the brain and the ear. (www.deaf.com)

Viral infections can cause severe degrees of sensorineural hearing loss in one

ear, and sometimes in both, at any age. The Mumps virus is one of the most

common causes of severe sensorineural hearing loss in one ear. The measles and

influenza viruses are less common. There is no effective medical or surgical

treatment to restore hearing impaired by a virus. (Lucente 95) Ototoxic (harmful

to the ear) drugs can cause temporary and sometimes permanent impairment of

auditory nerve functions. Certain drugs like aspirin in large enough doses may

cause ringing in the ears and then a temporary decrease in hearing that ceases

when the person stops taking the drug. Quinine can have a similar effect but may

cause permanent impairment of auditory nerve functions in some cases. Certain

antibiotics, such as streptomycin and neomycin may cause permanent damage to

auditory nerve functions. Susceptibility to auditory nerve damage from ototoxic

drugs varies greatly among individuals. In most cases, the vestibular nerve is

not affected. Streptomycin affects the vestibular nerve more than it affects the

auditory nerve. (Lucente 89) Skull fractures and concussions from a severe blow

on or to the head can impair the functioning of the auditory and vestibular

nerves in varying degrees. The greatest hearing loss arises when a fracture of

the skull passes through the labyrinth of the inner ear, totally destroying its

function. The effect of noise exposure on one’s hearing depends on the intensity

and duration of the noise. The effects may be temporary or permanent. A single

exposure to an extremely intense sound, such as an explosion, may produce a

severe and permanent loss of hearing. Repeated exposures to sounds in excess of

80 to 90 decibels may cause gradual deterioration of hearing by destroying the

hair cells of the inner ear, with possible subsequent degeneration of nerve

fibers. The level of noise produced by rock music bands usually exceeds 110

decibels. The noise generated by farm tractors, power mowers, and snowmobiles

may reach 100 decibels. In the United States, legislation requires that workers

exposed to sound levels greater than 90 decibels for an eight-hour day be

provided some form of protection, such as earplugs or earmuffs. Individuals

differ in their susceptibility to hearing loss from noise exposure; because

hearing loss typically begins at the higher frequencies of 4,000 to 6,000 hertz,

the effects of noise exposure may go unnoticed until the hearing loss spreads to

the lower frequencies of 1,000 to 2,000 hertz. Inhalation of carbogen, a mixture

of 5 percent carbon dioxide and 95 percent oxygen for twenty minutes will

accelerate recovery of hearing if administered within a few hours after

excessive noise exposure. (Lucente 90) Labyrinthitis is the inflammation of the

labyrinth of the inner ear. This is caused by infections such as meningitis,

syphilis, acute otitis media and mastoiditis, or chronic otitis media and

cholesteatoma(A complication of chronic otitis media). (Infomedical)

Cholesteatoma can create negative pressure in the middle ear such that a mass

consisting of keratin and epidermis is drawn into the middle ear through a

perforated eardrum. Cholesteatoma typically erodes the mastoid bone and causes

damage the ossicles (three small bones of the middle ear). (Infomercial) Loss of

both equilibrium and hearing occurs in the affected ear. Prompt antibiotic

treatment sometimes arrests the damage and allows for the possibility of partial

recovery of the function of the inner ear.(Infomedical) An acoustic neuroma is a

benign tumor that grows on the auditory nerve near the point where it enters the

labyrinth of the inner ear. The tumor causes gradual and progressive loss of

auditory and vestibular nerve functions on one side. Eventually the tumor grows

out into the brain cavity, causing headaches and paralysis. If it is not

removed, blindness and death may result. Fortunately, acoustic neuroma usually

can be diagnosed early by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and removed before it

has serious consequences. (Lucente 151) M?ni?re’s disease, also called

endolymphatic hydrops, is a fairly common disorder of the labyrinth of the inner

ear that affects both the vestibular nerve, with resultant attacks of vertigo,

and the auditory nerve, with impairment of hearing. It was first described in

1861 by a French physician, Prosper M?ni?re. It is now known that the symptoms

are caused by an excess of endolymphatic fluid in the inner ear. The diagnosis

is made from the recurring attacks of vertigo, often with nausea and vomiting,

impairment of hearing with a distortion of sound in the affected ear that

fluctuates in degree, and a sense of fullness or pressure in the ear. The cause

of the excess of endolymphatic fluid is not always known, although in many cases

it results from defective functioning of the endolymphatic duct and sac, the

structures that normally reabsorb endolymphatic fluid from the inner ear.

Allergic reactions to certain foods may also cause the disease. The treatment of

M?ni?re’s disease is directed toward finding the cause of the excess of

endolymphatic fluid in order to control it. If medical treatment does not

relieve the repeated attacks of vertigo, surgery may be necessary. (Lucente

150-151) Presbycusis is the gradual decline of hearing function that results

from aging. It is similar to other aging processes because it occurs at

different ages and at different rates among the population. As a person ages,

there is a gradual loss of cochlear hair cells, resulting in gradually reduced

and eventually lost hearing. Hearing is reduced at the highest audible

frequencies (around 20,000 hertz) and then progressively for sounds of lower

frequencies. Usually the slow diminishing of hearing does not begin until after

age 60. The affected individual notices increasing difficulty in hearing sounds

of high pitch and in understanding conversation. Correction of a nutritional

deficiency of zinc, coenzyme Q10, or possibly vitamin A may stabilize the

progressive hearing loss. The physician must make certain that the individual

does not have a correctable impairment, such as accumulated earwax, secretory

otitis media, or stirrup fixation by otosclerosis, as part of the difficulty. An

electrical hearing aid is of limited help to some, while others find that a

hearing aid makes voices louder but less clear and therefore is of little

help.(Lucente 464-465) The child born deaf or with a severe hearing impairment

cannot acquire speech by the normal process but must attend special classes or a

school for the deaf to be taught speech and lip-reading. Most of these children

have remnants of the sense of hearing that can be utilized in their schooling by

the use of aids to amplify sound. The child with a moderate or mild hearing

impairment is able to acquire speech independently but a little more slowly than

the child with normal hearing, while speech-correction instruction is usually

required to improve diction. Cochlear implants can be considered for children

and adults with a total absence of hearing or hearing loss so profound that

hearing aids are not helpful. Implants make it possible for a deaf child to

develop speech and allow a deaf adult to communicate more effectively. (Www.deaf.com)

Advances in hearing-aid technology have served to increase the proportion of

hearing-impaired individuals who can benefit substantially from amplification.

Selection of an appropriate hearing aid for individuals with sensorineural (or

nerve-type) hearing loss may be difficult and time-consuming. Research has

demonstrated repeatedly, however, that the ability of listeners with

sensorineural hearing loss to understand speech at conversational levels often

can be enhanced significantly by use of an appropriate hearing aid. For those

individuals whose hearing loss causes severe distortion of speech, use of a

hearing aid in combination with lip-reading may increase the amount of speech

the individual can understand through lip-reading alone. On the other hand,

selection of a hearing aid is often a simpler matter for listeners with hearing

loss of the conductive type. Careful selection is necessary to ensure that

maximum understanding of speech is obtainable in noisy environments. The

hearing-impaired individual should consult with trained professionals such as

audiologists, who are trained in evaluating the benefit derived from the use of

a hearing aid. Lip-reading, which actually entails attentive observation of the

entire facial expression rather than the movements of the lips alone, is used

even by persons with normal hearing who, in the presence of background noise,

need these visual clues to supplement hearing. As hearing begins to be impaired,

lip-reading, which might better be termed speech reading, becomes increasingly

valuable and important. The hearing-impaired individual who knows a spoken

language can learn lip-reading by careful observation of a speaker of that

language. Formal instruction in lip-reading by a teacher individually or in

classes is necessary for those hearing-impaired persons who have not acquired

knowledge of a spoken language. The greater the loss of hearing, the more

essential lip-reading becomes, for which good lighting is essential. The

hearing-impaired may also be taught a sign language, such as American Sign

Language, as a communications tool. Speech-correction instruction, needed for

the young with serious degrees of impaired hearing, also becomes necessary for

the adult who suddenly loses all hearing in both ears. Without the monitoring

effect of hearing one’s own voice, speech begins to deteriorate and to acquire

the flat, toneless quality of the profoundly deaf. Deafness was once thought of

a disease that would leave the individual as a recluse because of their lacking

the ability to communicate with society. Medicine has made great amounts of

progress in diagnosing and treating hearing disorders, while other have helped

to improve the quality of life for the deaf today through deaf culture.

Books Lucente, Frank. Essentials of Otolaryngology. New York: Raven Press,

1997. Turkington, Carol. The Encyclopedia of Deafness and Hearing Disorders. New

York: Fact on File, 1992. Internet National Association for the Deaf www.nad.org

Deaf.com www.deaf.com www.deafworldweb.com Infomedical Dictionary http://home.ipoline.com/~guoli/med/puto.htm