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FAQ'S

Q) What is A Hearing Loss?

A) Hearing Loss, or hearing impairment (say: im-pare-ment), happens when there is a problem with one or more parts of the ear or ears ("impairment" means something is not working correctly or as well as it should).
Someone who has hearing loss might be able to hear some sounds or nothing at all. people also may use the words deaf, deafness, or hard of hearing when they're talking about hearing loss.
About 3 in 1,000 babies are born with hearing impairment, making it the most common birth defect. a hearing problem can also develop later in life.

Q) What are the Types of Hearing Loss with Causes and Treatment?

A) Hearing Loss can be caused by many different causes, some of which can be successfully treated with medicine or surgery, depending on the disease process. there are three types of hearing loss

a) Conductive Hearing Loss
b) Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL)
c) Mixed Hearing Loss

1) Conductive Hearing Loss: When Hearing Loss is Due to Problems with the Ear Canal, Ear Drum, or Middle Ear and its Little Bones (The Malleus, Incus and Stapes).

Causes:

a) Malformation of outer ear, ear canal, or middle ear structures
b) Fluid in the middle ear from colds
c) Ear infection (otitis media - an infection of the middle ear in which an accumulation of fluid may interfere with the movement of the eardrum and ossicles
d) Allergies
e) Poor eustachian tube function
f) Perforated eardrum
g) Benign tumors
h) Impacted earwax
i) Infection in the ear canal
j) Foreign body in the ear
k) Otosclerosis

Treatments:
Types of conductive hearing loss include congenital absence of ear canal or failure of the ear canal to be open at birth, congenital absence, malformation, or dysfunction of the middle ear structures, all of which may possibly be surgically corrected. if these are not amenable to successful surgical correction, then the hearing alternatively may be improved with amplification with a bone conduction hearing aid, or a surgically implanted, osseointegrated device (for example, the baha or ponto system), or a conventional hearing aid, depending on the status of the hearing nerve.

Other causes of conductive hearing loss are: infection; tumors; middle ear fluid from infection or eustachian tube dysfunction; foreign body; and trauma (as in a skull fracture). acute infections are usually treated with antibiotic or antifungal medications. chronic ear infections, chronic middle fluid, and tumors usually require surgery. if there is no response to initial medical therapy, infectious middle ear fluid is usually treated with antibiotics -- while chronic non-infectious middle ear fluid is treated with surgery (or pressure equalizing tubes).

Conductive hearing loss from head trauma is frequently amenable to surgical repair of the damaged middle ear structures, performed after the patient’s general medical status is stabilized following acute traumatic injuries.

A genetic form of conductive hearing loss is otosclerosis, in which there is bony fixation of the stapes (the third little bone of hearing in the middle ear), where sound can’t get to the middle ear. otosclerosis usually presents with hearing loss in early adulthood. otosclerosis can successfully be managed with surgery to replace the immobile stapes with a mobile stapes prosthesis or with a hearing aid. research suggests that the measles virus may contribute to stapes fixation in those with a genetic predisposition to otosclerosis. the incidence of otosclerosis may be decreasing in some communities due to measles vaccination. otosclerosis (a hereditary disorder in which a bony growth forms around a small bone in the middle ear, preventing it from vibrating when stimulated by sound) usually causes a conductive hearing loss, a hearing loss caused by a problem in the outer or middle ear. less frequently, otosclerosis may cause a sensorineural hearing loss (damaged sensory cells and/or nerve fibers of the inner ear), as well as a conductive hearing loss.

2) Sensorineural Hearing Loss : When Hearing Loss is Due to Problems of the inner Ear, Also Known as nerve-related Hearing Loss.

Causes:

a) Exposure To Loud Noise
b) Head Trauma
c) Virus Or Disease
d) Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease
e) Hearing Loss That Runs In The Family
f) Aging (presbycusis)
g) Malformation Of The Inner Ear
h) Meniere’s Disease
i) Otosclerosis - A Hereditary Disorder In Which A Bony Growth Forms Around A Small Bone In The Middle Ear, Preventing It From Vibrating When Stimulated By Sound.
j) Tumors

Treatment:
Sensorineural hearing loss can result from acoustic trauma (or exposure to excessively loud noise), which may respond to medical therapy with corticosteroids to reduce cochlea hair cell swelling and inflammation to improve healing of these injured inner ear structures.

Sensorineural hearing loss can occur from head trauma or abrupt changes in air pressure such as in airplane descent, which can cause inner ear fluid compartment rupture or leakage, which can be toxic to the inner ear. there has been variable success with emergency surgery when this happens.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss, presumed to be of viral origin, is an otologic emergency that is medically treated with corticosteroids.

Bilateral progressive hearing loss over several months, also diagnosed as autoimmune inner ear disease, is managed medically with long-term corticosteroids and sometimes with drug therapy. autoimmune inner ear disease is when the body’s immune system misdirects its defenses against the inner ear structures to cause damage in this part of the body.

Fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss may be from unknown cause or associated withmeniere’s disease. symptoms of meniere’s disease are hearing loss, tinnitus (or ringing in the ears), and vertigo. meniere’s disease may be treated medically with a low-sodium diet, diuretics, and corticosteroids. if the vertigo is not medically controlled, then various surgical procedures are used to eliminate the vertigo.

Sensorineural hearing loss from tumors of the balance nerve adjacent to the hearing nerve, generally are not reversed with surgical removal or irradiation of these benign tumors. if the hearing loss is mild and the tumors are very small, hearing may be saved in 50 percent of those undergoing hearing preservation surgery for tumor removal.

Sensorineural hearing loss from disease in the central nervous system may respond to medical management for the specific disease affecting the nervous system. for example, hearing loss secondary to multiple sclerosis may be reversed with treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Irreversible sensorineural hearing loss, the most common form of hearing loss, may be managed with hearing aids. when hearing aids are not enough, this type of hearing loss can be surgically treated with cochlear implants.

3) Mixed Hearing Loss : Refers to a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. this means that there may be damage in the outer or middle ear and in the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve.

Treatments For Mixed Hearing Loss

Audiologist mark ross, ph.d., recommends taking care of the conductive component first. there have been times when the addition of the conductive component made the person a better hearing aid candidate, by flattening out the audiogram for example, while the underlying sensorineural component presented a high-frequency loss. however, still the emphasis would be on treating medically what can be treated. he says that, generally, you would expect positive results.

Q) How Can I Find Out If I Need A Hearing Aid?

A) If you think you might have hearing loss and could benefit from a hearing aid, visit your physician, who may refer you to an otolaryngologist or audiologist. an otolaryngologist is a physician who specializes in ear, nose, and throat disorders and will investigate the cause of the hearing loss. an audiologist is a hearing health professional who identifies and measures hearing loss and will perform a hearing test to assess the type and degree of loss.

Q) What is Speech Therapy?

A) Speech therapy is a non-invasive treatment module, imparted by qualified speech-language therapist, for various speech-language disorders like delayed speech, voice disorder, articulation disorder, resonance disorder, stuttering and neurogenic language disorders like aphasia, dysphasia, dysarthria etc. followed by periodic counseling.

Speech-language therapy for children with cochlear implant/hearing aids is an integral part of the rehabilitation process. indeed, a young child with a cochlear implant or hearing aids should have enrolled for continuous speech therapy for attaining specific hearing and speech-language capabilities. besides that, concerned parents require a comprehensive habilitation program to help the child utilize the auditory signal and to naturally integrate the various components of communication including listening, speech, language, reading and thinking.

Q) Who Need Speech Language Therapy?

A) Speech Language Therapy is Helpful for the Patients with following Disorder:

a) Cerebral Palsy
b) Traumatic Brain Injury
c) Hearing Loss And Impairments
d) Learning Difficulties Including
e) Dyslexia
f) Specific Language Impairment (SLI)
g) Auditory Processing Disorder
h) Physical Disabilities
i) Speech Disorders (like Cluttering)
j) Stammering, Stuttering (disfluency)
k) Stroke
l) Voice Disorders (dysphonia)
m) Language Delay
n) Motor Speech Disorders (dysarthria Or Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia)
o) Naming Difficulties (anomia)
p) Dysgraphia, Agraphia
q) Cognitive Communication Disorders
r) Pragmatics
s) Laryngectomies
t) Tracheotomies
u) Oncology (Ear, Nose Or Throat Cancer)

Q) What is Cochlear Implant and who needs Cochlear Implant?

A) A cochlear implant is an implanted electronic hearing device, designed to produce useful hearing sensations to a person with severe to profound nerve deafness by electrically stimulating nerves inside the inner ear. the cochlear implant technology can help people who:

a) Have Moderate to Profound Hearing Loss in Both Ears
b) Receive Little or No Benefit from Hearing Aids
c) Score 50% or Less on Sentence Recognition Tests done by Hearing Professionals in the Ear to be Implanted
d) Score 60% or Less on Sentence Recognition Tests done by Hearing Professionals in the Non-Implanted Ear or in Both Ears with Hearing Aids.

Q) What is Middle Ear Implant and Who Needs Middle Ear Implant ?

A) A middle ear implant is a medical prosthesis that is implanted in the middle ear and mechanically vibrates the middle ear structures. middle ear implants are primarily used by people who do not benefit from or are unable to use traditional hearing aids, such as:

People with an obstruction of the outer or middle ear
People who cannot wear hearing aids or earmoulds
People who are unable to benefit from sound amplification
Many people with sensorineural hearing loss can benefit from using middle ear implants.

Q) What is Auditory Brainstem Implant and Who Needs Brain Steam Implant?

A) An auditory brainstem implant (abi) is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf, due to retrocochlear hearing impairment (due to illness or injury damaging the cochlea or auditory nerve, and so precluding the use of a cochlear implant).

An abi is a solution for patients who are at least 15 years of age and who have been diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 2 (nf2). with nf2, both cochlear nerves may no longer be able to function, or it may be anticipated that the nerves will no longer be able to function due to the presence or removal of a tumor. an abi is therefore suitable for patients whose auditory nerves have been irreversibly damaged.

Q) Differences Between Cochlear Implant (CI )and Hearing Aids H/A(S)

A) Hearing Aids Are Conventional Assistive Listening Devices, Fitting Externally In The Ear. They Are Different Types Of Hearing Aids I.E. Bte,Itc,Cic And Iic Etc. Whereas, Cochlear Implant Is A Sophisticated Listening Device Which Is Surgically Fitted In The Cochlea By Keeping Its Speech Processor On The Skull. However, Patient Candidacy Criteria Plays A Major Role During Selection Between Cochlear Implant And Hearing Aids.