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Hearing loss is quite common condition and in this world there are several people who are suffering from it. It can be caused due to hole in the eardrum that may or may not produce functional disabilities. It can also be caused due to faulty sound reception by nerve cells or due to the faulty transmission of sound waves. Other common causes of hearing loss are wax blockage in the ear, fluid in the ear or puncture n the eardrum. Many people have hearing loss due to their old age.
Hearing loss can belong to any of the following three categories –
- Mild – People with mild haring loss will find it difficult to hear ordinary conversations. In this the person suffers from hearing loss up to 40 dB.
- Moderate – If the voices are raised then the person having moderate hearing loss can hear the conversations. A hearing loss above 40 and below 60 dB comes in this category.
- Severe – The hearing loss above 60dB belongs to this group. If the people will shout then the person affected with severe hearing loss can be able to hear the conversations.
People in their old age have several complaints regarding their ears like hearing loss, tinnitus, dizziness and ringing in the ears, etc. even if the hearing loss is very less, the patient may find it difficult to hear the voices with low frequencies. When a person looses his or her hearing sense then he or she first finds it difficult to understand the talks of birds and women. If there are several noises in the background then it becomes more difficult for the affected person to understand the conversation.
The decibel levels of normal conversation are between 45 to 55 dB while the traffic noises can be of 90 dB. IF a person can hear the sounds between 0 and 25 dB HL then it is considered as normal hearing and there is no need of any hearing aid for such person.
Causes of Hearing Loss -
Many times some people have hearing loss since their birth. In this case their genes are responsible for causing the hearing loss. Other causes include use of ototoxic drugs during pregnancy, infections during pregnancy, fetal oxygen lack, Rh blood disease and prenatal rubella in expecting mothers. If a person suffers hearing loss in later stage of his or her life then the causes can be noise exposure, head injuries, and infections of middle ear, measles, influenza, mumps and cancer.
Treatment for Hearing Loss –
Hearing aids are great help for those who have problem in hearing the regular day-to-day conversations. Depending upon the type and the severity of the hearing loss the hearing aids will be given to the patients. These hearing aids amplify the sound and thus make it easy for the patients to hear the sound. There are several kinds of hearing aids, for example some aids are designed to help the patients watch the television. These aids mute the background noises and amplify the sound. The hearing aids can be behind the ear, in the ear or can be fitted in the ear canal.
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