Causes Symptoms Diagnosis and Treatment of Hearing Loss Among Adults

Hearing Loss Among Adults

Chou R, Dana T, Bougatsos C, et al.; (2011), Screening for Hearing Loss in Adults Ages 50 Years and Older: A Review of the Evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (U.S.); Report No.: 11-05153-EF-1

Among adults, hearing loss can be hereditary or acquired from aging related illnesses. Research has shown that loss of hearing among adults may occur as a result of ototoxic drugs, tumors, accidental head injuries and natural occurring aging process. The hearing loss may be through absolute numbness in the years or through ringing in the years ("Tinnitus"). Loss of hearing is through damage to the inner ear, ear infection, buildup of earwax, or a ruptured eardrum.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders (2011), Ten Ways to Recognize Hearing Loss. Available online: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/10ways.aspx. and, Yuch B, Shpiro N, Maclean CH, Shekelle PG. (2003), Screening and management of adult hearing loss in primary care: Scientific Review. JAMA: 289(15):1976-1985

Generally, the above causes of hearing among adults are classified into two broad categories conductive and sensorineural. Conductive comprise of all the physical obstruction that obscure movement of sound waves. Sensorineural hearing loss results from damaged hair and nerve cells that attract sound waves. Hearing loss among adults is either gradual or sudden with the symptoms varying from individual and dependent on the cause. The extent of hearing loss may also range from complete deafness, partial, or difficulty in hearing a conversation.

Bagardus St., Yeah B, Shekelle PG. (2003), Screaning and management of adult hearing loss in primary care: clinic Application JAMA; 289(15):1986-1990 and Rosenfeld RM. Brown L., Cannon CR, et al. (2006), Clinical practice guideline: acute otitis externa. Otolarygol Head Neck Surg. 2006; 134

Gradual hearing loss may be partial loss of hearing that manifests itself through a feeling of fullness in the ear and earaches. This would be an indication of earwax or blood clot blockage or other forms of blockage to the sound passage. Other forms of gradual hearing loss manifest through symptoms such as ringing in one ear, nausea, and dizziness. These symptoms are an indication of a tumor. For some patients loss of hearing may occur in one ear serving to indicate an acoustic neuroma. The most serious and dangerous symptom under the gradual category of hearing loss is the feeling of fluid in the ear, accompanied by cold symptoms or fever and flu. The symptoms are a possible indication of otitis media that is more likely to yield complete hearing loss.

Mitchell P, Gopinath B, McMahon CM, Rochtchina E, Wang JJ, Boyages SC, Leeder SR. (2009), Relationship of Type 2 diabetes to the prevalence, incidence and progression of age-related hearing loss. Diabet Med. 26(5): 483-488

Sudden loss of hearing depicts the loss of hearing in a progression that is rapidly occurring ranging from overnight loss (the most sudden) to loss of hearing over few days. The sudden loss of hearing may be both to the high and low frequencies or either of the two. The major cause of sudden loss of hearing includes bacterial or viral infections. The infections, in this case, include and are not limited to bacterial meningitis, Epstein-Barr and mumps. Other potential medical conditions that cause sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss are diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, some cerebellopontine angle lesions, acoustic neuroma, and Meniere disease.

Wei BP, Stathopoulos D, O'Leary S. (2013), Steroids for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2;7. and Schreiber BE, Agrup C, Haskard DO, et al.; (2010), Sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Lancet. 3; 375(9721):1203-11.

Physical causes of sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss include flying in unpressurized aircraft, head injury, cliff jumping, and deep-water diving. It is also agreeable among the medical professionals that the causes of hearing Loss are not apparent neither is the above list of causes comprehensive. Other causes bordering on an individual's social habits such as smoking and listening to loud music. In other cases prolonged exposure to ear damaging environments such as living or working in loud blast areas or areas of very low temperatures.

Mills, Mara. (2011), Hearing aids and the history of electronics miniaturization. IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 33(2), 24-44. and, Palmer CV, improvement of hearing function. In: Huntley RA, Helfer KS, eds. Communication in later life Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1995:181-223

To be able to treat hearing loss among adult the precise symptom of the loss need to be ascertained. One will need to associate the loss of hearing to the precise cause in order to prescribe the ideal treatment. In the case of gradual loss of hearing, physician prescribed liquids should be used. In cases where the physician observes necessary cotton swabs and cotton ball cleaning measures are used to facilitate cleaning of the ear. In the case where a patient is diagnosed to have bacterial or viral infection antibacterial and other medicines are prescribed. Where a blockage or tumor growth is determined to be the cause of the hearing loss, surgical procedures are considered. In other cases where the loss of hearing is irreversible, like in the case of measles causing hearing impairment and acoustic neuroma hearing aids will be prescribed.

Reference

Bagardus St., Yeah B, Shekelle PG. Screaning and management of adult hearing loss in primary care: clinic Application JAMA 2003; 289(15):1986-1990