You have probably encountered someone with, or directly experienced, hearing loss in your lifetime. Hearing loss refers to the inability to hear either partially or permanently on one or both ears. It’s a form of disability that is growing at a fast rate. According to health statistics, over 40 million Americans have undergone hearing loss, becoming a concern to many due to its adverse effects. Once you get affected, your life never becomes the same again, and sometimes you will need hearing aids or other sophisticated modes of communication. What causes hearing loss? There are several factors, including the below.
- Aging
As we age, our eardrums become weak, which leads to hearing loss. Even though it doesn’t happen to everyone, it’s one of the major causes of hearing loss in older people and sometimes can be treated. According to experts from PA Center for Hearing and Balance, people who suffer from this don’t know it’s happening unless it’s too late or when someone else notices their disability. When it gets to advanced stages, this type of hearing loss becomes permanent, and the affected person fails to hear smooth low sounds such as children talking, the phone ringing, or birds chirping. Its main symptoms include hearing but not understanding the message, annoying sounds, too loud voices, and some ringing in the ears. In most cases, this condition is escalated by underlying conditions such as high blood pressure.
- Inheritance
Did you know you can inherit a hearing condition? There is a hereditary hearing loss that is passed through genetics and affects generation to generation. This hearing loss varies from one individual to another, and it might be mild or severe. If it’s severe, it can get treated through implants or learning of sign languages, and when mild, hearing aids are used to help the affected person. While most of this hearing loss is from birth, some individuals develop it gradually as they grow up and become worse in old age.
- Noise-Induced hearing Loss
With changing lifestyles and noise pollution, most people are undergoing noise-induced hearing loss more than never. There are noises everywhere, including our homes, traffic, construction sites, mining areas, offices, and other public places, which are too high and damage the eardrum in prolonged exposure. While sometimes this situation is temporary, getting it often can cause permanent hearing loss, which can’t be reversed. This noise damages the eardrum and the inner hair cells making it hard to grasp even the loudest noise. It is important to avoid these places or to get protection equipment, especially when working in mines and factories.
- Illness
Some diseases, especially long term ailments, cause permanent ear damage, which leads to hearing loss. Some of these diseases include Meniere’s disease, middle ear infections, otosclerosis, and much more. Middle ear infection leads to temporary ear loss, while Meniere’s disease leads to fluctuations in hearing and sound judgments. Otosclerosis is caused by tiny bone movements inside the ear, which get corrected through a planned surgery. If suffering from any of the above disorders, it’s better to check into a hospital early enough to avoid the situation becoming worse, which might affect your hearing permanently.
- Unilateral hearing Loss
Also referred to as single-sided deafness, this condition affects only one ear and makes it difficult to hear sounds using the other and locate the sound source. Causes of this hearing loss include head or ear trauma, autoimmune ear diseases, excessive exposure to noise on one ear, genetic or hereditary conditions, illnesses and infections, and specific syndromes. This condition needs to be accessed by a specialist immediately to avoid worsening the condition or damaging the other ear. It’s a treatable hearing condition which, when done earlier, won’t have adverse effects.
- Drugs
Some types of drugs do cause hearing loss, especially when taken without the doctor’s prescription. These drugs, also known as ototoxic drugs, include some diuretics, aminoglycoside antibiotics, and chemotherapy drugs. They damage the hearing when taken for a long time or in large doses. Although the hearing loss isn’t detectable immediately, you will feel with time trying hard to hear someone or hearing low sounds such as birds chirping. Research is still ongoing to establish certain doses that lead to hearing loss of the mentioned drugs.
Other factors that cause hearing loss are head traumas and tumors, improper treatments, and head surgeries. It is important to seek medical advice from ear experts if you have an ailing ear or use some medication to avoid losing the hearing. Although some of the above conditions are treatable, it all depends on an individual. Sometimes the hearing might fail, making the patient deaf permanently. It is also critical to have your ears checked once in a while to ensure everything is right.