HEARING LOSS / DEAFNESS
Definition
Deafness is the inability to understanding the words and loss of hearing power.This is known as Hearing Loss or Deafness It may be: Mild, Moderate and Severe.
- Mild
- Moderate
- Severe.
Clinical Manifestations
- Speech deterioration
- Fatigue
- Social withdrawal
- Loss of self confidence
- Loneliness
- False proud
- Insecurity
- Strained facial expression
- Abnormal awareness of sounds
- Not Respond to Others command
- Inappropriate questioning and answering
- Straining to hear.
- Irritating Behaviour
Types of Hearing Loss
- Conductive Hearing Loss
Conductive hearing loss is impairs the sound conduction from outer Ear Environment to inner ear.
Causes
- Compacted cerumen
- Middle ear Infection Like otitis media
- Tumour of auditory canal
- Perforation of tympanic membrane
Congenital causes
- Hardening (Stenosis) of the external auditory canal or Ear Canal
- Foreign bodies in the ear
- Otosclerosis
- Thickening of tympanic membrane
- Infection (fungal infection)
- Trauma of the tympanic membrane.
Diagnostic Evaluation
- History collection
- Physical examination
- Audiogram
- Audiometry
- Weber Test
- Tuning Fork test
Management
- Treat the associated condition such as tumour, and infection.
- Treat the fungal infection.
- Repair of ossicles
- Repair of tympanic membrane.
- Sensory or Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Sensory or Sensorineural Hearing Loss Sensory or sensorineural hearing loss occurs due to impairment of function of inner ear resulting from damage of vestibulocochlear nerve (VIII th cranial nerve).
Causes
- Congenital causes
- Heredity causes
- Acquired causes
- Temporal bone Trauma
- Noise injury
- Meniere’s disease
- Ototoxicity
- Labyrinthitis
- Infections
- Acoustic neuroma (Tumour)
- Meningitis
- Syphilis
- Diabetes
- Cigarette smoking
- Exposure to environmental smoke
- Paget’s disease
- Trauma of the bone.
Diagnostic Evaluation
- History collection
- Physical examination
- Tympanometry
- Audiometry
- Audiogram.
- Weber Test
- Tuning Fork test
Management
- Hearing aid
- Choctear
- Use Ototoxic Drugs Monitor Hearing Sensation.
- speaker’s lip movement Understanding
- Teach and Use sign language to Communicate and Understanding other
- Mixed Hearing Loss
Mixed hearing loss caused by Both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. - Central or Functional Hearing Loss
Central hearing loss is caused by CNS (Central Nervous System)problems.
In this Situation Problem is not in Ear
Management
- Hearing aids
- cochlear implantation.
Prevention
- Early Detect of hearing loss Patient
- Give Ear Protection For Normal Functioning.
- Minimize the risk of trauma
- Prevent noise exposure.
- Advise to patient wear protective helmets.
- Instruct To Patient avoid Objects Inside Ear Canal.
- Instruct to patient Prevent Exposure of More than 80 dB Noise,
- Early Detection of hearing impairment Through Diagnostic Test.
- Observe the Side Effect of Ototoxic Drugs.

- Provide better communication strategies.