Hearing loss is a hearing loss that makes it difficult for the patient to communicate with people using traditional speech. Practical deafness is a condition in which a person does not perceive a loud speech delivered at his ear.
The most common causes leading to hearing loss and deafness are:
- diseases of the central nervous system;
- acute infectious diseases, mainly scarlet fever;
- local purulent processes;
- dystrophic disorders of the inner ear.
The group with dystrophic disorders includes progressive nervous hearing loss (cochlear neuritis) and otosclerosis.
Hearing loss can be caused by:
- mechanical (industrial, household, sports, etc.);
- noise;
- vibration;
- chemical-toxic;
- radiation;
- acoustic;
- barotrauma (in divers);
- medical;
- generic;
- infectious;
- mental.
One of the distinguishing features of hearing loss is its close connection with the occurrence of speech disorders, since hearing and speech are a single process in the speech communication of people. Currently, special attention is paid to the prevention and treatment of hearing loss in children, because. in a baby who does not perceive the speech of others from birth, dumbness develops as a result, and the restored hearing forms only emotional sound images.
With hearing loss that occurs in a person who can speak, speech disorders develop in the form of monotony, irregularity, etc., since hearing loss interferes with the control of the sick person over his own voice.
Clarification of the function of the auditory tester mainly involves the implementation of topical diagnostics. The main issue of topical diagnostics is the distinction between damage to the sound conduction system and damage to the sound perception system. In the differential diagnosis of lesions of the auditory tester, the recognition of central forms of hearing loss is of particular importance.
Hearing prosthetics deserves special attention in treatment. It provides for the selection of a hearing aid that amplifies sound for people who are not amenable to conservative or surgical methods of treating hearing loss. The device is considered the more perfect, the less the transmitted sound or speech is distorted.
The greatest positive effect of surdoprosthetics occurs in persons with damage to the sound-conducting apparatus, less in the perceptual form. It is known that the use of hearing aids in no way affects the regression of the pathological process in the inner ear, but the device, improving hearing, allows the patient to correct his speech.
Hearing aids for babies contribute to the normal development of speech and psyche.
Prevention of hearing loss and deafness must include a very wide range of activities. But in today’s hectic world, special attention in this matter should be given to noise. The average volume level of traditional conversational speech is 60 decibels, a passing train creates noise of 100 dB, a jet aircraft – 120 dB. In noisy video game parlors, discos and rock bands, the sound volume exceeds 110 dB. The habit of turning on the TV, musical equipment at full capacity, listening to loud music on headphones for a long time leads to a significant hearing loss in the future. This fact should be taken into account not only from the first days of the baby’s life, but even during the period of intrauterine development, since the baby’s hearing aid is very sensitive to strong noise influences.
In addition, to prevent hearing loss and deafness, you will need to:
- eliminate or reduce noise and vibration hazards in production, use individual means of protection;
- to recognize and treat infectious diseases in a timely manner;
- exclude risk factors – stressful situations, smoking, alcoholism, overeating, etc.;
- conduct timely and adequate treatment of diseases of the hearing aid and avoid the action of ototoxic drugs and other toxic effects;
- when planning childbearing, genetic counseling is necessary.
The problems of surdology are currently intractable, despite some progress in this matter. However, on the example of typhlo-surdopedagogy, one can be convinced that there are no unsolvable problems.