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Hearing loss can affect both children and adults. It can happen gradually or suddenly, and can be temporary or permanent. Gradual hearing loss is common as you get older, but sudden hearing loss means you need to seek help urgently.
Your ear is made up of three parts:
There are three types of hearing loss. Which type you have depends on which part of your ear is affected.
You may have hearing loss in one ear only (unilateral) or both ears (bilateral).
Conductive hearing loss is when sound can’t pass freely from your outer ear to your inner ear. The following are possible causes of conductive hearing loss.
Conductive hearing loss can be temporary or permanent, depending on the cause and whether it can be treated.
Sensorineural hearing loss happens when there is damage to part of your inner ear, or to the pathway of nerves between your inner ear and your brain. The following are some possible causes of sensorineural hearing loss.
Sensorineural hearing loss is usually permanent because the damage to your inner ear can’t be repaired.
If you’re having trouble with your hearing, your ear may feel muffled, blocked or plugged. You may also feel as though there is water or pressure in your ear. Sometimes if your hearing loss happens gradually, you may not be aware of it at first. A common first sign is difficulty in following conversations, particularly in noisy places. You may feel like others are mumbling and need to ask them to repeat themselves. You might find you need to turn up the TV louder to hear it.
Children who can’t hear properly might have trouble concentrating and paying attention. This can then affect progress at school or nursery. They may also have problems with speech and language development.
Other symptoms you may have will depend on what’s causing your hearing loss. For instance, you may have:
If your hearing is gradually getting worse, it’s best to have a hearing test. You can get a referral from your doctor. Many pharmacies and opticians also offer hearing tests, where you don’t need a referral from your doctor. Always contact your doctor (or doctor’s team) who performed the surgery first if you have other symptoms, such as ear pain or discharge. You’ll need an appointment with your doctor or nurse to check for too much earwax or an infection.
If your hearing goes suddenly, over three days or less, arrange to see your doctor as soon as possible. Depending on what’s causing your symptoms, you may need to start treatment quickly.
If you see your doctor with hearing problems, they’ll ask about your symptoms and examine you. They’ll look in and around your ears to check for earwax and signs of infection. They may also ask about any medicines you take, other conditions you have, and family history of hearing loss. They may do some initial hearing tests using tuning forks. These can test whether just one or both your ears are affected, and help determine which type of hearing loss you have.
Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may refer you for further investigation. This may be with an ear, nose and throat (ENT) or an audiovestibular (hearing and balance) specialist. If your doctor thinks you need a full hearing test, they’ll recommend you see an audiologist. This is a health professional specialising in hearing problems. They may refer you, or you can arrange your own test.
An audiologist can carry out a full hearing test, called a pure tone audiogram. For this test, you’ll be asked to wear a set of headphones and press a button every time you can hear a sound. It lasts around 15 minutes. Your results will show the lowest level at which you can hear sounds.
Sometimes your audiologist will suggest other tests too. These may include:
Sometimes your audiologist may suggest other tests, including tests to measure the electrical signals produced by your ears. Depending on what your doctor thinks may be causing your hearing loss, they may also suggest an MRI or CT scan.
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What treatment you have for your hearing loss will depend on what’s causing it. If it’s caused by something temporary, like an infection, it might get better on its own and you won’t need any treatment at all.
If your hearing loss is caused by a build-up of earwax, glue ear or a growth, these can be treated with simple procedures. If your hearing loss is permanent, then there is a variety of devices and aids that can help.
If you have an infection that isn’t going away on its own, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to help get rid of it.
If your hearing loss is caused by a build-up of earwax, your doctor will recommend removing it. You may also need earwax removed if it’s preventing your doctor from examining your ear properly. You may be able to have this done at your doctor practice or at a local clinic. A doctor or nurse may remove earwax by:
Sometimes there might be an underlying cause of your hearing loss that can be corrected with surgery. For instance, if your child has glue ear, your doctor may recommend surgery to relieve pressure in their ear. They can also insert tiny tubes called grommets. You can also have surgery to remove growths, such as a cholesteatoma or acoustic neuroma. Otosclerosis can also be treated with surgery, to remove part of the bone in your middle ear.
If there’s no cure for your hearing loss, your audiologist will talk to you about the different devices available that can help you hear better. These include the following.
Hearing aids
Hearing aids pick up sounds around you, make them louder, and direct them into your ear. They won’t restore your normal hearing, but they can improve your hearing – especially if you wear them in both ears. There are many different types of hearing aids available, including ones that sit in your ear and ones that sit behind it. Most hearing aids are digital nowadays. They can be programmed to you and give a clearer sound than old analogue ones. Your audiologist can advise you on which types are best for you.
It can take a bit of getting used to wearing hearing aids, so be prepared to give it some time. Your audiologist will tell you what to expect and help you adjust to wearing one.
Implants
Your doctor may suggest an implant if you can’t wear a hearing aid for some reason, or you’re getting little or no benefit from them. There are different types of implant, including the following.
Other, newer types of implants and devices are being developed all the time. Your doctor can tell you what else may be available.
Assistive living devices
Assistive living devices are tools and devices that can be used to help you to hear specific things better, or alert you in other ways. For instance, you can have amplifiers for televisions to make them louder and direct the sounds straight into your ears. There are also devices that can alert you with loud sounds, vibrations or flashing lights. You can use them with doorbells, baby monitors and smoke alarms.
If you have hearing loss, there are several things you can do to make things easier when you’re trying to communicate with others.
It’s useful to bear these points in mind if you’re trying to communicate with someone who has hearing loss too.
Although not all hearing problems can be prevented, avoiding exposure to loud noise will help to reduce the risk of damaging your hearing. The following tips may help.
The most common cause of temporary deafness in children is glue ear. This is when fluid collects behind the eardrum and causes temporary hearing loss. It can cause ear pain and discharge. Glue ear often follows on from a middle ear infection, which is very common in young children. It usually goes away by itself, and your child’s hearing should return to normal.
There are other, rarer conditions which can occasionally cause permanent hearing loss in children. Talk to your doctor or health visitor if you think your child is having difficulties with their hearing.
The information and/or article is solely the contribution of Bupa, (hereinafter referred to as “Bupa UK”) a United Kingdom (UK) based healthcare services expert and is based on their experiences and medical practices prevalent in UK. All the efforts to ensure accuracy and relevance of the content is undertaken by Bupa UK. The content of the article should not be construed as a statement of law or used for any legal purpsoe or otherwise. Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited (formerly known as Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited) (hereinafter referred to as “the Company”) hereby expressly disown and repudiated any claims (including but not limited to any third party claims or liability, of any nature, whatsoever) in relation to the accuracy, completeness, usefulness and real-time of any information and contents available in this article, and against any intended purposes (of any kind whatsoever) by use thereof, by the user/s (whether used by user/s directly or indirectly). Users are advised to obtain appropriate professional advice and/or medical opinion, before acting on the information provided, from time to time, in the article(s).
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