Time tested remedies | Most affordable prices

Deafness

Condition Overview:

deafness is profound hearing loss.

Hearing loss has many causes. It may be caused by a mechanical problem in the external ear canal or middle ear that blocks the conduction of sound (conductive hearing loss). Blockage of the external ear canal can be due to something as mundane as an accumulation of wax or something as uncommon as a tumor. The most common cause of conductive hearing loss in the middle ear, especially in children, is an accumulation of fluid. Fluid can accumulate in the middle ear as a result of ear infections or conditions, such as allergies or tumors, that block the eustachian tube, which drains the middle ear.Hearing loss also may be due to damage to the sensory structures (hair cells) of the inner ear, auditory nerve, or auditory nerve pathways in the brain (sensorineural hearing loss). These sensory structures may be damaged by drugs, infections, tumors, and skull injuries. Hearing loss is often a mixture of a conductive and sensorineural loss.

Age Age-related hearing loss is called presbycusis. As some people age, structures of the ear become less elastic and undergo other changes that make them less able to respond to sound waves, contributing to hearing loss. In many people, exposure to noise over many years worsens the changes caused by aging. Age-related hearing loss begins early, starting some time after age 20. However, it progresses very slowly, and most people do not notice any changes until well after age 50.Age-related hearing loss first affects the highest pitches (frequencies) and only later affects lower pitches. Loss of the ability to hear high-pitched sounds often makes it more difficult to understand speech. Although the loudness of speech appears normal to the person, certain consonant sounds—such as the sound of letters C, D, K, P, S, and T—become hard to hear, so that many people with hearing loss think the speaker is mumbling. Indeed, some people complain more that others are not speaking clearly than that they cannot hear well. Women and children, whose voices tend to be higher in pitch than those of men, are particularly difficult to understand. Many people also notice a change in the vibrancy of certain musical sounds, such as those of violins and flutes.

Otosclerosis In otosclerosis, a hereditary disorder, the bone surrounding the middle and inner ear grows excessively. This exuberant growth immobilizes the stirrup (the ear bone attached to the inner ear) so that it cannot transmit sounds properly. Sometimes the bone's growth also pinches and damages the nerves connecting the inner ear with the brain. Otosclerosis tends to run in families and may develop in someone who had a childhood measles infection.

 Hearing loss first becomes evident in late adolescence or early adulthood. About 10% of adults have some evidence of otosclerosis, but only about 1% develop hearing loss as a result.