| Types
of Hearing Loss Conductive
Hearing Loss
Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound is not conducted efficiently
through the outer and middle ears, including the ear canal, eardrum, and
the tiny bones, or ossicles, of the middle ear. Conductive hearing loss
usually involves a reduction in sound level, or the ability to hear faint
sounds. This type of hearing loss can often be corrected through medicine
or surgery.
Sensorineural Hearing
Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when there is damage to the inner ear
(cochlea) or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear (retrocochlear pathway
of the acoustic nerve) to the brain.
Sensorineural hearing loss
not only involves a reduction in sound level, or ability to hear faint
sounds, but also affects speech understanding or ability to hear clearly.
Central Auditory Processing
Disorders
A central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) occurs when auditory centers
of the brain are affected by injury, disease, tumor, heredity or unknown
causes. CAPD does not necessarily involve (although it may) hearing loss.
Central auditory processing involves sound localization and lateralization,
auditory discrimination, auditory pattern recognition, the temporal aspects
of sounds, and the ability to deal with degraded and competing acoustic
signals. Therefore, a deficiency in one or more of the above listed behaviors
may constitute a central auditory processing disorder. CAPD is often associated
with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD).
Preventing Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Noise-induced hearing loss
can result from a single loud noise such as a firecracker or gunshot.
Hearing loss can also result from prolonged exposure to noise over a period
of time. It occurs gradually and painlessly. The best way to prevent noise-induced
hearing loss is to take care of your hearing by protecting your ears from
loud sounds.
We should not be exposed to 90
decibels (dB) of sound for longer than eight hours a day. For every 5 dB
increase in volume, the maximum recommended exposure time is cut in half.
Here are some examples of sound represented in decibels:
As you can see, there are many
everyday sounds that can cause noise-induced hearing loss. Here are some
simple things you can do to protect your hearing: Wear
earplugs when you’re exposed to loud noise at work or play.
Pay attention to the noises
around you. Turn down the volume on radios, TVs and stereos when you can.
Whenever possible, leave noisy environments.
Alternate a noisy activity
with a quiet one to give your ears a rest.
Hearing Aid Information
Hearing instrument technology can be divided into two general categories:
analog and digital. In very simple terms, analog and digital refer to
how the hearing instrument's amplifier processes sound. Both of these
categories can be further divided into more specific subcategories:
Analog hearing instruments:
Analog hearing instruments amplify the continuous sound wave by simply
making it larger. There are two subcategories of analog hearing instruments:
conventional and programmable. Conventional and programmable hearing instruments
differ in the amount and degree of adjustments the hearing instrument
dispenser can perform on the hearing device. A programmable hearing device
allows the dispenser to adjust the amplifier more precisely to match your
hearing loss. Programmable analog hearing devices, when compared to their
conventional equivalent, provide greater fitting flexibility. This means
that the dispenser can more readily change the way a programmable analog
hearing device operates through the use of an office computer. Sometimes
the added flexibility of a programmable hearing instrument is an important
feature.
Digital hearing instruments:
Digital hearing instruments take the continuous sound wave and break it
up into very small, discrete bits of information. This is called digitizing
the signal and all digital hearing instruments do this. The very fact
that a hearing device is digital does not make it better than a comparable
analog device. Beyond just digitizing the sound prior to amplification,
there are differences in exactly how various digital hearing devices amplify
or process sound. The more sophisticated digital hearing instruments are
able to amplify the softest sounds of speech while at the same time subtracting
out certain types of unwanted noises. Digital signal processing allows
hearing instrument designers to write computer programs, called algorithms
that can be customized to each individual's hearing loss. In addition,
digital hearing instruments enable important features -- such as dual
microphones and low battery warning signals -- to be placed into a small
in-the-ear device.
|
