Deafness in adults

Unlike blindness, deafness in adults is not a clearly defined disability, so any degree of hearing loss can be described as deafness.

This is an annoying defect for those affected and those in contact with them, as it reduces the ability to communicate. There are approximately 3 million adults with hearing impairments in the UK.

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Conductive deafness in adults

It is associated with a disturbance in the conduction of sound waves through the external auditory canal and middle ear to the base of the stapes. Obstruction of the external auditory canal (cerumen impaction, discharge due to otitis externa, presence of foreign bodies in the ear canal, malformations); perforation of the eardrum (trauma, barotrauma, infection); disruption of the connection between the auditory ossicles (otosclerosis, infection, trauma) and inadequate ventilation of the middle ear through the Eustachian tubes due to the presence of effusion in them (for example, secondary, associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma) - all this can cause conductive deafness.

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Sensorineural deafness in adults

Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by defects of the central link - the oval window in the cochlea (sensory impairment), the cochlear nerve (neural impairment) and, rarely, damage to more central nerve pathways. Ototoxic drugs (for example, streptomycin and aminoglycosides in general, especially gentamicin), like most causes of deafness that occurs in early childhood, cause sensorineural deafness. Hearing impairment caused by infections (measles, mumps, influenza, herpes infection, syphilis), cochlear-vascular pathology, Meniere's disease and presbycusis (senile deafness) also have a sensorineural nature. Rare causes of deafness are neuroma of the auditory nerve, vitamin B12 deficiency _, multiple sclerosis, brain tumor.

Otosclerosis in adults

Women get sick twice as often as men. The process is usually bilateral. 50% of patients have a hereditary burden of this disease. Symptoms of otosclerosis appear at a young age, and the course of the disease worsens during pregnancy.

Pathology: vascularized spongy bone replaces normal bone around the oval window (cochlea), to which the base of the stapes is directly adjacent. Conductive deafness develops (the patient hears better against the background of general noise), sometimes there is also tinnitus (in the ear) and dizziness. Stapedectomy with replacement of the stapes with an implant is effective in 90% of patients.

Presbycusis (senile deafness), or senile hearing loss

The loss of acuity of perception and high-frequency sounds begins already at the age of 30 and subsequently progresses. So senile deafness, or hearing loss, develops very slowly and usually unnoticed by patients until the hearing of lower-frequency sounds of human speech is impaired. Hearing is especially severely impaired in background noise. There is no other treatment other than auxiliary hearing aids.

Treatment of deafness in adults

First of all, it is necessary to determine the classification type of deafness, if possible, establish its removable cause, and also exclude such dangerous causes of deafness as cholesteatoma, the presence of effusion associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Sudden onset of sensorineural deafness is an urgent condition and requires urgent examination of the patient. It is necessary to understand what is the best way to combat deafness in this case (for example, to perform an operation for perforation of the eardrum, otosclerosis, or simply take the most effective measures to improve hearing). If the matter concerns deep sensorineural disorders, then we can talk about a cochlear implant.