Sensorineural (sensorineural) hearing loss: symptoms
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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In patients with sensorineural hearing loss, complaints of hearing loss on one or both ears, which is often accompanied by subjective noise in the ear (ears), always come first. In acute hearing loss in most cases, a downward type of an audiometric curve is observed. It is quite often that a positive phenomenon of accelerating the increase in loudness is revealed in patients. With one-sided sensorineural hearing loss, the patient loses the ability to lateralize sound in space. Bilateral loss of hearing leads people to isolation, loss of emotional coloring of speech, a decrease in social activity. The combination of sensorineural hearing loss with impairment in the vestibular system forms a peripheral or central cochleovestibular syndrome.
[Classification of sensorineural hearing loss
By the duration of the course, sudden, acute and chronic hearing loss is noted. Sensorineural hearing loss in sudden course develops without precursors, usually in one ear for several hours during sleep (or is detected immediately after awakening). Acute sensorineural hearing loss develops gradually over several days. Based on the dynamic study of hearing in patients with chronic sensorineural hearing loss, two stages of the disease were identified; stable and progressive. In the course of the disease, sensorineural hearing loss can be reversible, stable, progressive. Depending on the level of damage to the hearing organ, peripheral and central lesions are distinguished. With peripheral changes, the lesion is localized at the level of sensory structures of the inner ear. Central auditory dysfunction occurs as a result of a lesion at the level of the VIII cranial nerve, conducting pathways in the brainstem, or the cortex of the brain.
By the time of the offensive, there are prelingual and postlingual hearing loss. Pre-linguistic (pre-speech) hearing loss occurs before the development of speech. All congenital forms of hearing loss are prelingual, and not all prelingual forms of hearing loss are congenital. Postlingual (postreach) hearing loss manifests itself after the appearance of normal speech.
By degree of hearing loss, 4 degrees of deafness are allocated. Hearing loss is measured by the degree of increase in the sound force (dB) corresponding to the auditory threshold. Hearing is normal if the individual's auditory threshold is within 0-25 dB of the normal hearing threshold.
- I degree (light) - 26-40 dB;
- P degree (moderate) - 41-55 dB;
- III degree (moderately heavy) - 56-70 dB;
- IV degree (heavy) - 71-90 dB; Deafness is more than 90 dB.