Audiology
If your life is being affected by hearing loss, we're here to help. On the following pages, you will not only learn about hearing and hearing impairment, but also about the modern and stylish solutions available to you. And once you're ready to take action, our detailed plan will easily guide you through every step of the way. We hope to give you the solutions, support, information, and inspiration you need to bring the beauty of sound back into your life.
How we hear
To understand hearing loss, it helps to understand how hearing works. Your ear is an amazing organ that, very simply put, turns sound waves in the air into information in your brain — and sometimes emotions in your heart. It can perceive sounds from barely audible to very loud, differentiate their loudness and distance, and pinpoint the direction of a sound source to an amazing degree of accuracy. The short movie on the following page will clearly demonstrate how your ear performs the wonderful task of hearing.
The Ear
The anatomy and physiology of the human ear is quite amazing, and its hard to do it justice simply with words, so please take the time to watch this video (it includes sound)
Hearing impairment
Hearing impairment is a problem that can develop at any time. Most often, it is gradual and painless. You may not realise for several years that this problem is affecting you because it develops so slowly that at first it may be barely noticeable. Hearing loss can inhibit your ability to experience the sounds and voices around you.
Conversely, in another kind of impairment, tinnitus, you perceive bothersome noises that are not present in the environment.
While many people have either hearing loss or tinnitus, it is also common for an individual to have both of these impairments. Either of these can affect your own life and the lives of those around you.
Hearing loss
Causes of hearing lossThere are many factors that may affect your hearing, including:
Long-term exposure to noise
Heredity
Illness
Reactions to medications
Injury
Ear Wax
Aging
Noise-induced hearing loss
Hearing damage can already begin at a continuous stress level of 85 dB. If you listen to loud music at a concert or on your MP3-player, for example, you may feel that you cannot hear so well afterwards. This happens because the fine hair cells of your hearing organ are temporary damaged. After a period of quiet, they recover. This is called a temporary threshold shift, TTS.
However, if you repeatedly subject yourself, over longer periods of time to extreme noise stress, these fine hair cells will become severely damaged with no chance of regeneration. This is called a permanent threshold shift, PTS.
Listening to loud music at concerts, discos or through headsets can be especially dangerous. The sound intensities through headsets, for instance, can easily reach 110-120 dB. A sudden loud explosive sound like a firecracker can also cause noise induced hearing loss.
People in loud work environments are particularly at risk. Construction workers, factory workers, airport-tarmac workers, and musicians should wear hearing protection.
Another effect of noise stress can be tinnitus. This is when one or both ears perceive sound for which there is no corresponding external source. In other words, the sounds that are heard actually do not exist. It is often described as a "ringing" in the ears, but it can occur in a variety of forms and sound levels.
What can you do to help?
The only reasonable alternative is prevention, so wear hearing protection! There are many possibilities from commercially available earplugs and earmuffs to individually fitted ear fittings with different filter systems. | | Last Updated on Monday, 24 October 2011 12:06 |
Types of hearing lossConductive hearing loss:
Results from diseases or disorders that limit the transmission of sound through the outer or middle ear. This hearing loss can sometimes be treated medically or surgically. In most cases, a hearing instrument is also indicated and can provide sufficient hearing improvement.
Sensorineural hearing loss:
Affects the inner ear or neural pathways. In this case, sound is transmitted through the outer and middle ears, but the inner ear is less efficient in transmitting the sound. This type of loss usually occurs due to damages to the hair cells or to the fine nerve endings inside the cochlea. This leads to reduced perception of sound intensity and quality. This type of hearing loss is usually compensated with a hearing instrument that amplifies sound to overcome the decrease in hearing sensitivity.
Combined hearing loss:
Is the simultaneous occurrence of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, which is also referred to as mixed hearing loss. Treatment options for this type of impairment include both medical intervention and hearing instruments. | | Last Updated on Monday, 24 October 2011 12:00 |
Effects of hearing lossHearing loss affects a great number of people around the world. And it affects them in a variety of ways. Over time, hearing loss can lead to anxiety, depression, isolation, and loneliness. So by leaving hearing impairment untreated, a physical condition may also become a psychological one. This is why it is so important to seek a solution promptly.
The symptoms.
There are different types of hearing loss that are experienced to various degrees and due to several causes. But the symptoms of hearing loss are basically the same. If you think your hearing might be impaired, answering these questions is the right place to start:
Do people always comment that the volume on your TV or radio is too loud?
Have you missed visits and calls from people because you didn't hear the doorbell or telephone ringing?
Do you have trouble following conversations in crowded or noisy settings?
Do people seem to mumble and not speak clearly during conversation?
Do people tell you that you speak too loudly?
Do you frequently ask people to repeat themselves?
Do your friends and family suggest that you have a hearing problem?
Do you have a difficult time understanding the words of popular songs when listening to the radio?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, there is a chance that you may have some degree of hearing loss.
You're not alone!
If you do have hearing loss, then it helps to know that you're not alone. In fact, you are one of about 500 million people worldwide. In most countries, this means more than 1 in 6 people have some degree of hearing impairment. But it's reassuring to know that a properly fitted hearing instrument can improve communication in at least 90% of people with hearing impairment. This means you can be quite confident that there is a solution. | | Last Updated on Monday, 24 October 2011 12:00 |
Tinnitus
Tinnitus and Hearing loss
Research shows that more than 50% of people affected by tinnitus also have an inner ear hearing impairment.
In these cases, treatment with hearing instruments is often the first step to relief from suffering. They compensate the hearing loss, thus enabling concentration on external sounds, instead of the internal noises. If the tinnitus cannot be controlled with a hearing instrument, the solution is a combined hearing instrument and noiser. An added advantage of these devices is that they can be used as a standard hearing instrument if the tinnitus fades or disappears.
| | Last Updated on Monday, 24 October 2011 12:18 |
How to relieve Tinnitus
The distraction approach is the basis of tinnitus instruments such as noisers or maskers. They help the hearing system concentrate on external sounds by replacing the negative auditory impressions with positive ones. These are often used in tinnitus retraining therapies.
Since the complete masking (acoustic concealment) of tinnitus would require at least the same volume as the tinnitus sound, it could become uncomfortable in the long run. Modern noisers produce a comfortable sounds that can be individually selected by the patient. This sound has to be quieter than the tinnitus so that the brain can be trained to concentrate on outer sounds again and thereby to discontinue the fixation to the inner sound.
| | Last Updated on Monday, 24 October 2011 12:16 |
What causes Tinnitus?
Despite intensive research, clear triggers for subjective tinnitus have been seldom identified. In most cases, the cause is unclear and often none can be detected.
What we do know is that normally about 30% of external sounds are consciously perceived, while the rest are unconsciously faded out. When this filtering function is intact, it is able to "ignore" subjective sounds. But when it is damaged, undesired signals can be excessively amplified. If hearing is intensively stimulated over a long period of time, it can result in the sensory perception remaining even though the triggering factor is long gone. This is why it is important to distract the individual’s attention away from the tinnitus in order to prevent a chronic manifestation
| | Last Updated on Monday, 24 October 2011 12:16 |
Types of Tinnitus
Medical science differentiates between various types of tinnitus.
Objective tinnitus
- Can also be heard by a doctor
- Occurs rarely, e.g. due to tension or vascular deformities
- Usually disappears upon treatment of the cause
Subjective tinnitus
- Most common type of tinnitus
- Can only be heard by the affected individual
Acute tinnitus
- Appears suddenly
- Lasts up to 3 months (acute) or ends innert 12 months (subacute)
Chronic tinnitus
- Tinnitus that persists longer than 12 months
Compensated tinnitus
- The affected individual is able to manage well despite the tinnitus
- Quality of life is not limited
Chronically complex (or uncompensated) tinnitus
- Quality of life is disturbed to such an extent that it reaches pathological significance
| | Last Updated on Monday, 24 October 2011 12:14 |
Tinnitus
Approximately 25% of the population of industrialised countries have experienced tinnitus at least once, 10 to 20% suffer chronically. While there is no definite cure yet for tinnitus, there are effective methods of achieving comfort and relief.
What is tinnitus?
The term 'tinnitus' comes from the Latin word 'tinnire' (to ring) and is defined as the perception of sounds for which there is no external source. Many people describe it as ringing, while to others it sounds like humming, buzzing or whistling. But they all agree that it is never comfortable. Regardless of its characteristics, tinnitus is a symptome of an impairment of the auditory processing system.
| | Last Updated on Monday, 24 October 2011 12:13 |
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.jpg "Images courtesy of Marcus Cook")
.jpg "Images courtesy of Marcus Cook")
.jpg "Images courtesy of Marcus Cook")
.jpg "Images courtesy of Marcus Cook")
.jpg "Images courtesy of Marcus Cook")
.jpg "Images courtesy of Marcus Cook")
.jpg "Images courtesy of Marcus Cook")
.jpg "Images courtesy of Marcus Cook")
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