Symptoms and treatment of hearing loss of varying degrees. Sensorineural hearing loss in children

Treatment of such a disease as hearing loss of 1-4 degrees is not an easy task. Symptoms initial stage, when most of the processes are still reversible, they are either ignored by the patient or simply not noticed. This leads to a further decrease in hearing acuity. The problem can be solved thanks to modern techniques treatment. To understand this issue, each type of pathology should be considered in more detail.

Types and degrees

First, you need to consider the types of hearing loss:

• two-sided;
• one-sided;
• prelingual;
• postlingual.

Bilateral affects both ears at once, unilateral affects only the right or left. The prelingual type is a disorder of a congenital or acquired nature that arose before the development of speech. Postlingual can be attributed to the problems of speaking children and adults.

Also, the classification of hearing loss includes concepts such as:

• Conductive hearing loss. Dysfunction of the sound transmission chain, that is eardrum and middle ear. Its symptoms are often observed as a complication after otitis media and disappear as the underlying disease is treated.
• Neurosensory. More serious violation hearing, as the functioning of the receptors is disrupted inner ear and auditory nerve.
• Central. It is rare and affects the parts of the brain responsible for hearing.
• Mixed hearing loss. A combination of several types of disease.

There is a classification of hearing loss according to the nature of its course:

• Reactive. It occurs suddenly and has a rapid course. It can be cured if treatment is started at the first signs of the disease.
• Spicy. A fast-flowing pathology, all processes take about a month. It can also be cured in the vast majority of cases.
• Subacute. The development period is from 1 to 3 months, the chances of a favorable outcome are reduced to 50%.
• Chronic. This development of hearing loss occurs slowly, but is very difficult to treat.

Regarding the stages of development of hearing organ dysfunction, there are 4 degrees of hearing loss. The following table demonstrates distinctive characteristics each of them:

The initial stage is quite easy to cure. In addition, if you do not start treating the disease at stage 1-2, the risks of its progression increase, up to total loss hearing At grade 3-4, disability is already determined due to significant limitations in activity.

Symptoms and causes

To prevent the development of pathology, you should know what the causes of hearing loss are. First of all, it should be remembered that conductive hearing loss develops due to damage to the elements of the middle ear. This concerns the eardrum, auditory ossicles and the muscles that move them. This can also include defects in soft tissues and the auditory canal.

The sensorineural type of the disease is characterized by dysfunction of the cochlea, death of sensitive hair receptors, and dysfunction of the auditory nerve.

The so-called senile hearing loss is the result of the influence negative factors by ear throughout a person's life. This impact leads to age-related wear and tear of the organ. Senile hearing loss concerns primarily the sensorineural form, but also affects the functional form.

Common causes of disorders are:

• congenital pathologies;
• hereditary tendency;
• complications after ear diseases;
• chronic pathologies in the body (endocrine, vascular, neurological, etc.);
• influence of loud sounds;
• injuries;
• intoxication and taking potent medications;
• work environment in adults;
• improper hygiene;
• tumors.

How exactly to treat hearing loss largely depends on the causes of its occurrence.

Symptoms of the pathology are, first of all, hearing impairment, which are determined by the degree of deafness. Additionally, symptoms such as:

• feeling of ear fullness;
• extraneous noises (whistles, clicks, ringing, rustling, etc.);
• deterioration in speech perception, the need to clarify what the interlocutor said, and ask again;
• lack of perception of high frequencies;
• problems with vestibular apparatus, loss of orientation in space;
• may sometimes occur sudden nausea and even vomiting.

To determine the presence of a problem, its type and begin treatment, you need to undergo comprehensive examination. This includes the following activities:

• Otoscopy. Superficial symptoms are determined, and the ear cavity is examined to identify disturbances in the conductive chain.
• Audiometry. An audiogram can be used to determine the degree of deviation. Speech and tone diagnostics are used.
• Tuning fork tests. Using a set of tuning forks, you can determine air and bone conductivity sound signals, type of violations and their severity.

To find out the cause of hearing impairment, you will need an auxiliary examination from a neurologist, vascular specialist, endocrinologist and other doctors.

The analyzed table of indicators demonstrates the essence of the problem and allows you to find the optimal approach to cure the disease. If you start treating it in the initial stages, the chances of favorable prognosis are increasing.

Treatment of conduct disorder

Conductive hearing loss has a fairly favorable prognosis. If you notice the problem in time, you can completely cure the patient. In some cases, hearing restoration after otitis occurs on its own, but this process can be accelerated with medications and various folk remedies that relieve swelling and inflammation.

Treatment of hearing loss for more late stages may be associated with surgery. The loss of functional elements of the middle ear can be compensated by reconstruction and prosthetics of the auditory ossicles and eardrum. It is also necessary to treat pathologies of the soft tissues of the outer and middle ear: removal of tumors, prevention of stenosis of the auditory canal, elimination of the consequences of injuries, etc.

If age-related hearing loss is considered, supportive care should be given to stop the deterioration auditory system. It is important to ensure sufficient quantity vitamins A, B and E.

Preventing hearing loss involves maintaining overall health and reducing the number of episodes of otitis media and other ear diseases.

Treatment of neurosensory disorders

If perceptual hearing loss is considered, that is, sensorineural, it is much more difficult to cure. The main task is to stop the necrotic processes that destroy hair receptors. For this, drug therapy is used. Some drugs have anti-inflammatory, stimulating and immunocorrective effects, thereby eliminating mixed hearing loss.

Treatment of sensorineural hearing loss can be achieved through surgical intervention and hearing aids. In the initial stages of hearing loss, open-type hearing aids are used, which are installed externally. If there is significant damage to the receptors or auditory nerve, the patient must be treated by installing hearing implants and electrodes. They are implanted into a person's ear and then connected to the nerve roots. They help transform sound impulses and transmit them to the brain.

In the case of complete deafness, the prognosis is disappointing, since restoration of hearing in this case is almost impossible. When symptoms of nerve dysfunction, pain and noise appear, the auditory process is cut off.

The most important area is the prevention of hearing loss. If you protect your ears from the factors that provoke these types of disorders, you will not have to treat such problems. Pay attention to your health and do not overload your hearing organs.

Hearing loss is a decrease in hearing, at which it is difficult but communication with other people. Hearing loss in a child is usuallyleads to delayzhke psycho-speech development, because he learns to speak by imitating what he hears, and “underheard” words lead to speech defects.

The more impaired the hearing, the more severe the delay in psycho-speech development.

Therefore, for children with hearing loss normal development important:

• Identify the cause of hearing loss.
• Eliminate or provide therapeutic effect on the very cause of hearing loss.
• If necessary, choose a hearing aid.
• And also provide complex impact for delayed speech development.

Diagnosis of hearing loss.

To identify hearing loss, children are tested right in the maternity hospital.
- auditory evoked potentials.
However, in this case, only congenital hearing loss is detected. This type of hearing loss develops in a baby if, during pregnancy, his mother suffered from a disease such as influenza, rubella, herpes, or toxoplasmosis. The degree of congenital hearing loss is usually severe, but in real life it is rare. Hereditary hearing loss is also rare.
Many children develop hearing loss after birth and are diagnosed at a later stage. For example, at 3-4 years old, when they begin to look for the reason for the delay in speech development in the baby, and it turns out that it is decreased hearing.
To determine the degree of hearing loss, children at this age undergo an audiogram.

Hearing loss in children is divided into sensorineural hearing loss(a similar term is sensorineural hearing loss) And conductive hearing loss.

Causes of hearing loss

Conductive hearing loss in a child

Hearing loss is caused by a conduction disorder sound waves- By ear canal, damaged eardrum or inflamed ossicles of the middle ear.

The most harmless cause of conductive hearing loss- sulfur plug (washed out with saline solution at an appointment with an ENT doctor). But in children, conductive hearing loss is much more often caused by chronic otitis media(inflammation of the middle ear), and grade 3-4 adenoids can lead to otitis, chronic lesion infections in the nasopharynx and reduced immunity.

Sensorineural (sensorineural) hearing loss in a child

Hearing loss caused by damage auditory analyzer nervous system: damage to the cochlea (the organ of hearing) or the auditory nerve, pathways and hearing zones of the brain. Cause of sensorineural hearing loss most often lies in birth trauma, extreme prematurity, hydrocephalus, perinatal pathology, ischemic damage to the central nervous system.

The cochlea (the organ of hearing) often suffers when using ototoxic antibiotics - aminoglycosides (gentamicin, streptomycin, kanamycin, amikacin, monomycin, etc.).

In children with hydrocephalus, the conduction pathways usually suffer (demyelination) and the cochlea “hears” sounds, but they do not “reach” the brain through damaged pathways. With hydrocephalus, increased intracranial pressure also puts pressure on auditory nerve, conducting pathways and into the hearing zones of the cerebral cortex, preventing their normal operation.
Lack of oxygen during pregnancy and childbirth leads to hypoxic-ischemic damage to the auditory areas in the cerebral cortex.
In case of birth trauma cervical spine spine, normal blood flow is disrupted vertebral arteries, as a result of which the blood supply to the cochlea and auditory nerve suffers.
Many children have mixed hearing loss. That is, during childbirth, the nervous system also suffered and there is, for example, chronic otitis media.

Hearing loss 1, 2, 3, 4 degrees.

1, 2, 3, 4 degrees of sensorineural hearing loss:

Sensorineural hearing loss 1st degree(26-40 dB) the child does not hear quiet sounds and cannot understand human speech in a noisy environment. It can distinguish spoken speech at a distance of no more than 6 meters, and “whispered” speech from a distance of 1-3 meters. Children with grade 1 sensorineural hearing loss often suffer from pronunciation and sometimes repeat questions.
Sensorineural hearing loss 2 degrees(40-55 dB) is the cause of “underhearing” of quiet and medium-volume sounds. Spoken speech is perceived at a distance of 4 meters, and a whisper is heard only at the ear. In children with degree 2 hearing loss speech development is delayed, the child is reluctant to engage in verbal contact; if there is speech, it is usually poor. The child answers questions in monosyllables (yes, no, etc.) and pronounces many words incorrectly, due to “underhearing.”
Sensorineural hearing loss 3 degrees(55-70 dB) is characterized by the inability to distinguish most sounds; the child’s communication with surrounding people is severely difficult. “Whispered” speech is not perceived at all, and conversational speech is only perceived from a distance of 1 meter, if you speak loudly to it. Children with degree 3 hearing loss usually develop a severe delay in psycho-speech development, they do not understand and do not fulfill requests and do not try to talk.
Sensorineural hearing loss 4 degrees(70-90 dB) the child can only hear very loud sounds, the condition borders on deafness. In children with degree 4 hearing loss, speech does not develop at all. If a hearing aid does not improve hearing, then at grade 4 they resort to complex surgical intervention - cochlear implantation.

Treatment of hearing loss in children.

Treatment of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th degree sensorineural hearing loss.

It is important to promptly identify and treat hearing loss in a child.
An ENT doctor treats chronic otitis media; overgrown adenoids can be removed with a laser (laser adenoid reduction).
If the child at birth suffered birth trauma, then the improvement of hearing will be facilitated by treatment methods that improve the functioning of the central nervous system:

Microcurrent reflexotherapy for sensorineural hearing loss is carried out according to individual program:
1. Improving blood supply to the cochlea and auditory nerve
(by relieving spasm of the vertebral arteries).
2. Stimulation of the auditory nerve to improve the conduction of nerve impulses through it.
3. Activation of the areas of hearing and speech understanding of the cerebral cortex.
4. Activation of the speech areas of the brain responsible for

• speech understanding,
• desire to engage in verbal contact,
• kit vocabulary,
• sentence construction skill.

5. Normalization of cerebral vascular tone leads to a decrease in the production of cerebrospinal fluid (intracranial fluid) and intracranial pressure stabilizes.
6. Reducing excitability in neurotic, disinhibited and aggressive children improves their adaptation to life kindergarten and increases the effectiveness of classes with a speech therapist.

B vitamins and preparations containing phospholipids (lecithin, ceraxon, gliatilin, etc.) are necessary to restore damaged pathways of the nervous system and auditory nerve.
- Vascular drugs- improve blood supply to the cochlea and auditory nerve.
- Nootropics (Cortexin, Mexidol, Ceraxon, Actovegin, etc.) - nourish and restore the damaged nervous system.
- To stabilize intracranial pressure in children, it is preferable to use diuretic herbs (horsetail, fennel, lingonberry leaf). And also " horse chestnut"(escusan), which strengthens the vessels of the venous plexuses that produce cerebrospinal fluid and thus reduces intracranial pressure.

Drug therapy Each child is selected strictly individually, depending on the causes of sensorineural hearing loss after the course of the main treatment - Microcurrent reflexology.

The goal of hearing loss treatment is: not only improve hearing, but the most important thing is to run proper speech development and study skills.

Children with sensorineural hearing loss also need -
Classes with a speech pathologist and child psychologist:
Developmental classes are aimed at broadening one’s horizons, developing fine motor skills, thinking, studying concepts such as color, size, developing counting, reading and writing skills.
Some children in classes can do without hearing aid, others without hearing aids do not hear well enough to develop properly.
In this case, wearing a hearing aid is mandatory.
But improvement in hearing and speech against the background complex treatment it will be anyway.

If a child has grade 4 hearing loss and has already undergone surgery cochlear implantation, but speech has not developed to the age norm, the child is excitable and does not learn well educational material Microcurrent reflexology can also help him.

TREATMENT OF CHILDREN WITH A COCHLEAR IMPLANT IS CARRIED OUT ONLY IN THE CENTRAL DEPARTMENT OF THE REACTION CENTER IN SAMARA.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO START TREATING HEARING LOSS IN A TIMELY manner

More detailed information about the treatment of hearing loss you can get
by phone 8-800-22-22-602 (calls within RUSSIA are free)
Microcurrent reflexology for the treatment of hearing loss of 1, 2, 3, 4 degrees, as well as other hearing problems are carried out only in the divisions of "Reatsentr" in the cities: Samara, Kazan, Volgograd, Orenburg, Tolyatti, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Naberezhnye Chelny, Izhevsk, Ufa, Astrakhan, Yekaterinburg, St. Petersburg, Kemerovo, Kaliningrad, Barnaul, Chelyabinsk, Almaty, Tashkent.

Hearing loss in children is most often associated with incomplete hearing loss. The child has difficulty perceiving and distinguishing sounds at long or medium distances. Some people lose the ability to understand their interlocutor in a noisy environment, while others cannot hear words spoken in a whisper. The development of intelligence and speech function in a child directly depends on this. Statistics show that in 80% of cases, hearing loss is an acquired disease.

Diagnosis of hearing loss in a child

Early detection of hearing loss in children directly affects the effectiveness of treatment and the prognosis of recovery. Hearing impairment in babies appears in the first three years after birth. This is the task of neonatologists and pediatric otolaryngologists.

There are signs by which one can evaluate the ability to perceive and distinguish sounds. If a newborn's hearing aid is working correctly, the child will exhibit certain unconditioned reflexes in response to a sound stimulus:

• dilated pupils;
• flashing;
• Moro reflex.

At 3-4 months, the child should be able to localize the source of the sound.

Among the instrumental diagnostic methods can be called otoscopy (examination of the outer ear and eardrum for pathology). In older children, acoustic tympanometry and electrocochleography are used to diagnose hearing problems. Hearing loss is often discovered when a child has a delay in speech development.

Causes of hearing loss in a child

The main cause of congenital hearing loss in children is considered to be pathological effects on the mother during pregnancy. Exactly infectious diseases in the first trimester they pose the greatest danger. Rubella, toxoplasmosis, measles, herpes, cytomegalovirus, syphilis, tuberculosis lead to damage to the auditory analyzer. As a result, the child experiences hearing loss from mild degree severity to complete deafness.

Another factor provoking this pathology, - chronic diseases mothers ( diabetes mellitus, anemia, vitamin deficiency, etc.). Work in hazardous industries, not correct image life (alcohol, drug use), taking certain medical supplies(streptomycin, gentamicin, etc.) cause congenital hearing loss. Premature babies (weighing less than 1.5 kg at birth) are also at risk.

In the postnatal period, hearing loss is acquired. Hearing complications can result from previous common infections(, diphtheria, scarlet fever, meningitis, encephalitis). Foreign bodies lead to decreased hearing levels, otitis media, adenoids, sulfur plugs. Children school age Those who enjoy listening to loud music through headphones run the risk of developing hearing problems.

Classification of types and degrees of hearing loss

The pathology may affect one or both ears, different ears manifest themselves differently. Hearing loss is explained by a malfunction of the sound-conducting (middle and outer ear) or sound-receiving apparatus (and the brain). Sometimes deviations are associated with a disruption in the functioning of both structures.

When diagnosing pathology, the location of the disorder, the degree of hearing damage and the time during which hearing loss develops are taken into account. Depending on the location of damage to the auditory analyzer, 3 types of pathology are distinguished.

Damage affects the outer ear, eardrum, and middle ear. The reason may not be proper development hearing aid, tumors, otitis.

Disorders are localized in the area of ​​the inner ear when the auditory nerve is damaged, central department hearing aid. Hearing loss occurs as a result of disruption of the sound-receiving parts of the ear.

Simultaneous impairment of sound-conducting and sound-perceiving functions. In this case, the child may hear or experience difficulty perceiving speech in a noisy environment.

Most cases of childhood hearing loss are sensorineural, less than 10% are conductive, and a very small percentage are mixed.

Additional classification

Based on the time of occurrence, hearing loss is divided into sudden, acute and chronic.

Sudden hearing loss. Occurs unexpectedly, most often in the morning upon awakening, with general in good condition. Characterized by tinnitus or. It can appear in one, less often in both ears at the same time.

Significant hearing impairment lasting no more than a month. It begins with ear congestion or noise, but not loss of function. These manifestations may be unstable, appearing and disappearing from time to time. It is worth paying attention to them, because similar symptoms are harbingers of incipient deafness.

Manifestations of acute hearing loss are variable

Chronic hearing loss. It begins with a gradual deterioration in hearing and can progress over several months or years. It may stabilize at one level, or it may worsen.

Any type of hearing loss is characterized to varying degrees pathologies - from mild to complete deafness. Depending on the hearing threshold, there are 4 degrees of hearing loss.

1st degree. The hearing aid perfectly perceives sounds in the range of 26-40 dB. A person distinguishes words in ordinary conversation. In a noisy environment, the ability to hear the other person's speech is reduced. At a distance of more than 2 m, whispers are not perceived at all.

2nd degree. Difficulties in perceiving sounds in the range of 41-55 dB. The ability to hear in a noisy environment is sharply reduced; normal speech can be heard at a distance of no more than 4 meters, and whispers can be heard no further than 1 meter. The person is forced to ask his interlocutor again.

3rd degree. Characterized by immunity to sounds in the range of 56-70 dB. Without a special device, a person is not able to conduct normal communication. With such a degree of hearing loss, doctors prescribe disability.

4th degree – deafness. A person does not perceive sounds in the range of 71-90 dB. Whispers are inaudible at all, and ordinary speech is understandable at a distance of no more than 1 meter.

Symptoms of hearing loss in children

Notice initial manifestations Pathologies can be diagnosed most quickly by parents. If they are observant, the disease can be reversed in time. Depending on the age, a child with hearing loss may exhibit the following signs:

• No reaction to loud sounds.
• At 4-6 months there is no pre-speech vocalization.
• At 7-9 months, the child cannot determine where the source of the sound is.
• At the age of 1-2 years, there is a delay in speech development.

In older children, symptoms of hearing loss include:

• The child does not respond to his name.
• He asks again.
• Does not respond to speech addressed to him from behind.
• Talks louder than usual.
• Limited vocabulary.
• Distortion of the pronunciation of words.
• Difficulty distinguishing phonemes.
• The lexical and grammatical structure of speech is disrupted.

Methods for treating hearing loss in children

The choice of treatment tactics for hearing loss in children depends on the degree and type of pathology. It is possible to completely restore hearing functions only at the initial stage of the disease. In some cases, for fairly simple medical manipulations to remove the obstruction in the ear. The simplest example of such a procedure is removing wax plugs.

Conservative methods of treating hearing loss include the use of certain medications.

Nootropics (glycine, vinpocetine). These drugs enhance the process of restoration of cells in the nerve fibers of the inner ear and normalize blood supply to the brain.

Antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs (amoxiclav, ketonal). They are used when the triggering factor is inflammation of the middle ear.

B vitamins (thiamine, milgamma). Promote the normal functioning of the auditory branch of the facial nerve.

Antihistamines (suprastin). Aimed at eliminating swelling resulting from the inflammatory process.

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Physiotherapeutic methods (UHF, electrophoresis, laser) aimed at improving metabolism, blood purification, and stimulation of the central nervous system have proven their effectiveness in the treatment of hearing loss. Massage and breathing exercises improve blood circulation, train the eardrum. used for hearing loss as a result of barotrauma.

Other treatments

Microcurrent reflexology has proven itself well in the treatment of hearing loss. Especially good results this method gives congenital pathology. Physiotherapeutic methods are used in combination with medications and increase the effectiveness of drug therapy.

In the initial stages of the disease, along with the above methods, you can also use folk remedies. A hop decoction has proven itself well. Lemon helps a lot with background hearing loss. To do this, you need to eat ¼ of a lemon with peel every day. Excellent local remedy Grated garlic mixed with 2 drops is recognized. A tampon soaked in such a slurry is carefully inserted into the ear.

Treatment of grade 1 and 2 hearing loss has a favorable prognosis. Complex therapy can stop the progression of the disease, and after some time restore auditory function. Hearing loss of degrees 3 and 4 cannot be treated. The patient is assigned a hearing disability.

In cases of significant decrease in function, turn to surgical methods. To restore the integrity of the eardrum, myringoplasty is performed, damaged tissue replaced with synthetic ones.

Tympanoplasty is used to restore the position of the auditory ossicles. In especially severe cases, children with hearing loss are advised to undergo cochlear implantation, since hearing aids are the only possible way eliminating pathology. Rehabilitation of children with hearing impairments includes sessions with a speech therapist, psychologist, teacher of the deaf and speech pathologist.

Preventing hearing problems

Hearing is one of the most important functions, since with the help of it we interact with the outside world. Correct formation of the hearing aid is extremely important, starting from childhood. Violation of this ability can lead to problems with the child’s adaptation in society and developmental delays. With early detection of hearing loss, in most cases it is possible to achieve stabilization of hearing and its restoration.

Preventing hearing loss in children involves a healthy lifestyle expectant mother and then a warning colds in a child, vaccination, refusal of ototoxic drugs that can cause hearing complications.

Treating a disease such as hearing loss is difficult, especially if its development is late. Hearing loss of the 1st degree is still reversible process, and many patients do not notice the disease at all. To solve the problem, there are many methods of traditional and folk medicine.

Reasons for development

Hearing loss in adults occurs due to various reasons. In this condition, the perception of sounds begins to deteriorate, while a healthy person hears them quite normally. There are several degrees of the disease, each of which has its own distinctive features. With the development of degrees 3 and 4 hearing loss, hearing is practically absent and the person cannot fully communicate with others and perceive any other sounds.

It can be noted a whole series factors that contribute to the development of the disease:

1. Viral diseases. Complications can arise from many infectious diseases: AIDS, HIV, mumps, etc.
2. Hearing loss and deafness can develop with inflammatory processes, which affect the middle or inner ear.
3. The body's reaction to taking certain medications.
4. Hearing loss and disability are two problems that concern older people. Therefore, we can safely say that the disease can develop due to age-related changes.
5. Development of malignant diseases.
6. Earwax plugs in the ears can also cause development.
7. For a long time the patient was in a room where there was a lot of noise.

The degree of hearing impairment is determined by the cause that contributed to its development. Treatment also depends on what form of the disease you have.

Symptoms

The degree of hearing loss can vary, depending on the symptoms that appear and the treatment that will be used. Main symptom is the inability to hear sounds. Healthy man perceives human speech and other sounds and does not experience any problems with this.

On different stages developments appear different symptoms, among them the following can be distinguished:

1. The patient constantly asks the interlocutor again and asks to repeat what was said again.
2. There is noise in the ears.
3. While watching TV or listening to music, the patient constantly turns up the volume.
4. Telephone conversations become difficult.

When talking with an interlocutor, a person cannot concentrate, especially if the environment is crowded and noisy.

Classification of damage levels

In medicine, there are several classifications of diseases, they are determined by the degree of hearing loss. At every separate form The level of hearing loss varies, from slight to complete loss. So, the varieties and symptoms may be as follows:

1. Conductive form - hearing loss occurs, sound cannot fully pass and is not amplified either through the outer ear or through the middle ear. The main obstruction forms in the outer ear. Many things can lead to this: the hearing organs develop incorrectly, sulfur plugs form, and tumors develop. The initial stage of development of otitis media can also be included here.
2. Sensorineural - hearing is impaired due to dysfunction, not of the outer ear, but of the inner ear.
3. Mixed form - the simultaneous development of the two previous forms occurs. In this case, the symptoms are very specific - ringing in the ears, noise, inability to fully perceive speech. It is difficult for a person to move in space.
4. – bilateral hearing loss occurs; deafness occurs rarely. General condition the person is normal. It can appear at any time of the day, but mainly upon awakening. Patients may notice that there is noise in the ears and that the ears are blocked.
5. Acute form - occurs sharp deterioration hearing in a short period of time. That is, if a person has encountered a problem for one month or even less, then we're talking about exactly about acute form development of the disease. Ear congestion may or may not bother you.
6. Chronic. This type considered the most dangerous, hearing is impaired gradually: this period can last from several months to many years.

As you can see, diseases can have different shapes severity, from mild to severe.

Hearing loss and its degrees

In medicine, there are 4 degrees of disease development. The degrees of hearing loss can be characterized as follows:

There are different degrees of hearing loss and, as you can see, different hearing loss occurs at each stage.

Diagnostics

The degree of hearing loss is determined by the doctor after examination. Exactly timely diagnosis and timely treatment can protect a person from further complications. Otherwise, irreversible deafness will begin to develop, which will simply be impossible to cure in the future.

If there are existing hearing problems, a whole range of diagnostic measures is used. Firstly, the doctor must identify the cause of development, and secondly, consider the main symptoms; they may indicate the nature of partial deafness.

Doctors face difficult task, it is necessary to fully characterize the disease, understand the nature of its origin, and only after that appropriate treatment is prescribed.

How to treat the disease

Therapy is selected depending on what form has been identified. Hearing loss of degrees 3 and 4 is mainly treated with radical methods, that is, it occurs surgery.

Today, many methods have been introduced, thanks to which a person can regain hearing; it can be restored even with complete deafness. Drug treatment goes like this:

1. Hearing loss of degrees 1 and 2 can be treated with nootropics. The blood supply to the brain will improve, and stimulation of the cells of the inner ear and nerve roots will begin. Treatment can be one or supplemented with other methods.
2. Antibiotics – relieve inflammation of the middle ear, as well as acute diseases related to hearing organs.
3. Hearing loss of the 1st degree - treatment can be carried out with the help of antihistamines.

Only the doctor decides which treatment method to choose; self-medication in this case is not recommended. Two or more types of therapy may be used, depending on how advanced the situation is.

Hearing loss and disability

Thanks to modern techniques, today doctors can quickly restore hearing even in the most severe cases. The first or second degree is almost always cured successfully. But in some cases, degree 2 hearing loss takes a long time to recover, and here it all depends on individual characteristics person.

Disability for hearing loss is assigned when the third and fourth degrees develop. Disability is also assigned to children. To maintain full life hearing aids must be worn.

Operations

Treatment of grade 1 hearing loss is limited to taking medications; there are no radical interventions. As for hearing loss of degree 2, 3 or 4, operations may be prescribed that proceed as follows:

1. To treat grade 2 hearing loss caused by dysfunction of the auditory ossicles, prosthetic surgery is performed. It is possible to achieve mobility of the bones, thereby completely restoring hearing.
2. If the integrity of the eardrum is damaged, myringoplasty is performed and the pathological membrane is replaced.

Regardless of whether you have hearing loss of 2nd degree or 3rd degree, treatment is successful only if it was started on time and done correctly.

In order to protect yourself from the recurrence of the disease in the future, you must avoid risk factors. Diseases respiratory tract needs to be treated promptly. Any medicines should only be taken after consulting a doctor. Don't forget about hats winter time year. Your health is primarily in your hands!

Hearing loss is incomplete hearing loss. The pathology makes it difficult to communicate normally and is characterized by the inability to hear sounds that are accentuated close to the ear. There are grades 1–3 hearing loss. Treatment and symptoms of the disease depend on the severity of the disease.

Varieties of the disease

There are 4 types of hearing loss:

• Unilateral partial hearing loss affects one side, the right or left ear.
• The bilateral form extends to both ears at once.
• The prelingual type of the disease has a congenital or acquired etiology, which appeared before the patient began to speak.
• Postlingual type is a purely acquired disease that damages only the hearing of adults or adolescent children.

Based on the nature of the disorders, the disease is divided into three types.

Conductive hearing loss is associated with pathological changes organs of hearing, and is characterized by poor passage of sound through the outer and middle ear. The main obstructions form in the outer ear.

As the disease progresses, the following appears:

• dizziness;

Symptoms are the main criteria for determining hearing disability.

Signs of hearing impairment 1 degree

Hearing loss of 1 degree is characterized by loss of perception of sounds from 25 to 40 dB. In the absence of noise at a distance of several meters, no discomfort or loss of hearing is felt. But when noise appears, hearing decreases significantly, and whispering is not heard at a distance of 2 m.

Violations in 2nd degree

Degree 2 hearing loss is characterized by loss of audibility of sounds from 41 to 55 dB. At this stage, the patient experiences significant hearing loss, even in complete silence. At a distance of more than 1 meter, whispers are not perceived, and speech at a distance of more than 4 meters.

Manifestations of the 3rd degree

In case of hearing loss of the 3rd degree, disability is assigned, since the patient does not perceive sounds from 56 to 70 dB. Communication can only be carried out with.

Symptoms 4 degrees

Degree 4 hearing loss is characterized by the inability to hear sounds from 71 to 90 dB. At this stage, whispering is not perceived at all, and loud speech can only be heard at a distance of less than 1 meter.

Diagnosis of pathology

When applying for medical care, the patient must go through several instrumental studies to confirm the diagnosis and correct treatment of hearing loss, and prescribe adequate treatment.

Speech hearing testing does not require any special equipment. The doctor moves away to the required distance and pronounces words with low sounds (hole, sea, etc.), then with high ones (hare, cabbage soup, etc.). If there is no audibility, the doctor approaches at a distance of up to 1 meter.

Tuning fork testing is the most simple method pathology diagnosis. Using a device with low and high frequencies, the type of violation is determined. This may be the inability to produce sounds or sensorineural hearing loss.

It is carried out by sound generators of certain frequencies -. Sensorineural hearing loss of degrees 1, 2, 3 and 4 is determined by threshold audiometry.

Diagnostic techniques are used to determine the pathology and degree of hearing loss. Only after full research the patient is prescribed necessary treatment hearing loss.

Treatment of pathology

In case of a conductive form of loss of hearing abilities with a violation of the integrity of the eardrum or auditory ossicles, surgical intervention is performed. It could be:

• plastic surgery of the eardrum;
• sanitation of the middle ear cavity;
• ossiculoplasty.

With this degree of hearing loss, it is possible to completely restore hearing loss.

Treatment for sensorineural hearing loss is performed by medication and is prescribed depending on the form and stage of the disease. The patient is prescribed drugs that stimulate blood supply in the inner ear (Cerebrolysin, Piracetam) and relieve signs of coordination problems (Betagistin).

Also in complex therapy includes physiotherapy and reflexology. Hearing restoration for sensorineural hearing loss chronic form performed using hearing aid techniques.

The course of treatment for grade 2–4 hearing loss includes the following medications.

Neurometabolic stimulants:

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Medications stimulate blood flow to the brain and ears. They also help restore inner ear cells and nerve roots.

B vitamins:

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Vitamin preparations improve nerve conduction, which is an integral part in restoring sound-producing ability.

Antibiotics:

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And non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - Ketonal, Nurofen, Ibuklin. Antibacterial groups of drugs are prescribed for inflammation of the middle ear due to acute bacterial pathologies of the hearing organs.

Antihistamines and decongestants – Diazolin, Zyrtec, Furosemide. Medicines relieve swelling, reduce the production of transudate during inflammation of the hearing organs.

Features of therapy by form

When diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss of the 3rd degree, the patient is placed in the ENT-neurological department of the hospital. The patient is shown a “protective” hearing mode. It consists of eliminating any loud sounds:

• speeches;
• music;
• surrounding noise.

Treatment of early stage pathology has a positive prognosis. Sensorineural hearing loss of the 2nd degree can also be successfully treated. But with the third and fourth degrees, the therapy is very complex, the patient is assigned hearing disability, treatment of concomitant etiological pathologies is performed, and surgery is possible.

After discharge from the hospital, the patient is on supportive care treatment regimen 2 times a year.

Hearing loss is of 2nd degree, 3rd and 4th degree distinctive features, which simplifies the diagnosis of the disease and its treatment. With grades 1–3 of development, the disease has a positive prognosis and it is possible full recovery hearing At grade 4, surgical intervention is indicated.

Therefore, upon discovering the first symptoms of deafness, it is necessary to immediately seek help from a qualified physician in order to avoid the progression of the disease and the occurrence of associated complications.

Video: Hearing loss