- Adults — About 28 million people in the U.S. have some degree of hearing impairment.
- Among adults with hearing impairment: 80% of these people have irreversible hearing loss, Better Hearing Institute, 1999
- 4.6% of individuals between the ages of 18 and 44 years of age have hearing loss
- 14% of individuals between the ages of 45 and 64 years of age have hearing loss
- 54% of the population over age 65 has hearing loss
- Hearing loss is the 3rd most prevalent chronic condition in the elderly, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 1989
Causes of hearing loss in adults
Presbycusis
This type of hearing loss is a result of the aging process. It results in a degeneration of the inner ear and tends to be progressive in nature. It is usually not noticed until later in life when high frequency hearing loss results in a decreased ability to understand speech.
Noise Induced Hearing Loss
Prolonged exposure to harmful levels of noise can cause permanent damage to the hair cells in the inner ear resulting in irreversible hearing loss. It usually develops gradually over time and is not noticed until the high frequency hearing loss results in a decreased ability to understand speech. Sometimes, a single exposure to very high levels of sounds or impulse noises can cause acoustic trauma to the cochlea and result in hearing loss due to the damage sustained in the inner ear.
Trauma
Examples of trauma that can result in permanent or temporary hearing loss include temporal bone fractures and perforations of the ear drum from foreign objects, infection or sudden changes in air pressure (barotraumas).
Drugs
Some medicines are ototoxic and can cause damage to the auditory system resulting in permanent hearing loss. Aminoglycoside antibiotics (streptomycin, neomycin, gentamycin), salicylates (aspirin) in large quantities, loop diuretics (lasix, ethacrynic acid) and drugs used in chemotherapy regimens (cisplatin, carboplatin) are all drugs which are known to be ototoxic and can cause hearing loss.
Otosclerosis
This is a disease process that reduces the ability of the stapes (one of the three tiny bones in the middle ear) to move efficiently. Over time, this process results in a progressive conductive hearing loss that can often be treated with surgery.
Meniere’s Disease
This disease affects the inner ear and can be associated with hearing loss, dizziness (vertigo) and ringing in the ear (tinnitus).
Acoustic Neuroma
This is a benign growth on the acoustic nerve that can cause progressive sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. It can be accompanied by a feeling of aural fullness and is often detected at an early stage.
Causes of Hearing Loss in Children
- More than 1 million children in the U.S. have a hearing loss, U.S. Public Health Service, 1990
- 5% of children 18 years and under have hearing loss, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 1991
- One in 22 infants born in the U.S. has some kind of hearing problem
- One in every 1000 infants born in the U.S. has a severe or profound hearing loss, NIDCD, 1989
- 83 out of every 1000 children in the U.S. have a hearing loss that significantly effects their education, U.S. Public Health Service, 1990
- Out of every 1000 school-age students in the U.S., 7 have a bilateral hearing loss and 19 have a unilateral hearing loss that may significantly interfere with their education, Berg, F.H., 1985
- Among school age children, severe to profound hearing loss occurs in 9 out of every 1000 children, National Association of the Deaf, 1974
- 30% of children who are hard of hearing have a disability in addition to a hearing loss, Wolff, A.B., & Harkins, J.E., 1986
Otitis Media
This is the most common cause of hearing loss in young children. Otitis media is an inflammation in the middle ear and is usually associated with a buildup of fluid behind the eardrum. This fluid, which may or may not be infected, causes a temporary, fluctuating conductive hearing loss hearing loss. This hearing loss may be mild to moderate in severity and result in speech sounds being muffled or inaudible to the child. In cases where otitis media occurs over and over again, permanent damage to the middle ear system and sometimes the hearing nerve can occur.
Congenital Hearing Loss
Congenital hearing loss refers to hearing loss that is present at birth. Hearing loss can be conductive or sensorineural in nature and range from mild to profound in severity. Congenital hearing loss may be due to genetic abnormalities or from other factors such as infections, illnesses or conditions occurring at the time of birth or shortly thereafter. Some examples of genetic syndromes that are associated with hearing loss are Down syndrome, Usher syndrome, Treacher-Collins syndrome, Fetal alcohol syndrome, Crouzon syndrome and Alport syndrome. Non-hereditary causes of congenital hearing loss include rubella, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex, RH factor incompatability, prematurity, maternal diabetes, toxemia during pregnancy, lack of oxygen at birth, syphilis and malformation of the ear.
Acquired Hearing Loss
Acquired hearing loss appears after birth or at a later time in life, as a result of a disease, condition or an injury. Examples of conditions that can cause acquired hearing loss in children include ear infections, ototoxic drugs, meningitis, measles, encephalitis, chicken pox, influenza, mumps head injury and noise exposure.
Effects of Hearing Loss in Children
Hearing is crucial to speech and language development, communication and learning. The earlier hearing loss occurs in a child’s life, the more serious the effects on the child’s development. Likewise, the earlier the problem is identified and intervention begun, the less serious overall impact on the child. Hearing loss in children causes delays in the development of speech and language. Because they often cannot hear word endings or quiet speech sounds like “s”, “sh”, “f”, “t”, and “k”, they don’t produce them in their own speech and their speech may be difficult to understand. Their vocabulary develops more slowly, they have trouble understanding abstract words and words with multiple meanings and have difficulty producing and understanding complex sentences.
Children with hearing loss may feel isolated socially and unhappy in school.
They may have difficulty with all academic areas, especially reading and math. Children with untreated mild to moderate hearing losses typically achieve 1-4 grade levels lower than their peers with normal hearing and these gaps can widen as they progress through school. Children with untreated severe to profound hearing loss typically achieve skills no higher than the 3rd or 4th grade level. Most importantly, these children do not catch up without intervention. Their ultimate level of achievement is related to parental involvement and the quantity, quality and timing of the support services that they receive.
The audiologists at St. John Hospital and Medical Center are equipped to provide a complete range of audiologic and vestibular testing and rehabilitative services, including hearing aid selection and dispensing.
Appointments
Appointments can be scheduled by contacting the Audiology department 313-343-3165. You can also contact audiologists at St. John Hospital via e-mail at audiology@stjohn.org
