Very keen hearing. This unique technique will help you develop acute hearing! Acquired hearing loss and deafness

Compared to vision, hearing from the point of view of transmitting data to the brain is several times less informative. However, even a slight hearing impairment of 20-30 dB can affect intellectual abilities and immunity to the sense of danger in a certain environment.

The lower absolute threshold of sensation for human hearing is the ability to perceive the ticking of a manual mechanical watch in complete silence at a distance of 6 m from the human ear. A person feels about 300,000 sounds of varying strength and pitch. The range of audible frequencies for people under 25 years old covers from 16–20 Hz to 16–20 kHz. The high-frequency part of the range decreases from year to year, and after 40 years - by 80 Hz every subsequent six months. Low sensitivity to low-frequency sounds protects a person from constant feeling low-frequency vibrations and body noise.

An important function of hearing is the localization of a sound source in space. The ability to localize sounds in space develops in the process of spatial orientation. Since the ears are responsible for hearing and balance (“two in one”), it is necessary not only to develop the auditory zones of the brain, but also the spatial orientation brain The hearing organs are also connected to the sense of smell, vision, taste and vestibular apparatus. A change in the auditory cortex causes a change in the frontal lobes, which are responsible for complex human thinking and behavior.

About 80% of the information from each ear goes to the opposite hemisphere of the brain. But sounds heard by the left ear are partially processed by the left hemisphere, and vice versa. For example, in the techniques of hidden psychological influence, it is recommended to speak into the right ear when presenting logical information to the interlocutor, and in the left ear when presenting emotional information. When perceiving foreign speech, it is also recommended to perceive it through the right ear, but music through the left. Average normal person, a right-handed person, hears words 10–14% better in the right ear than in the left. This is especially true for men.

It has been scientifically established that people with dark skin hear better than people with fair skin. Scientists suggest that this is due to the amount of melanin. Black people have more of it. When there is loud noise, more melanin is produced in the inner ear.

In hypnotized persons, hearing is 12 times more sensitive than in in good condition. This also applies to vision, smell and touch.

Noise is one of the most common factors external environment that have a negative effect on the human body. Increased noise intensity above the natural level leads to increased fatigue in humans, a decrease in intellectual abilities, and when it reaches 90–100 decibels and prolonged exposure, to gradual hearing loss. The effect of noise on the human body is not limited to the impact only on the organ of hearing. Noise stimulation is transmitted through the fibers of the auditory nerves to the central and autonomic nervous system, and through them affects internal organs, leading to significant changes in functional state organism, causes stressful state. For example, a person exposed to intense noise expends on average 10–20% more physical and mental effort to maintain the performance achieved at sound levels below 70 dB.

With pulsed and irregular noise, the degree of negative impact of noise increases. Changes in the functional state of the central and autonomic systems occur much earlier and at lower noise levels. Due to exposure to noise, the following autonomic reactions occur: the blood circulation process changes; the pupils dilate, which leads to a decrease in visual acuity; with prolonged noise, the activity of the salivary and gastric glands is inhibited; metabolism accelerates; the electrical activity of the brain changes; muscle potential increases; disturbance in the depth of sleep, up to awakening; Adrenaline levels increase, which corresponds to a stress response. Even low levels of noise can cause anxiety and increase the risk of aggression. Most scientists see a connection between exposure to increased noise levels and the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases and peptic ulcers. The effect of constant noise on the organ of hearing leads to morphological changes. In the cochlea, dystrophic disorders are observed, similar to those observed when exposed to electromagnetic fields, leading to sclerosis (replacement of nerve, sensitive cells that perceive sound, connective tissue). The cochlea and other structures of the hearing organ become saturated with calcium salts and stop the perception of sound - deafness occurs. Similar changes occur in the vestibular apparatus. The organs of hearing and balance suffer from both excessively loud music and sudden body movements (for example, aerobics).

At 120–140 dB (the noise of a low-flying airplane or a rock concert), acoustic injury can occur. A healthy eardrum of a middle-aged person can withstand noise of 110 dB for only one and a half minutes without damage. Noise at a level of 180 dB is considered fatal to humans. Noise weapons that were developed in different countries, should have sounded at a level of 200 dB.

Ten years ago, research by American scientists showed that long-term exposure to loud music (4–5 hours) on the hearing organ through headphones from an MP-3 player or at a disco causes thickening and tumors in the nerve fibers connecting the cochlea inner ear with a brain. It takes about two days for them to heal. With daily auditory loads on the ears, conditions for cell regeneration are not created, hearing loss occurs, and the more informative right ear suffers first. Listening to music in transport is especially dangerous for hearing, which leads to weakening of the auditory nerve and reduces the immunity of the hearing organ to various infections. Wearing earbuds for just one hour increases the number of bacteria in the ear by 700 times.

Another cause of hearing loss may include age-related decline(presbycusis). The reason is anatomical features blood supply to the inner ear. Impaired blood supply is most often caused by vascular atherosclerosis, which develops with age.

This causes constant ringing in the ears (tinnitus). In this disease, fat and calcium metabolism, the walls of the arteries thicken, and the arteries themselves narrow. The blood passes through with high pressure, and the presence of a sclerotic plaque causes a certain sound resonance that is heard by the middle ear. One of the signs of vascular atherosclerosis is the appearance of a horizontal fold on the earlobe. Dysfunction also leads to tinnitus thyroid gland, accompanied degenerative changes in the inner ear.

Taking medications such as: large doses aspirin, antibiotics, some diuretics and heart medications. Irreversible hearing damage can be caused by aminoglycoside antibiotics (streptomycin, monomycin, neomycin, etc.). They have a negative effect on the auditory and vestibular systems, especially in combination with diuretics (diuretics). Misuse of opiate-based painkillers also often results in hearing loss.

Among the fairly common causes of the development of sensorineural hearing loss and deafness is exposure to pathogenic viruses and bacteria. Particularly dangerous infections in this regard are influenza, sore throat, meningitis and mumps (mumps). Even a simple runny nose can temporarily reduce hearing by 10–15 dB.

Alcoholic drinks increase the negative impact of loud noise on hearing, and citizens who smoke are almost twice as likely to become hard of hearing. Hearing noticeably worsens for 2–3 hours and after eating.

It is necessary to allow your ears to enjoy the silence from time to time! When we listen to silence, the ability to actively listen improves. Walking in the forest, reading literature and sleeping in silence, listening to quiet classical and popular music, “loaded” with high frequencies, on high-quality equipment help restore hearing. At the same time, German researchers argue that the hearing needs constant training to stay in shape, and those who live in constant silence have their hearing weakened no less than that of workers in a forge and press shop. They believe that it is not constant noise that is harmful to the delicate mechanism of the inner ear, but shock loads - individual very loud sounds. Considering that hearing works even during sleep, it is effective to use earplugs that reduce the noise level by 30 dB. At the same time, a person gets enough sleep and gains strength in a shorter time.

Listening, a person instinctively puts his hand to his ear. Placing your palms on your own ears can significantly enhance the perception of sound (the shape of the ears also affects hearing). Modern acoustic measurements show that in this case the hearing threshold increases by 3–10 times (5–10 dB). Once upon a time, bell hats with entrance holes (for sound) disguised in them at the front or at the top were recommended for men and women for street walks. Such headgear resonators excited the cochlea of ​​the inner ear directly through the oval of the skull or special air vents into the external auditory canals of the ears. In the army units of individual countries, metal helmets of a similar design were used for certain types of operations (for example, night reconnaissance). Until now, when fishing, West African fishermen listen to underwater sounds by placing their ear to the handle of a wooden oar lowered into the water, since wood is an excellent conductor of sound. Bushmen from the Kalahari Desert sleep with their ears pressed to the ground in order to quickly detect an approaching predator - after all, the speed of sound waves in solid bodies is 10 times greater than in air.

Back in the 17th century, it was noticed that people with poor hearing hear better in the light than in the dark, and lighting the heads of children suffering from hearing impairment improves their hearing. Today it has been established that with green lighting we hear better, with red lighting we hear worse. Hearing is noticeably reduced even with the head thrown back. Certain odors, such as benzene and geraniol, also impair hearing. Improves auditory sensitivity when defining contours, under the influence of the image of bright light, car headlights, etc.

Vitamin supplements containing antioxidants, beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, and magnesium may help prevent hearing loss. ethnoscience recommends eating a quarter of a lemon with the peel every day, smearing it with honey. Often, within a week, hearing improves noticeably.

For a long time in Rus', deafness was also cured with the help of copper. You can stick one two-kopeck coin (Soviet style) on the bulge behind the ear, and another on the cheek side of the ear. For dizziness and tinnitus, a gauze bag with grated horseradish was applied to the back of the head. To improve hearing and with neuritis of the auditory nerve, it is recommended daily, 15–20 minutes before bedtime, to peel one clove of good fresh garlic, grind it and drop 2–3 drops of camphor oil into the resulting pulp. Place the resulting mixture in gauze and insert it into the ear that has difficulty hearing. Keep the garlic in your ear until you feel a burning sensation, then remove it and throw it away. If hearing loss affects both ears, then take 2 cloves of garlic accordingly. Perform the procedure until positive results are obtained.

To prevent hearing loss, it is useful to click your jaws, opening your mouth wide, and also chew gum, as this increases blood flow in the auditory areas of the brain.

For auditory tube, as a preventive measure for otitis, we can recommend performing the following exercises two times a week:

1. An empty sip (of saliva) with the nose pinched between the fingers.
2. Self-blowing: close your nose and blow into your nose as you blow your nose (under no circumstances should you do this if you have a runny nose).
3. Inhale through one nostril and exhale through the other - alternately (which also improves blood supply to the brain).
4. Take air into your mouth, puff out your cheeks and slowly blow through your lips.
5. Swallow food and water with your nose pinched with your fingers.

There is a relationship between hearing and the condition of the legs. Hearing is enhanced if the feet remain dry. Therefore, it is recommended to wash your feet more often cold water and do not use synthetic or cotton socks, which quickly become wet from sweat. It is advisable to wear socks made of silk or linen, and white ones, since some dyes form harmful chemical compounds in contact with sweat.

There are also special exercises on the development of auditory perception. As you know, the ability to listen preserves your hearing! Half of existing deafness is a consequence of inattention. Developing auditory perception means developing attention and interest. Try reading some text aloud while listening to information on the radio. Then try to repeat the text you read and the information you listened to from memory. You can put two radios on the left and right, tuned to different programs. Listen to two different texts and then highlight the first and second information. Experiments have shown that every person with normal hearing is able to identify an important message for him even from seven messages transmitted simultaneously and with equal volume.

(bradycusis or hypoacusis) is a hearing impairment of varying severity (from slight to profound), occurring suddenly or developing gradually, and caused by a disorder in the functioning of the sound-receiving or sound-conducting structures of the auditory analyzer (ear). With hearing loss, a person has difficulty hearing various sounds, including speech, as a result of which normal communication and any communications with other people are difficult, which leads to his desocialization.

Deafness is a kind of final stage of hearing loss and represents an almost complete loss of the ability to hear various sounds. With deafness, a person cannot hear even very loud sounds, which normally cause pain in the ears.

Deafness and hearing loss can affect only one or both ears. Moreover, hearing loss in different ears can have different degrees of severity. That is, a person can hear better with one ear and worse with the other.

Deafness and hearing loss - a brief description

Hearing loss and deafness are types of hearing disorders in which a person loses the ability to hear various sounds. Depending on the severity of hearing loss, a person can hear a greater or lesser range of sounds, and with deafness there is a complete inability to hear any sounds. In general, deafness can be considered as the last stage of hearing loss, in which complete loss of hearing occurs. The term “hearing loss” usually means hearing impairment of varying degrees, in which a person can hear at least very loud speech. Deafness is a condition in which a person is no longer able to hear even very loud speech.

Hearing loss or deafness can affect one or both ears, and the severity may be different in the right and left ear. Since the development mechanisms, causes, as well as treatment methods for hearing loss and deafness are the same, they are combined into one nosology, considered as successive stages of one pathological process loss of human hearing.

Hearing loss or deafness can be caused by damage to sound-conducting structures (organs of the middle and outer ear) or sound-receiving apparatus (organs of the inner ear and brain structures). In some cases, hearing loss or deafness may be caused by simultaneous damage to both sound-conducting structures and the sound-receiving apparatus of the auditory analyzer. In order to clearly understand what damage to a particular hearing analyzer means, you need to know its structure and functions.

So, the auditory analyzer consists of the ear, the auditory nerve and the auditory cortex of the brain. With the help of the ears, a person perceives sounds, which are then transmitted in encoded form along the auditory nerve to the brain, where the received signal is processed and the sound is “recognized.” Due to complex structure The ear not only picks up sounds, but also “recodes” them into nerve impulses that are transmitted to the brain via the auditory nerve. The perception of sounds and their “recoding” into nerve impulses are produced by various structures of the ear.

Thus, the structures of the outer and middle ear, such as the eardrum and the auditory ossicles (hammer, incus and stapes), are responsible for the perception of sounds. It is these parts of the ear that receive sound and conduct it to the structures of the inner ear (cochlea, vestibule and semicircular canals). And in the inner ear, the structures of which are located in the temporal bone of the skull, sound waves are “recoded” into electrical nerve impulses, which are subsequently transmitted to the brain along the corresponding nerve fibers. The processing and “recognition” of sounds occurs in the brain.

Accordingly, the structures of the outer and middle ear are sound-conducting, and the organs of the inner ear, auditory nerve and cerebral cortex are sound-receiving. Therefore, the entire set of hearing loss options is divided into two large groups - those associated with damage to the sound-conducting structures of the ear or the sound-receiving apparatus of the hearing analyzer.

Hearing loss or deafness can be acquired or congenital, and depending on the time of occurrence - early or late. Early hearing loss is considered to be acquired before the child reaches the age of 3–5 years. If hearing loss or deafness appeared after the age of 5, then it is classified as late.

Acquired hearing loss or deafness is usually associated with the negative effects of various external factors, such as ear injuries, previous infections, complicated by damage to the auditory analyzer, constant noise exposure, etc. Special mention should be made of acquired hearing loss caused by age-related changes in the structure of the auditory analyzer, which are not associated with any negative effects on the hearing organ. Congenital hearing loss is usually caused by developmental defects, genetic abnormalities of the fetus, or certain infectious diseases suffered by the mother during pregnancy (rubella, syphilis, etc.).

The specific causative factor of hearing loss is determined during a special otoscopic examination performed by an ENT doctor, audiologist or neurologist. In order to select the optimal method of treating hearing loss, it is necessary to find out what is causing the hearing loss - damage to the sound-conducting or sound-receiving apparatus.

Treatment of hearing loss and deafness is carried out using various methods, including both conservative and surgical. Conservative methods are usually used to restore sharply deteriorated hearing due to a known causative factor (for example, hearing loss after taking antibiotics, after a traumatic brain injury, etc.). In such cases, with timely treatment, hearing can be restored by 90%. If conservative therapy was not carried out as soon as possible after hearing deterioration, then its effectiveness is extremely low. In such situations conservative techniques treatments are considered and used solely as auxiliary treatments.

Surgical treatment methods are variable and can restore a person’s hearing in the vast majority of cases. Most of operational methods Treatment of hearing loss is associated with the selection, installation and adjustment of hearing aids, which allow a person to perceive sounds, hear speech and interact normally with others. Another large group of methods of surgical treatment of hearing loss involves very complex operations to install cochlear implants, which make it possible to restore the ability to perceive sounds to people who cannot use hearing aids.

The problem of hearing loss and deafness is very important, since a hard of hearing person finds himself isolated from society, his employment opportunities and self-realization are sharply limited, which, of course, leaves a negative imprint on the entire life of a hearing-impaired person. The consequences of hearing loss are most severe in children, since their poor hearing can lead to muteness. After all, the child has not yet mastered speech very well; he needs constant practice and further development of the speech apparatus, which are achieved only with the help of constant listening to new phrases, words, etc. And when a child does not hear speech, he may completely lose even the existing ability to speak, having become not just hard of hearing, but also mute.

It must be remembered that about 50% of cases of hearing loss can be prevented with proper adherence to preventive measures. Yes, effective preventive measures is the vaccination of children, adolescents and women of childbearing age against dangerous infections, such as measles, rubella, meningitis, mumps, whooping cough, etc., which can cause complications in the form of otitis media and other ear diseases. Also effective preventive measures to prevent hearing loss are high-quality obstetric care pregnant women and women in labor, proper ear hygiene, timely and adequate therapy diseases of the ENT organs, avoiding the use of drugs that are toxic to the auditory analyzer, as well as minimizing noise exposure to the ears in industrial and other areas (for example, when working in noisy rooms, you should wear earplugs, noise-canceling headphones, etc.).

Deafness and muteness

Deafness and muteness are quite often combined, the latter being a consequence of the former. The fact is that a person masters and then constantly maintains the ability to speak, to pronounce articulate sounds only on the condition that he constantly hears them both from other people and from himself. When a person stops hearing sounds and speech, it becomes difficult for him to speak, as a result of which speech skills are reduced (deteriorated). A pronounced reduction in speech skills ultimately leads to muteness.

Children who become hard of hearing before the age of 5 years are especially susceptible to the secondary development of muteness. Such children gradually lose the speech skills they have already acquired, and they become mute due to the fact that they cannot hear speech. Children who are deaf from birth are almost always mute, since they cannot master speech without simply hearing it. After all, a child learns to speak by listening to other people and trying to pronounce imitating sounds on his own. But a deaf baby does not hear sounds, as a result of which he simply cannot even try to pronounce something, imitating those around him. It is because of the inability to hear that children who are deaf from birth remain mute.

Adults who have acquired hearing loss are very in rare cases They become mute because their speech skills are well developed and are lost very slowly. An adult who is deaf or hard of hearing may speak strangely, drawing out words or pronouncing them very loudly, but the ability to reproduce speech is almost never completely lost.

Deafness in one ear

Deafness in one ear is usually acquired and is quite common. Such situations usually occur when exposed to negative factors only in one ear, as a result of which it ceases to perceive sounds, while the second remains completely normal and fully functioning. Deafness in one ear does not necessarily provoke hearing impairment in the second ear; moreover, a person can live the rest of his life with a single functioning ear, maintaining normal hearing. However, if you have deafness in one ear, you need to take care of the second organ, since if it is damaged, the person will stop hearing altogether.

Deafness in one ear in terms of development mechanisms, causes and methods of treatment is no different from any type of acquired hearing loss.

With congenital deafness, the pathological process usually affects both ears, since it is associated with systemic disorders operation of the entire auditory analyzer.

Classification

Let us consider the various forms and types of hearing loss and deafness, which are distinguished depending on one or another leading feature that forms the basis of the classification. Since there are several leading signs and characteristics of hearing loss and deafness, there is more than one type of disease identified on their basis.

Depending on which structure of the auditory analyzer is affected - sound-conducting or sound-perceiving, the entire various options Hearing loss and deafness are divided into three large groups:
1. Sensorineural (sensorineural) hearing loss or deafness.
2. Conductive hearing loss or deafness.
3. Mixed hearing loss or deafness.

Sensorineural (sensorineural) hearing loss and deafness

Sensorineural hearing loss or deafness is caused by damage to the sound-receiving apparatus of the auditory analyzer. With sensorineural hearing loss, a person perceives sounds, but the brain does not perceive or recognize them, as a result of which, in practice, there is hearing loss.

Sensorineural hearing loss is not one disease, but a whole group of different pathologies that lead to disruption of the functioning of the auditory nerve, inner ear or auditory cortex. But since all these pathologies affect the sound-perceiving apparatus of the auditory analyzer, and therefore have a similar pathogenesis, they are combined into one large group of sensorineural hearing loss. Morphologically, sensorineural deafness and hearing loss can be caused by a disorder in the functioning of the auditory nerve and cerebral cortex, as well as anomalies in the structure of the inner ear (for example, atrophy of the sensory apparatus of the cochlea, changes in the structure of the vascular cavity, spiral ganglion, etc.) arising due to genetic violations or as a result past diseases and injuries.

That is, if hearing loss is associated with dysfunction of the structures of the inner ear (cochlea, vestibule or semicircular canals), the auditory nerve (VIII pair of cranial nerves) or areas of the cerebral cortex responsible for the perception and recognition of sounds, these are precisely neurosensory options for reduction hearing

By origin, sensorineural hearing loss and deafness can be congenital or acquired. Moreover, congenital cases of sensorineural hearing loss account for 20%, and acquired cases, respectively, for 80%.

Cases of congenital hearing loss can be caused either by genetic disorders in the fetus or by abnormalities in the development of the auditory analyzer that arise due to the adverse effects of factors environment during the period of intrauterine development. Genetic disorders are present in the fetus initially, that is, they are transmitted from the parents at the time of fertilization of the egg by the sperm. If the sperm or egg has any genetic abnormalities, then the fetus will not develop a full-fledged auditory analyzer during intrauterine development, which will lead to congenital sensorineural hearing loss. But abnormalities in the development of the auditory analyzer in the fetus, which can also cause congenital hearing loss, occur during the period of bearing a child with initially normal genes. That is, the fetus received normal genes from its parents, but during the period of intrauterine growth it was affected by any unfavorable factors (for example, infectious diseases or poisoning suffered by a woman, etc.), which disrupted the course of its normal development, which resulted in abnormal formation of the auditory analyzer, manifested by congenital hearing loss.

Congenital hearing loss in most cases is one of the symptoms of a genetic disease (for example, Treacher-Collins, Alport, Klippel-Feil, Pendred syndromes, etc.) caused by mutations in genes. Congenital hearing loss, as the only disorder that is not combined with any other disorders of the functions of various organs and systems and is caused by developmental anomalies, is relatively rare, in no more than 20% of cases.

The causes of congenital sensorineural hearing loss, which develops as a developmental anomaly, can be severe infectious diseases (rubella, typhoid, meningitis, etc.) suffered by a woman during pregnancy (especially during 3–4 months of gestation), intrauterine infection of the fetus various infections(for example, toxoplasmosis, herpes, HIV, etc.), as well as maternal poisoning with toxic substances (alcohol, drugs, industrial emissions, etc.). The causes of congenital hearing loss caused by genetic disorders are the presence of genetic abnormalities in one or both parents, consanguineous marriage, etc.

Acquired hearing loss always occurs against the background of initially normal hearing, which decreases due to the negative impact of some environmental factors. Sensorineural hearing loss of acquired origin can be provoked by brain damage (traumatic brain injury, hemorrhage, birth trauma in a child, etc.), diseases of the inner ear (Meniere's disease, labyrinthitis, complications of mumps, otitis media, measles, syphilis, herpes, etc.). etc.), acoustic neuroma, prolonged exposure to noise in the ears, as well as taking medications that are toxic to the structures of the auditory analyzer (for example, Levomycetin, Gentamicin, Kanamycin, Furosemide, etc.).

Separately, we should highlight a variant of sensorineural hearing loss, which is called presbycusis, and consists of a gradual decrease in hearing as one grows up or ages. With presbycusis, hearing is lost slowly, and at first the child or adult ceases to hear high frequencies (birds singing, squeaking, telephone ringing, etc.), but perceives low tones well (the sound of a hammer, a passing truck, etc.). Gradually, the spectrum of perceived frequencies of sounds narrows due to the increasing deterioration of hearing for higher tones, and, ultimately, the person ceases to hear at all.

Conductive hearing loss and deafness

The group of conductive hearing loss and deafness includes various states and diseases leading to disruption of the functioning of the sound-conducting system of the auditory analyzer. That is, if hearing loss is associated with any disease affecting the sound-conducting system of the ear (eardrums, external auditory canal, auricle, auditory ossicles), then it belongs to the conductive group.

It is necessary to understand that conductive hearing loss and deafness are not one pathology, but a whole group of the most various diseases and conditions united by the fact that they affect the sound-conducting system of the auditory analyzer.

With conductive hearing loss and deafness, sounds from the outside world do not reach the inner ear, where they are “recoded” into nerve impulses and from where they enter the brain. Thus, a person does not hear because the sound does not reach the organ that can transmit it to the brain.

As a rule, all cases of conductive hearing loss are acquired and caused by various diseases and injuries that disrupt the structure of the outer and middle ear (for example, wax plugs, tumors, otitis media, otosclerosis, damage to the eardrum, etc.). Congenital conductive hearing loss is rare and is usually one of the manifestations of some genetic disease caused by gene abnormalities. Congenital conductive hearing loss is always associated with abnormalities in the structure of the outer and middle ear.

Mixed hearing loss and deafness

Mixed hearing loss and deafness are hearing loss due to a combination of conductive and sensorineural disorders.

Depending on the period of a person’s life when hearing impairment began, congenital, hereditary and acquired hearing loss or deafness are distinguished.

Hereditary hearing loss and deafness

Hereditary hearing loss and deafness are variants of hearing impairment that arise as a result of existing genetic abnormalities in a person, which were passed on to him from his parents. In other words, when hereditary hearing loss and deafness, a person receives genes from his parents that sooner or later lead to hearing impairment.

Hereditary hearing loss can appear at different ages, i.e. it is not necessarily congenital. Thus, with hereditary hearing loss, only 20% of children are born deaf, 40% begin to lose hearing in childhood, and the remaining 40% notice a sudden and causeless hearing loss only in adulthood.

Hereditary hearing loss is caused by certain genes, which are usually recessive. This means that a child will only have hearing loss if he receives recessive deafness genes from both parents. If from one of the parents the child receives dominant gene normal hearing, and from the second - a recessive gene for deafness, then he will hear normally.

Since the genes for hereditary deafness are recessive, then this type Hearing impairment, as a rule, occurs in closely related marriages, as well as in unions of people whose relatives or they themselves suffered from hereditary hearing loss.

The morphological substrate of hereditary deafness can be various disorders of the structure of the inner ear, which arise due to defective genes passed on to the child by the parents.

Hereditary deafness, as a rule, is not the only health disorder that a person has, but in the vast majority of cases it is combined with other pathologies, also of a genetic nature. That is, usually hereditary deafness is combined with other pathologies that also developed as a result of abnormalities in the genes passed on to the child by the parents. Most often, hereditary deafness is one of the symptoms genetic diseases, which are manifested by a whole complex of symptoms.

Currently, hereditary deafness, as one of the symptoms of a genetic anomaly, occurs in the following diseases associated with abnormalities in genes:

• Treacher Collins syndrome(deformation of the skull bones);
• Alport syndrome(glomerulonephritis, hearing loss, reduced functional activity of the vestibular apparatus);
• Pendred syndrome(dysfunction of thyroid hormone metabolism, large head, short arms and legs, enlarged tongue, disorder of the vestibular apparatus, deafness and muteness);
• LEOPARD syndrome(cardiopulmonary insufficiency, abnormalities in the structure of the genital organs, freckles and age spots throughout the body, deafness or hearing loss);
• Klippel-Feil syndrome(impaired structure of the spine, arms and legs, incompletely formed external auditory canal, hearing loss).

Deafness genes

Currently, more than 100 genes have been discovered that can lead to hereditary hearing loss. These genes are located on different chromosomes, and some are associated with genetic syndromes and others are not. That is, some deafness genes are an integral part of various genetic diseases, which are manifested by a whole complex of disorders, and not just hearing impairment. And other genes cause only isolated deafness, without any other genetic abnormalities.

The most common deafness genes are:

• OTOF(the gene is located on chromosome 2 and if it is present, a person suffers from hearing loss);
• GJB2(a mutation in this gene, called 35 del G, causes hearing loss in humans).

Mutations in these genes can be identified during genetic testing.

Congenital hearing loss and deafness

These types of hearing loss occur during the child’s intrauterine development when exposed to various unfavorable factors. In other words, a child is born with hearing loss, which is not due to genetic mutations and anomalies, but due to the influence of unfavorable factors that disrupted the normal formation of the auditory analyzer. It is in the absence of genetic disorders that the fundamental difference between congenital and hereditary hearing loss lies.

Congenital hearing loss can occur when a pregnant woman’s body is exposed to the following unfavorable factors:

• Damage to the child's central nervous system due to birth trauma (for example, hypoxia due to entanglement of the umbilical cord, compression of the skull bones due to the imposition obstetric forceps etc.) or anesthesia. In these situations, hemorrhages occur in the structures of the auditory analyzer, as a result of which the latter is damaged and the child develops hearing loss.
• Infectious diseases suffered by a woman during pregnancy , especially at 3–4 months of gestation, which can disrupt the normal formation of the fetal hearing system (for example, influenza, measles, chickenpox, mumps, meningitis, cytomegalovirus infection, rubella, syphilis, herpes, encephalitis, typhoid fever, otitis media, toxoplasmosis, scarlet fever, HIV). The causative agents of these infections are able to penetrate to the fetus through the placenta and disrupt the normal course of formation of the ear and auditory nerve, which will result in hearing loss in the newborn child.
• Hemolytic disease of the newborn. With this pathology, hearing loss occurs due to impaired blood supply to the central nervous system of the fetus.
• Severe somatic diseases of a pregnant woman, accompanied by vascular damage (for example, diabetes mellitus, nephritis, thyrotoxicosis, cardiovascular diseases). In these diseases, hearing loss occurs due to insufficient blood supply to the fetus during pregnancy.
• Smoking and drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
• Constant exposure of a pregnant woman’s body to various industrial poisons and toxic substances (for example, when living in a region with an unfavorable environmental situation or working in hazardous industries).
• Use of medications during pregnancy that are toxic to the auditory analyzer (for example, Streptomycin, Gentamicin, Monomycin, Neomycin, Kanamycin, Levomycetin, Furosemide, Tobramycin, Cisplastin, Endoxan, Quinine, Lasix, Uregit, Aspirin, ethacrynic acid, etc.).

Acquired hearing loss and deafness

Acquired hearing loss and deafness occur in people of different ages during life under the influence of various unfavorable factors that disrupt the functioning of the auditory analyzer. This means that acquired hearing loss can occur at any time due to a possible causative factor.

Thus, possible causes of acquired hearing loss or deafness are any factors that lead to disruption of the structure of the ear, auditory nerve or cerebral cortex. Such factors include severe or chronic diseases of the ENT organs, complications of infections (for example, meningitis, typhus, herpes, mumps, toxoplasmosis, etc.), head injuries, contusion (for example, a kiss or a loud scream directly into the ear), tumors and inflammation of the auditory nerve, prolonged exposure to noise, circulatory disorders in the vertebrobasilar region (for example, strokes, hematomas, etc.), as well as taking medications that are toxic to the auditory analyzer.

Based on the nature and duration of the pathological process, hearing loss is divided into acute, subacute and chronic.

Acute hearing loss

Acute hearing loss is a significant deterioration in hearing over a short period of time lasting no more than 1 month. In other words, if hearing loss has occurred for a maximum of a month, then we're talking about specifically about acute hearing loss.

Acute hearing loss does not develop all at once, but gradually, and at the initial stage a person feels fullness in the ear or tinnitus, rather than hearing impairment. A feeling of fullness or tinnitus may periodically appear and disappear, being preliminary signs of impending hearing loss. And only some time after the sensation of congestion or noise in the ears appears, a person experiences a persistent deterioration in hearing.

The causes of acute hearing loss are various factors that damage the structures of the ear and the area of ​​the cerebral cortex responsible for recognizing sounds. Acute hearing loss can occur after a head injury, after infectious diseases (for example, otitis media, measles, rubella, mumps, etc.), after hemorrhages or circulatory disorders in the structures of the inner ear or brain, as well as after taking toxic substances for the ear. medications (for example, Furosemide, Quinine, Gentamicin), etc.

Acute hearing loss is amenable to conservative therapy, and the success of treatment depends on how quickly it is started relative to the appearance of the first signs of the disease. That is, the earlier treatment for hearing loss is started, the greater the likelihood of hearing normalization. It must be remembered that successful treatment of acute hearing loss is most likely when therapy is initiated within the first month after hearing loss. If more than a month has passed since hearing loss, then conservative therapy, as a rule, turns out to be ineffective and only allows one to maintain hearing at the current level, preventing it from deteriorating even more.

Among cases of acute hearing loss in separate group They also distinguish sudden deafness, in which a person experiences a sharp deterioration in hearing within 12 hours. Sudden deafness appears suddenly, without any preliminary signs, against the background of complete well-being, when a person simply stops hearing sounds.

As a rule, sudden deafness is one-sided, that is, the ability to hear sounds is reduced in only one ear, while the other remains normal. In addition, sudden deafness is characterized by severe hearing impairment. This form of hearing loss is caused by viral infections, and therefore prognostically more favorable compared to other types of deafness. Sudden hearing loss responds well to conservative treatment, thanks to which hearing can be completely restored in more than 95% of cases.

Subacute hearing loss

Subacute hearing loss, in fact, is a variant of acute deafness, since they have the same causes, development mechanisms, course and principles of therapy. Therefore, identifying subacute hearing loss as a separate form of the disease does not have high practical significance. As a result, doctors often divide hearing loss into acute and chronic, and subacute variants are classified as acute. Subacute, from the standpoint of academic knowledge, is considered hearing loss, the development of which occurs within 1 to 3 months.

Chronic hearing loss

In this form, hearing loss occurs gradually over a long period of time, lasting more than 3 months. That is, over several months or years, a person faces a steady but slow deterioration in hearing. When hearing stops deteriorating and begins to remain at the same level for six months, hearing loss is considered fully developed.

In chronic hearing loss, hearing impairment is combined with constant noise or ringing in the ears, which is not heard by others, but is very difficult for the person himself to bear.

Deafness and hearing loss in a child

Children of various ages may suffer from any types and forms of hearing loss or deafness. The most common cases of congenital and genetic hearing loss in children occur; acquired deafness develops less frequently. Among cases of acquired deafness most of caused by taking medications that are toxic to the ear and complications of infectious diseases.

The course, mechanisms of development and treatment of deafness and hearing loss in children are the same as in adults. However, the treatment of hearing loss in children is given higher value than in adults, since for this age category hearing is critical for mastering and maintaining speech skills, without which the child will become not only deaf, but also dumb. Otherwise any fundamental differences the course, causes and treatment of hearing loss in children and adults.

Causes

To avoid confusion, we will consider separately the causes of congenital and acquired hearing loss and deafness.

The causative factors of congenital hearing loss are various negative impacts on a pregnant woman, which in turn lead to a violation normal height and development of the gestating fetus. Therefore, the causes of congenital hearing loss are factors that influence not so much the fetus itself as the pregnant woman. So, Possible causes of congenital and genetic hearing loss are the following factors:

• Damage to the child’s central nervous system due to birth trauma (for example, hypoxia due to entanglement of the umbilical cord, compression of the skull bones when applying obstetric forceps, etc.);
• Damage to the child's central nervous system due to anesthetic drugs administered to the woman during childbirth;
• Infectious diseases suffered by a woman during pregnancy, which can disrupt the normal formation of the fetal hearing system (for example, influenza, measles, chickenpox, mumps, meningitis, cytomegalovirus infection, rubella, syphilis, herpes, encephalitis, typhoid fever, otitis media, toxoplasmosis, scarlet fever, HIV);
• Hemolytic disease of newborns;
• Pregnancy occurring against a background of severe somatic diseases in women, accompanied by vascular damage (for example, diabetes mellitus, nephritis, thyrotoxicosis, cardiovascular diseases);
• Smoking, drinking alcohol or using drugs during pregnancy;
• Constant exposure of a pregnant woman’s body to various industrial poisons (for example, constant presence in a region with an unfavorable environmental situation or work in hazardous industries);
• Use during pregnancy of medications that are toxic to the auditory analyzer (for example, Streptomycin, Gentamicin, Monomycin, Neomycin, Kanamycin, Levomycetin, Furosemide, Tobramycin, Cisplastin, Endoxan, Quinine, Lasix, Uregit, Aspirin, ethacrynic acid, etc.);
• Pathological heredity (transmission of deafness genes to a child);
• Consanguineous marriages;
• Birth of a baby prematurely or with low birth weight.

Possible causes of acquired hearing loss in people of any age may include the following factors:

• Birth trauma (a child may receive a central nervous system injury during childbirth, which subsequently leads to hearing loss or deafness);
• Hemorrhages or hematomas in the middle or inner ear or in the cerebral cortex;
• Poor circulation in the vertebrobasilar system (a set of vessels supplying all structures of the skull);
• Any damage to the central nervous system (for example, traumatic brain injury, brain tumors, etc.);
• Surgeries on the hearing organs or brain;
• Complications on the ear structures after suffering inflammatory diseases, such as, for example, labyrinthitis, otitis, measles, scarlet fever, syphilis, mumps, herpes, Meniere's disease, etc.;
• Acoustic neuroma;
• Long-term exposure to noise on the ears (for example, frequent listening to loud music, working in noisy workshops, etc.);
• Chronic inflammatory diseases of the ears, nose and throat (for example, sinusitis, otitis, eustachitis, etc.);
• Chronic ear pathologies (Meniere's disease, otosclerosis, etc.);
• Hypothyroidism (deficiency of thyroid hormones in the blood);
• Taking medications that are toxic to the auditory analyzer (for example, Streptomycin, Gentamicin, Monomycin, Neomycin, Kanamycin, Levomycetin, Furosemide, Tobramycin, Cisplastin, Endoxan, Quinine, Lasix, Uregit, Aspirin, ethacrynic acid, etc.);
• Sulfur plugs;
• Damage to the eardrums;
• Age-related hearing impairment (presbycusis) associated with atrophic processes in the body.

Signs (symptoms) of deafness and hearing loss

The main symptom of hearing loss is a deterioration in the ability to hear, perceive and distinguish a variety of sounds. A person suffering from hearing loss cannot hear some of the sounds that a person normally perceives well. The lower the severity of hearing loss, the greater the range of sounds a person continues to hear. Accordingly, the more severe the hearing loss, the more sounds a person, on the contrary, cannot hear.

It is necessary to know that with hearing loss of varying degrees of severity, a person loses the ability to perceive certain spectrums of sounds. Thus, with mild hearing loss, the ability to hear high and quiet sounds, such as whispering, squeaking, telephone ringing, and birdsong, is lost. As hearing loss worsens, the ability to hear sound spectrums that follow the highest tones in pitch disappears, that is, soft speech, the rustle of wind, etc. As hearing loss progresses, the ability to hear sounds belonging to the upper spectrum of perceived tones disappears, and the discrimination of low sound vibrations, such as like the rumble of a truck, etc.

A person, especially in childhood, does not always understand that he has hearing loss, since the perception of a wide range of sounds remains. That is why To identify hearing loss, it is necessary to take into account the following indirect signs of this pathology:

• Frequent questioning;
• Absolute lack of reaction to sounds of high tones (for example, bird trills, squeaking of a bell or telephone, etc.);
• Monotonous speech, incorrect placement of stress;
• Speech too loud;
• Shuffling gait;
• Difficulties in maintaining balance (noted with sensorineural hearing loss due to partial damage to the vestibular apparatus);
• Lack of reaction to sounds, voices, music, etc. (normally a person instinctively turns towards the source of the sound);
• Complaints of discomfort, noise or ringing in the ears;
• Complete absence of any emitted sounds in infants (with congenital hearing loss).

Degrees of deafness (hard of hearing)

Degrees of deafness (hard of hearing) reflect how severely a person’s hearing has deteriorated. Depending on the ability to perceive sounds of varying volumes, the following degrees of severity of hearing loss are distinguished:

• I degree – mild (hearing loss 1)– a person cannot hear sounds whose volume is less than 20–40 dB. With this degree of hearing loss, a person hears whispers from a distance of 1–3 meters, and normal speech from 4–6 meters;
• II degree – average (hearing loss 2)– a person cannot hear sounds whose volume is less than 41–55 dB. With average hearing loss, a person hears speech of normal volume from a distance of 1 - 4 meters, and whispers - from a maximum of 1 meter;
• III degree – severe (hearing loss 3)– a person cannot hear sounds whose volume is less than 56–70 dB. With average hearing loss, a person hears speech of normal volume from a distance of no more than 1 meter, but no longer hears whispers at all;
• IV degree – very severe (hearing loss 4)– a person cannot hear sounds whose volume is less than 71–90 dB. With moderate hearing loss, a person has difficulty hearing speech at normal volume;
• V degree – deafness (hearing loss 5)– a person cannot hear sounds whose volume is less than 91 dB. In this case, the person hears only a loud scream, which normally can be painful to the ears.

How to determine deafness?

To diagnose hearing loss and deafness at the initial examination stage, a simple method is used, during which the doctor whispers words, and the person being examined must repeat them. If a person does not hear whispered speech, then hearing loss is diagnosed and further specialized examination is carried out aimed at identifying the type of pathology and clarifying it possible reason, which is important for the subsequent selection of the most effective treatment.

To determine the type, degree and specific characteristics of hearing loss, the following methods are used:

• Audiometry(examines a person’s ability to hear sounds of different pitches);
• Tympanometry(examines bone and air conduction of the middle ear);
• Weber test(allows you to identify whether one or both ears are involved in the pathological process);
• Tuning fork test - Schwabach test(allows you to identify the type of hearing loss - conductive or sensorineural);
• Impedancemetry(allows us to identify the localization of the pathological process that led to hearing loss);
• Otoscopy(examination of ear structures with special instruments in order to identify defects in the structure of the eardrum, external auditory canal, etc.);
• MRI or CT scan (the cause of hearing loss is revealed).

In each specific case, a different number of examinations may be needed to confirm hearing loss and determine the degree of its severity. For example, audiometry will be enough for one person, while another will have to undergo other tests in addition to this examination.

The biggest problem is identifying hearing loss in infants, since they, in principle, do not yet speak. In relation to children infancy they use adapted audiometry, the essence of which is that the child must respond to sounds by turning his head, various movements, etc. If the baby does not respond to sounds, then he suffers from hearing loss. In addition to audiometry, to detect hearing loss in children early age use the methods of impedancemetry, tympanometry and otoscopy.

Treatment

General principles of therapy

Treatment of hearing loss and deafness is complex and consists of carrying out therapeutic measures aimed at eliminating the causative factor (if possible), normalizing ear structures, detoxification, and also improving blood circulation in the structures of the auditory analyzer. To achieve all goals of hearing loss therapy, use various methods, such as:

• Drug therapy(used for detoxification, improving blood circulation in the brain and ear structures, eliminating the causative factor);
• Physiotherapeutic methods(used to improve hearing, detoxification);
• Hearing exercises(used to maintain hearing levels and improve speech skills);
• Surgical treatment(surgeries to restore the normal structure of the middle and outer ear, as well as to install a hearing aid or cochlear implant).

For conductive hearing loss, the optimal treatment, as a rule, is surgical treatment, which results in the restoration of the normal structure of the middle or outer ear, after which hearing is completely restored. Currently, to eliminate conductive hearing loss, wide range operations (for example, myringoplasty, tympanoplasty, etc.), among which, in each specific case, the optimal intervention is selected to completely eliminate the problem that is the cause of hearing loss or deafness. The operation allows you to restore hearing even with complete conductive deafness in the vast majority of cases, as a result of which this type of hearing loss is considered prognostically favorable and relatively simple in terms of treatment.

Sensorineural hearing loss is much more difficult to treat, and therefore all possible methods and their combinations are used to treat it. Moreover, there are some differences in the tactics of treating acute and chronic sensorineural hearing loss. Thus, in case of acute hearing loss, a person must be hospitalized as soon as possible in a specialized department of the hospital and undergo drug treatment and physical therapy in order to restore the normal structure of the inner ear and, thereby, restore hearing. Specific treatment methods are selected depending on the nature of the causative factor (viral infection, intoxication, etc.) of acute sensorineural hearing loss. With chronic hearing loss, a person periodically undergoes courses of treatment aimed at maintaining the existing level of sound perception and preventing possible hearing impairment. That is, for acute hearing loss, treatment is aimed at restoring hearing, and for chronic hearing loss, treatment is aimed at maintaining the existing level of sound recognition and preventing hearing deterioration.

Therapy for acute hearing loss is carried out depending on the nature of the causative factor that provoked it. Thus, today there are four types of acute sensorineural hearing loss, depending on the nature of the causative factor:

• Vascular hearing loss– provoked by circulatory disorders in the vessels of the skull (as a rule, these disorders are associated with vertebrobasilar insufficiency, hypertension, strokes, cerebral atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, diseases of the cervical spine);
• Viral hearing loss– provoked by viral infections (infection causes inflammatory processes in the area of ​​the inner ear, auditory nerve, cerebral cortex, etc.);
• Toxic hearing loss– provoked by poisoning by various toxic substances(alcohol, industrial emissions, etc.);
• Traumatic hearing loss– provoked by skull injuries.

Depending on the nature of the causative factor of acute hearing loss, the optimal medications for its treatment are selected. If the nature of the causative factor could not be accurately established, then by default acute hearing loss is classified as vascular.
pressure Eufillin, Papaverine, Nikoshpan, Complamin, Aprenal, etc.) and improving metabolism in the cells of the central nervous system (Solcoseryl, Nootropil, Pantocalcin, etc.), as well as preventing the inflammatory process in brain tissue.

Chronic sensorineural hearing loss is treated comprehensively, periodically conducting courses of medication and physical therapy. If conservative methods are ineffective, and the hearing loss has reached grade III-V, then surgical treatment is performed, which consists of installing a hearing aid or a cochlear implant. Among medications for the treatment of chronic sensorineural hearing loss, B vitamins (Milgamma, Neuromultivit, etc.), aloe extract, as well as drugs that improve metabolism in brain tissue (Solcoseryl, Actovegin, Preductal, Riboxin, Nootropil, Cerebrolysin, Pantocalcin, etc.) are used. ). Periodically, in addition to these drugs, Proserin and Galantamine, as well as homeopathic remedies (for example, Cerebrum Compositum, Spascuprel, etc.) are used to treat chronic hearing loss and deafness.

Among the physiotherapeutic methods for the treatment of chronic hearing loss, the following are used:

• Laser irradiation of blood (helium-neon laser);
• Stimulation with fluctuating currents;
• Quantum hemotherapy;
• Endural phonoelectrophoresis.

If, against the background of any type of hearing loss, a person develops disorders of the vestibular apparatus, then H1-histamine receptor antagonists are used, such as Betaserc, Moreserc, Tagista, etc.

Surgical treatment of deafness (hearing loss)

Surgeries are currently being performed to treat conductive and sensorineural hearing loss and deafness.

Surgeries to treat conductive deafness involve restoring the normal structure and organs of the middle and outer ear, allowing the person to regain hearing. Depending on which structure is being restored, the operations have appropriate names. For example, myringoplasty is an operation to restore the eardrum, tympanoplasty is the restoration of the auditory ossicles of the middle ear (stapes, malleus and incus), etc. After such operations, as a rule, hearing is restored in 100% of cases.

There are only two operations for the treatment of sensorineural deafness: installation of a hearing aid or cochlear implant. Both options for surgical intervention are performed only if conservative therapy is ineffective and with severe hearing loss, when a person cannot hear normal speech even at close range.

Installing a hearing aid is a relatively simple operation, but, unfortunately, it will not help restore hearing to those who have damage to the sensitive cells of the cochlea of ​​the inner ear. In such cases, an effective method of restoring hearing is installing a cochlear implant. The operation to install an implant is technically very complex, therefore it is performed in a limited number of medical institutions and, accordingly, is expensive, as a result of which it is not accessible to everyone.

The essence of a cochlear prosthesis is as follows: mini-electrodes are introduced into the structures of the inner ear, which will recode sounds into nerve impulses and transmit them to the auditory nerve. These electrodes are connected to a mini-microphone placed in temporal bone, which picks up sounds. After installing such a system, the microphone picks up sounds and transmits them to electrodes, which, in turn, recode them into nerve impulses and send them to the auditory nerve, which transmits signals to the brain, where sounds are recognized. That is, cochlear implantation is, in essence, the formation of new structures that perform the functions of all ear structures.

Hearing aids for the treatment of hearing loss

Currently, there are two main types of hearing aids: analog and digital.

Analog hearing aids are familiar devices that are visible behind the ear of older people. They are quite easy to use, but cumbersome, not very convenient and very crude in providing amplification of the sound signal. You can purchase an analog hearing aid and start using it yourself without special adjustments from a specialist, since the device has only a few operating modes, which are switched using a special lever. Thanks to this lever, a person can independently determine the optimal mode of operation of the hearing aid and use it in the future. However, an analog hearing aid often creates interference and amplifies different frequencies, not just those that a person cannot hear well, as a result of which its use is not very comfortable.

A digital hearing aid, unlike an analog one, is adjusted exclusively by a hearing care specialist, thanks to which it amplifies only those sounds that a person cannot hear well. Thanks to the precision of the adjustment, a digital hearing aid allows a person to hear perfectly without interference and noise, restoring sensitivity to the lost spectrum of sounds without affecting all other tones. Therefore, in terms of comfort, convenience and accuracy of correction, digital hearing aids are superior to analogue ones. Unfortunately, for selection and configuration digital device It is necessary to visit a hearing care center, which is not available to everyone. Currently, there are various models of digital hearing aids, so you can choose the best option for each individual person.

Treatment of deafness using cochlear implantation: device and principle of operation of a cochlear implant, commentary from a surgeon - video

Sensorineural hearing loss: causes, symptoms, diagnosis (audiometry), treatment, advice from an otolaryngologist - video

Sensorineural and conductive hearing loss: causes, diagnosis (audiometry, endoscopy), treatment and prevention, hearing aids (opinion of an ENT doctor and audiologist) - video

Hearing loss and deafness: how the auditory analyzer works, causes and symptoms of hearing loss, hearing aids (hearing aids, cochlear implantation in children) - video

Hearing loss and deafness: exercises to improve hearing and eliminate ringing in the ears - video

Before use, you should consult a specialist.

1. You find it difficult to talk in noisy places or in crowds. You prefer to interrupt such a conversation or not communicate with people at all in such situations.
2. The volume level you set when listening to music on headphones is higher than before. But otherwise, the drum rhythm or guitar in your favorite songs, in your opinion, sounds somehow wrong.
3. You turn up the TV volume.
4. Quite often, ask others to repeat what they said or speak more clearly because you cannot hear them the first time.
5. Avoid talking on the phone because the sound is not enough for you.

If you find yourself with at least 2-3 of the listed symptoms Hearing loss, it means your ears are malfunctioning. To understand how serious it is and whether it is possible to restore disappearing hearing, you need to understand some details.

Why do we hear

The ear is a thinner and more sensitive structure than many are accustomed to thinking.

It consists of three parts (we will not go into details, the description is schematic).

1. Outer ear

Includes the auricle and ear canal. They capture and concentrate sound waves, sending them deeper.

2. Middle ear

It contains the eardrum and three tiny bones associated with it. The membrane vibrates under the influence of sound waves, the moving bones capture and amplify these vibrations and transmit them further.

A separate nuance: the middle ear cavity is connected to the nasopharynx through the so-called Eustachian tube. This is necessary to equalize the air pressure before and after the eardrum.

3. Inner ear

It is a so-called membranous labyrinth inside the temporal bone. The snail is one of the the most important parts bone labyrinth. It got its name because of its characteristic shape.

The labyrinth is filled with liquid. When the bones of the middle ear transmit vibrations here, the fluid also begins to move. And irritates the finest hairs that cover inner surface snails These hairs are connected to the auditory nerve fibers. Their vibrations turn into nerve impulses, which our brain interprets as: “Oh, I hear something!”

Why does hearing deteriorate?

There are hundreds of reasons. Any damage, inflammation, or modification in each of the three parts of the ear leads to the fact that the organ loses the ability to correctly capture and send sound signals to the brain.

Here are the most common causes of hearing loss.

1. Aging

With age, the sensitive hairs in the cochlea wear out and no longer respond accurately to fluid fluctuations within the membranous labyrinth. As a result, they often suffer from a constant indistinct hum in the ears and increasing deafness.

2. The habit of listening to loud music on headphones

Loud noises, like age, damage sensitive hairs and nerve cells inner ear.

3. Barotrauma

A powerful sound attack (for example, fireworks going off very close, a rock concert, a very loud party in a nightclub) can cause barotrauma - stretching or even rupture of the eardrum. When stretched, the ability to hear returns on its own after some time. But if the eardrum ruptures, you will have to go to the ENT specialist for a long and tedious time.

4. Wax or other foreign objects in the ear canal

These can be, for example, inflamed to the point of formation of an abscess sebaceous glands or the same water that got into the ear after swimming. All this blocks the auditory canal, preventing the correct penetration of sound waves to the eardrum. A feeling appears.

5. Infections of the external auditory canal

They cause inflammation and swelling, again narrowing the ear canal.

6. All kinds of otitis

Otitis is an inflammatory process of a viral or bacterial nature that develops in the ear. Depending on what part of the ear is affected by the disease, doctors distinguish between external, middle and internal (labyrinthitis) otitis.

This dangerous illness, which is fraught with not only temporary, but also total loss hearing Therefore, at the slightest suspicion of otitis media, it is important to consult a doctor as soon as possible.

7. Mumps (mumps), measles, rubella

These infections aggressively attack the inner ear and can even lead to complete deafness.

8. The habit of cleaning your ears with cotton swabs

11. Physical head trauma

Impacts can cause damage to the middle and inner ear.

12. Otosclerosis

This is the name of a middle ear disease in which the auditory ossicles increase in size and their movement becomes difficult. This means that they cannot correctly “tap” the vibrations of the eardrum into the inner ear.

13. Autoimmune and other diseases

Autoimmune diseases of the inner ear, Meniere's disease, all kinds of tumors - a spectrum of diseases, side effect which hearing loss becomes is quite widespread 7 diseases that can cause hearing loss.

How to improve your hearing

To answer this question, you need to discuss your specific case with a therapist, ENT specialist or a specialist - an audiologist. They will find out what exactly led to the hearing loss.

If the cause lies in cerumen plug, inflammatory processes and other damage affecting the outer ear, the prognosis is favorable. In most cases, it is enough to eliminate the cause: wash the plug, rid the ear canal of water that has entered it, cure the inflammation, and hearing will be restored.

If the cause affects the middle ear, some difficulties may arise. Damage to the eardrum or otosclerosis, for example, may require surgical intervention and long-term rehabilitation. Fortunately, modern medicine has learned to cope with these problems quite successfully.

The inner ear is the most difficult case. If labyrinthitis is still treatable, then it is impossible to restore hairs and nerve cells that have worn out with age or from excessive love of loud hair. Therefore they resort to radical methods- installation of a hearing aid or cochlear implant (a prosthesis that takes over the work of a worn-out cochlea). These are quite expensive devices and procedures.

How to prevent hearing loss

Unfortunately, this is not always possible. Genetics, autoimmune diseases, head injuries - it will not be possible to influence these factors in advance.

However, something can still be done.

1. Avoid loud concerts and shows.
2. Don't turn your headphones on loudly.
3. If you work in a noisy industry, are fond of shooting or riding a motorcycle, be sure to use earplugs or ear protection.
4. Let your ears rest - spend more time in silence.
5. Don't run colds and especially do not try to endure the pain in the ears that otitis media makes itself felt.
6. If you have a runny nose, blow your nose outward. Drawing in mucus can cause infection to develop in eustachian tube to the ear.
7. Don't clean your ears with cotton swabs!
8. Make sure you are vaccinated MMR vaccine(a complex drug for measles, mumps, rubella). If not, .
9. Take a hearing test from time to time. This can be done either at an appointment with an audiologist or.

Did you know that we only hear a tenth of what we can? Find out a unique method on how to develop acute hearing! You will learn to hear life in a completely new way!

Huge potential of the sense of hearing!

Hearing¹ is an ability whose potential people do not fully utilize.

People have learned to listen to events in the outside world, forgetting that there is also “inner hearing” - the ability to hear one’s intuition², clues from one’s Essence from subtle plans, knowledge from the information field of the Universe³.

Ordinary hearing is in relationship with the internal one: comprehensive work on programming the brain will allow you to develop acute hearing and hear life in a new way!

Being able to hear the smallest sounds, words and conversations is what you will be able to do with this practice. Moreover, it develops hypersensitivity and extrasensory perception: acute hearing is connected with both habitual hearing and internal hearing.

By developing extrasensory acute hearing, you will learn to hear the thoughts⁵ of other people!

Extrasensory acute hearing: development technique

Since the exercise is related to brain programming, it will be more effective in.

1. The practitioner chooses a crowded place where there will be many different noises: This could be a park or a street during crowded hours.

2. A person comes alone, so that no one distracts from the lesson, and takes a place on the bench.

3. He enters a meditative state of consciousness. In fact, this is easy to do in any place, even a crowded place where there is a lot of noise.

The practitioner chooses some static point not far from himself, on which he concentrates his absent-minded gaze. At the same time, he monitors his breathing without interfering with it.

4. After some time, a person will experience a slight meditative trance, and he begins to concentrate his attention on the surrounding sounds. He tries not only to hear, but also to determine the source of each sound.

For example, it could be the sounds of a street refrigerator, the laughter of sitting girls, the reasoning of men, how someone pays a waiter in a cafe nearby. An airplane may fly overhead, and the sounds of cars will be heard from the side of the road.

5. A sound-only practitioner tries to obtain as much information as possible about the source. For example:

• Did a car or truck just pass by? What were the sounds, what is the approximate weight of the car?
• The man talking loudly in the background: How old is he? What is his character?
• A group of young people walks nearby, having fun talking about various topics. How many people are there, how many of them are girls, how many of them are men?

6. With training, hearing will develop. You will be able to hear increasingly small details: the noise of the contents of a girl’s bag walking towards you, the heartbeat of an athlete training in the park, or the purr of a cat sitting on a bench in the distance.

Thanks to this exercise, you will develop extrasensory perception! You will learn to capture the voice of your soul and superconsciousness, with the help of which you will become much more successful in all matters!

Repetition is the mother of learning!

This training should be done regularly, and several times a week you should do a deep dive using the described technique, and also pay attention to this during everyday activities:

• go out onto the balcony and listen to sounds for a few minutes;
• at work during a break, dissolve in the surrounding vibrations in your free time;
• listen like when traveling public transport, and on a personal level - during a traffic jam, open the window and listen.

This technique will teach you to be alert, to keep background noise under control, wherever you are. The effect comes very quickly, literally after the first few repetitions your hearing will become sharper!

At the same time, you need to be able to tune out the surrounding sounds, and it’s quite simple! You need to use the same technology, just tune in to inner silence. Gradually, you will learn to instantly tune out external sounds if they are not needed.

Notes and feature articles for deeper understanding of the material

¹ Hearing is the ability of biological organisms to perceive sounds with their hearing organs; a special function of the hearing aid, excited by sound vibrations in the environment, such as air or water (Wikipedia).

² Techniques for enhancing intuition in the article:

Imagine being able to hear everything that is happening in your body: your heart racing, the blood running through your veins, and even the turning of your eyeballs. And imagine that these sounds accompany you day and night. This is exactly the nightmare that 47-year-old British woman Julie Redfern lives in reality.

Her hearing has become so acute that she picks up sounds that are inaccessible to the average person. She has to refuse lunch with friends in a cafe because she can barely distinguish their speech due to her own chewing. Mrs Redfern now can't eat anything crunchy, like apples or chips, because the crunch literally deafens her. Working as a receptionist has also become a challenge for her because every time the phone on her desk rings, she can hear her eyeballs shaking from the vibrations.

Mrs. Redfern's hearing became unusually acute seven years ago. She even remembers the moment when she first noticed this - shortly after her 40th birthday, the woman was captivated by the computer game Tetris, when she suddenly heard an incomprehensible creak that was heard every time she tracked falling figures with her eyes. “I remember it like it was yesterday. Even then I thought - what is this noise? Then I realized that these were the sounds of my eyes moving. When my husband returned from work, the first thing I did was ask him if he could hear his eyes moving. He looked at me blankly and I began to think that I was going crazy. I asked my friends about it, but no one had such problems,” says Mrs. Redfern.

The doctor to whom she turned with such a complaint said that her age and changes in the body, which often occur completely unexpectedly, were to blame. But the woman was not satisfied with this answer and she went to the Royal Manchester Hospital. There she was diagnosed with superior lunate canal dehiscence syndrome (SLTS), an extremely rare condition that results from thinning of the temporal bone in the ear. Some people are born without this bone, and for some it disappears over time. Due to its rarity, the SZVPK was officially recognized only in 1998.

Fortunately, CVD can be cured surgically. During the 7-hour operation, the surgeon opened Mrs. Redfern's ear and strengthened the temporal bone with a special solution. There was a certain risk of remaining deaf after the operation, but the woman accepted it. “I had to do it. Seven years turned out to be more than enough; I couldn’t stand this state of affairs any longer. The first operation was successful and one ear can now hear as well as before, Mrs. Redfern is now preparing for surgery on the second ear.