Hearing Loss

 

HEARING LOSS

What is hearing loss?

A person is said to have hearing loss if they are not able to hear as well as someone with normal hearing, meaning hearing thresholds of 20 dB or better in both ears. It can be mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe or profound, and can affect one or both ears. Major causes of hearing loss include congenital or early onset childhood hearing loss, chronic middle ear infections, noise-induced hearing loss, age-related hearing loss, and ototoxic drugs that damage the inner ear.

Common Causes of hearing loss

Hearing loss is not always related to an underlaying condition. It may be caused by:

• Earwax (cerumen) accumulation
• Noise
• Aging-Age-related Hearing loss
• Sever pressure change
• Drugs that damage the ear (ototoxic drugs)
• Injuries
• Foreign object in the ear.

The pain points, or biggest fears of hearing loss:

• Fear of rejected by society and acquaintances
• Fear of losing their jobs or being unable to do what they love
• Fear of being laughed at
• Fear of not fitting in
• Fear of not hearing the voices of their loved ones
• Fear of not hearing the cars on the street and getting run over

Long Term:

• Fear of becoming deaf
• Fear of becoming disabled
• Fear of abandonment