Health Guide©

HEARING LOSS

The delicate hearing apparatus in the middle ear (and the eardrum itself) becomes stiffer with age, causing gradual loss of hearing in almost all individuals, with loss of high-tone hearing occurring before loss of lower-tone hearing. Loss of hearing obviously makes communication more difficult. Equally important, hearing loss decreases the input that you need to make your memory and your thinking work well. Many problems that are written off as "senility" turn out only to be problems with hearing loss.

Hearing losses may be classified in various ways:

• Conductive hearing loss
• Sensorineural hearing loss
• Mixed hearing loss
• Central hearing loss
  · Functional hearing loss
• Congenital hearing loss
• Acquired hearing loss

Prevention:

There is no known way to prevent the occurrence of hearing loss (although once in a while the problem is only wax buildup in the ear canals). However, hearing aids and devices, which restore earing to essential normal levels, are readily available. Your task is to be sensitive to any loss of hearing and to take up the corrective measures early. Otherwise, a whole series of unnecessary problems of communication and apparent loss of intellect can result, and the quality of your life will be less than it should be.