When Pat was 19 months old she was diagnosed with a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The problem was of moderate to severe level. In terms of normal people, she had become partially deaf in both her ears. But she has lived for more than 19 years in the mainstream world. It has been a long journey though, in order to reach where she is.
When she was two and half years old she went to a normal school and realized that most children of her age were watching Sesame Street at home during that period but she was not able to do so due to her hearing loss. Her parents realized her predicament and decided to take early action and admitted her to a school for the deaf. They planned to keep her there for a few years. But she did so well in her class that her teachers sent her to a normal public elementary school. She did well there as well. This was the time her parents decided that this was the time to get her to a regular school at her grade level.
She did not realize that she had a disability until she was admitted to the new school and saw that all other children were not using FM sets or hearing aids. She felt ashamed of the impairment she had and felt that she was not normal like others. Whenever she was asked about that thing in her ear she would get upset and run away.
Thankfully, with today’s hearing aid technology, no such stories need to happen. Provided someone has a hearing loss than can be helped with hearing aids; a person’s life can change quickly. Today’s hearing instruments are incredibly small, discrete and with proper fitting, can make an incredible difference in day to day life.
Treatments for various types of sensorineural hearing loss
The bilateral progressive hearing loss occurs over a period of a few months. It is also called an autoimmune inner ear disease. The treatment for the disease can be managed medically by using long term corticosteroids and drug therapy. This disease occurs when the body misdirects its defenses against inner ear structures and as a result inflicts damage to various body parts.
SHL or Sensorineural Hearing Loss may occur due to head trauma and abrupt changes in air pressure such as due to airplane descent and can cause a rupture in the inner ear fluid compartment or leakage. This might be toxic to your inner ear. When this happens the patient needs to undergo an emergency surgery which can be variably successful.
The SSHL or Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss can be termed as being from the viral origin and it is an otologic emergency that needs to be treated by using corticosteroids. These steroids can also be used for reducing cochlea hair cell swelling and inflammation which occurs due to sudden exposure to loud noise.
Sometimes you may get fluctuating SHL that is associated with Meniere’s disease. The symptoms of Meniere’s disease are tinnitus (ringing within the ear), hearing loss, and vertigo. The problem can be treated medically by the use of a low-sodium diet, corticosteroids, and diuretics. In case the vertigo is not controlled medically, you can use different surgical procedures to remove the instances of vertigo.
SHL due to diseases in your central nervous system will respond to the medical treatment of the specific problem which is affecting your nervous system. For instance, a hearing impairment occurring due to multiple sclerosis can be reversed by treating multiple sclerosis. The most common kind of hearing loss though is the irreversible SHL. This can be managed easily by using hearing aids such as those from Countryside Hearing Aid Services. Please call us for a free hearing evaluation and consultation. You may or may not have a hearing loss, but within an hour, we will absolutely know for sure.
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