Hearing Loss

What You Should Know

Nearly 30 million Americans have impaired hearing---approximately 10% of all people in the United States. Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic health conditions in the United States, affecting people of all ages and walks of life. Hearing loss affects approximately 17 in 1,000 children under age 18. In addition, the incidence of hearing loss increases with age: approximately one-third of people over age 65 have hearing loss. Half of those over age 75 have a significant hearing loss. Prolonged hearing loss can result in auditory deprivation, a condition related to an atrophied hearing nerve.

Causes

Hearing loss can have several causes:

• A conductive loss is caused by something that stops sounds from getting through the external or middle ear
• A sensorineural loss (or “nerve type” loss) occurs when there is a problem in the way the inner ear or hearing nerve works
• A mixed hearing loss includes both a conductive and a sensorineural hearing loss

Diagnosis

Before hearing loss can be treated, the cause must be diagnosed. A variety of tests are used to diagnose hearing problems. These include:

• Audiograms – Used to measure how well a person hears. This test is performed in a sound-proof room using an audiometer and earphones.
• Tympanometry - Assesses the status of the eardrum and middle ear.
• Otoacoustic emission testing (OAE) - Provides a measure of cochlear (inner ear) hair cell function.
• Auditory Brainstem Response or Brainstem Auditory-Evoked Response (BAER) - A useful clinical tool to help detect, localize and monitor auditory and neurotologic deficits as well as estimate hearing in difficult to test patients.

Treatment

Possible treatments for hearing loss include:

• Hearing aids. An ever-growing selection of hearing devices is available, including programmable and digital models. Shohet Ear Associates offers the broadest selection of hearing instrument types, styles and manufacturers in Orange County and Los Angeles. We help patients select the best device for their particular needs and lifestyle. We also work with each individual patient to ensure he or she receives the maximum benefit from the selected instrument.
• Implantable hearing devices. As an alternative to traditional hearing aids, implantable middle ear devices are an option for those with moderate to severe sensorineural (“nerve-type”) hearing loss. Using a processor to transmit sound that vibrates the middle ear bones directly, the implant simulates natural hearing with much better fidelity than conventional hearing aids - without plugging the ear canal. At the same time, feedback and background noise are significantly reduced. Shohet Ear Associates was the first—and remains the only--Orange County-based group to implant middle ear hearing devices.
• Cochlear implants. For those with a severe to profound hearing loss in both ears, cochlear implants may be the solution. This procedure allows many patients to hear actual sounds and improve their communication. The implants are a combination of an internal computer chip and an electrode coupled with an external speech processor. They are programmed in our office by a clinical audiologist.