What should I do if I have a problem with my hearing? [What do I need to check]

If you suspect that you have deafness, you should see your doctor promptly, and your otolaryngologist will test and evaluate your hearing. Over age50After the age, you should check your hearing regularly, just like an annual physical examination. You can arrange the day of your hearing test near your birthday so that it is easy to remember. Hearing tests are painless, common to the ear, and safe. They generally include recording medical history, identifying daily sentences at different intensities, and identifying different sounds. Draw a curve of your hearing on different frequencies of sound, which is the audiogram. The otolaryngologist determines the type and extent of your deafness based on the audiogram. All these tests will help the professional to determine if you need treatment or should wear it. Hearing aids. Senile deafness is a normal physiological phenomenon and is a reflection of human aging in the auditory sense. It is usually caused by the aging, atrophy and disappearance of the basement membrane, auditory cells and auditory nerve of the cochlea, which is the main cause of hearing loss in the elderly. In addition, disorders such as endocrine function disorders, diabetes, hypertension, and arteriosclerosis in the elderly can accelerate the development of deafness in the elderly. Noise, excessive fatigue, etc. can also trigger senile deafness. In addition, dietary habits, genetic factors, long-term exposure to noise, and the impact of the living environment can not be ignored.

The incidence of deafness is higher in cities than in rural areas; those who work in industry are higher than those in agriculture; men are more than women; cardiovascular and diabetic patients are higher than healthy people; and the incidence of excessive smoking and alcoholics is higher. Senile deafness usually manifests as: Chronic hearing loss occurs in both ears as we age, but the time of occurrence and the rate of hearing loss vary from person to person. Poor language recognition, usually only hear the sound, but can not understand the content, often answer questions when communicating with family members. Some people will have a “heavy hearing phenomenon”, that is, they can’t hear it, and they can’t stand it loudly. This is because hearing loss causes the hearing threshold to increase, and the pain threshold.(Minimum stimulating sound intensity that causes pain)However, it has declined relatively, resulting in a reduction in the audible range and a re-listening phenomenon.

There are many causes of deafness, congenital and acquired factors. Congenital deafness is caused by maternal disease or ototoxic drugs during pregnancy. Acquired deafness is mainly drug-induced deafness and viral deafness. In addition, it is sometimes caused by factors such as trauma. Whatever the cause, early detection of the disease and early diagnosis and treatment are extremely important.

There are three main reasons for the diagnosis of deafness:

First, the medical history of the inquiry and ear examination(Understand the cause);

Second, audiological examination(Hearing loss degree, nature, location);

Third, imaging examination(Understand the development of the outer ear, inner ear, middle ear, brain center, and space-occupying lesions, etc.).

1.History and cause

Are there at birth?(Asphyxia, hypoxia, long labor, umbilical cord around the neck, birth injury, etc.);

Whether there is after birth(Low body weight, jaundice, premature birth, history of illness, history of medication, history of trauma, exposure to radioisotopes, emotional stimuli, history of noise exposure);

The mother has a history of medication, history of illness, history of miscarriage, history of trauma, etc.

Is there a genetic history of deafness in the family?(Three generations of grandparents, grandparents, aunts, and grandchildren).

2.Hearing check:

Main observation (Pure tone audiometry, sound field audiometry, toy audiometry, screening instrumentation, speech measurement);

Guest observation (Acoustic impedance, brainstem electrical response audiometry, otoacoustic emission, multi-frequency steady-state evoked potential test).

3.Film examination:

inner earCTThe examination is a major method for diagnosing congenital inner ear dysplasia in recent years. Its high resolution improves the diagnosis rate of ear diseases and improves the diagnostic level of doctors, especially providing a reliable basis for early diagnosis of acoustic neuroma and expansion of vestibular aqueduct. .

In addition, it is sometimes checked whether the conductivity and sensorineural deafness are normal and the hearing test.

The classification of hearing loss is as follows:

Mild hearing loss26~40dB): I feel a slight hearing loss, but generally does not affect language communication.

Moderate hearing loss(41~55dB): I feel that my hearing is declining. I need to repeat or improve my voice to hear clearly.

Moderate to severe hearing loss56~70dB): The hearing loss is very obvious. You need to speak loudly to hear it when you talk.

Severe hearing loss71~90dB): When you talk, you need to yell at the other party. At the same time, you must use the look, type, and qualification to understand the other side.

Extremely severe hearing loss (≥91dB): Hearing is seriously degraded, and deaf education has not responded to most of the outside voices. In the long run, speeches will be unclear.