Week #6: Hard of Hearing and Deafness

What is the process of hearing?

1. sound waves enter the ear

2. strike the eardrum

3. vibrations travel through the middle and inner ear

4. vibrations stimulate the cochlear nerve

5. sound is then processed by the brain

What is considered “Hearing Impairment”?

ANY degree of hearing loss

What is “Hard of Hearing?”

mild to moderate hearing loss

What is “Deafness?”

severe to profound hearing loss

What is an Audiogram?

a diagnostic tool used to measure degree of hearing loss

What is Conductive Hearing Loss?

damage, obstruction or malformation in th external or middle ear

What is Sensorineural Hearing Loss?

damage or irregularities of the inner ear or auditory nerve

What is Mixed Hearing Loss?

combination of both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss

What are different ways hearing loss occurs?

Congenital

• genetic

• non-genetic conditions (i.e. congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection)

Acquired

• ear infections

• noise

• injury/trauma

• viruses

• degenerative conditions

• aging

• drugs

• tumors

What are Ototoxic Drugs?

medications that are toxic to the ear and can cause hearing loss, tinnitus and balance disorders

What are signs of Ototoxicity?

• tinnitus

• fullness or pressure in the ears

• hearing loss in an unaffected ear or sudden worsening of existing hearing loss

• vertigo

What is a Perforated Tympanic Membrane?

ruptured eardrum (a hole or a tear is there in the eardrum)

What is Otitis Media?

ear infection

Acute Otitis Media: infection of the middle ear, the air-filled space behind the eardrum

Otitis Media with Effusion: aka Glue Ear; a collection of non-infected fluid in the middle ear space

What is Otosclerosis?

hardening of the ossicles

What is Tinnitus?

ringing in the ears

What is Labyrinthitis?

inflammation of the labyrinth of the inner ear

What is Meniere’s Disease?

inner ear chronic condition; cause dizzy spells (vertigo), and sensorineural hearing loss

What is Presbycusis?

bilateral, age-related hearing loss

What is the Vestibular System?

• reference point to anchor head and body position

• integrates movement with all sensations

What is the Auditory System?

• uses rhythmic sounds to organize and energize movement

• direct our attention outward to important sounds

What is the Visual System?

• detects movement around us

• depth perception

• integrates all sensory processes & motor control

What is Physiologic Vertigo?

motion sickness

What is Vestibular Neuritis?

disorder of the inner ear; inflammation of the vestibular nerve

• causes nausea and vomiting

• can be caused by head injury or tumor

What is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)?

calcium carbonate crystals get into the semicircular canals

• debris in fluid causes vertigo

• it is triggered by head movements or change in position

What are Central Vestibular Disorder categories?

• aging

• Post-Brain Injury (cerebrovascular accident)

• Neurologic Disorders

  • MS

  • Parkinson’s

  • ALS

What is Habituation?

desensitization, repeated exposure to stimulus to result in reduced response

What is Adaptation?

will reset or retune the Vestibular Ocular Reflex by repetitive activities

What is Substitution?

substitute with other sensor systems (visual, vestibular, tactile)