Lesson13

Sensory/neural hearing loss is caused by damage to or a disorder of the cochlea specifically the hair cells or auditory nerve. Sensory/neural hearing loss affects the high frequency.

Recruitment is abnormal loudness growth that can result in exaggerated sensitivity to loud sounds and is a characteristic of sensory/neural hearing loss.

Tinnitus if often a complaint for patients with sensory/neural hearing losses. It may be perceived as unilateral or bilateral.

Noise-induced hearing loss is sensory/neural loss resulting from continued exposure to high noise levels. The exposure may be from work, the military, or be recreationally related. A related condition is acoustic trauma in which the inner ear is damaged by exposure to a single intense acoustic event. Noise exposure can result in the physical loss of hair cells in the organ of Corti.

Presbycusis is sensory/neural loss associated with age, commonly referred to as age related hearing loss(ARHL). central processing disorder known as phonemic regression, defined as poorer speech understanding than would be expected for the degree of hearing loss.

Ototoxic drugs are medications or treatments that result in damage to the organ of Corti. Examples of ototoxic drugs include some antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents.

Congenital sensory/neural hearing loss means hearing loss which was present at birth. This loss is usually bilateral.

Sudden hearing loss, deafness, or a sudden change in hearing levels can have any one of a wide variety of causes. It required immediate attention and medical referral.

Ménière’s disease, sometimes called endolymphatic hydrops, is caused by increased endolymphatic pressure. The condition is a disorder of the entire inner ear involving both the hearing and balance systems. Symptoms include unilateral sensory/neural hearing losses which may fluctuate with tinnitus and vertigo.

Cranial trauma can result in a fracture of the temporal bone.

Tone Decay is the ears inability to maintain tonal perception despite the fact that the acoustic signal is present. The tone is presented but appears to the patient to fade away. Tone decay is a red flag for retrocochlear hearing loss that requires medical referral.

Auditory fatigue is a reduction in auditory sensitivity caused by exposure to sound. Most common example of auditory fatigue is called temporary threshold shift.(TTS) it is recommended that a hearing test is completed after about 8 hours of post exposure.