Hearing Loss (Deafness), A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

by Kenneth Kee

Overview

Hearing Loss (Deafness) is a medical disorder that consists of partial or complete loss of hearing, also known as hearing impairment.
The normal lower minimum of the hearing range is 0-20 decibels (dB), where 0 dB is the threshold for the discernment of sound at a given frequency for people with normal hearing.
Normal dB levels are around 30 dB for a whisper, 50 dB for average home noises and 60 dB for conversational speech.
The hearing pain threshold is at about 140 dB (which is about the sound of a jet engine).
Hearing loss is calculated in decibels hearing loss (dB HL).
1. 20-40 dB HL: mild, cannot hear whispers.
2. 41-70 dB HL: moderate, cannot hear conversational speech.
3. 71-95 dB HL: severe, cannot hear shouting.
4. >95 dB HL: profound, cannot hear sounds that would be painful to listen to for a hearing person.
There are two forms of deafness:
A. Conductive hearing loss - this occurs when there is a problem in the transmission of sound waves from the external ear, through the middle ear.
The disease processes can happen at any level along this part of the ear.
1. The external ear canal
a. Obstruction caused by wax
b. Blockage caused by foreign body
c. Obstruction caused by infection (otitis externa)
d. Blockage caused by ear polyps
2. Eardrum
a. Perforation caused by trauma
b. Perforation caused by infection
c. Scarred eardrum from injury or infection
3. Middle ear bones
a. Dislocation of the bones from injury or infection
b. Damage to the bones from injury or infection
c. Fixed bones or osteosclerosis (hardening of the bones from aging)
4. Middle ear infection
Infection of the middle ear happens with fluid in the middle ear cavity stopping sound from passing through
The causes of conductive hearing loss can often be prevented and treated.
B. Sensorineural hearing loss - this indicates problems occurring in the cochlea (the most frequent site of disease), cochlear nerve or brain stem, leading to abnormal or absent neurosensory impulses.
Sensorineural problems are more frequent in adults.
1. Acoustic neuroma
2. Age-related hearing loss
3. Childhood infections, such as meningitis, mumps, scarlet fever, and measles
4. Meniere's Disease
5. Regular exposure to loud noises (such as from work or recreation)
6. Usage of certain medicines
There may be:
a. Damage to hearing organ or cochlea which transmit nerve impulse to the hearing nerve and on to the brain
b. Injury to the hearing nerve (auditory nerve) from loud sounds, infection or injury
Diagnosis
The whispered voice test and tuning fork tests (Weber's and Rinne's tests) can be carried out simply and effectively.
Hearing test (audiogram) can confirm the presence and severity and type of hearing loss
Treatment
1. Remove foreign body or wax
2. Eardrum perforation restoration
3. Using tubes in the eardrums to remove fluid
4. Repair of the small bones in the middle ear (ossiculoplasty)
Hearing aids and cochlear implants
Learning sign language

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Hearing Loss (Deafness)
Chapter 2 Cause
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Ear Wax
Chapter 8 Perforated Eardrum
Epilogue

Product Details

BN ID:	2940153925844
Publisher:	Kenneth Kee
Publication date:	12/22/2016
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	147 KB

About the Author

Medical doctor since 1972.

Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.

Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.

Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74

However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in
the afternoon.

He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.

His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com

This autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.

He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.

He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.
For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.
The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.

The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.

He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.

His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.

The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.

He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) starting
with the Apple computer and going to PC.

The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.

The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.

He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.

His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.

The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.

This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.

Dr Kee is the author of:

"A Family Doctor's Tale"

"Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine"

"Case Notes From A Family Doctor"