Women’s Hearing Impairment: A whole healthcare issue
We all know that women’s health is a year-round issue that leads to several common chronic diseases, a decrease in quality of life, and other health conditions like hearing loss. We know that men and women talk differently, including in the way they listen.
It is often said that gender plays a role in the health condition of hearing impairment but in reality, it is not all true. As per the reports, as many as one-third of women from the US have some sense of hearing loss. The condition of Hearing Loss refers to the situation when you’re unable to partially or completely hear the sound from one or both ears.
Hearing loss is caused by different underlying factors and is divided into three parts:
- Conductive hearing loss: It occurs when the sound fails to travel from the outer ear to the eardrum and middle ear resulting in difficulty to hear soft sounds. Conductive hearing loss is caused due to ear infection, allergies, wax in the ear, etc.
- Sensorineural hearing loss: It occurs when there is damage in the inner parts of the ear resulting in muffled hearing of distinct, normal, or loud sounds. It is caused due to birth defects, infections, ageing, trauma to the head, working around loud noise.
- Mixed hearing loss: It happens when both the conductive hearing problem and a sensorineural hearing problem occur together.
Apart from the above-mentioned information on the day of World Hearing Day under this article, we will share some interesting facts and treatment possibilities for hearing loss shared by Dr. Elsa, a Gynecology Surgeon in Dubai.
Gripping Facts About Hearing and its Impairment
- Hearing loss is not only confined to aged people
- Earwax is good for your ears
- Your hearing senses are all on
- Your ears are considered a window to the heart
- Women with hearing loss are more likely to witness depression
- Lifestyle behaviours affecting the heart are also responsible for affecting hearing.
- A woman with diabetes is twice likely to have a hearing impairment
- Noise leads to the problem of hearing loss
Treatment Possibilities of Hearing Impairment
Hearing loss is one of the most common health conditions faced by Americans and the treatments for the same are also present. The right method of treatment depends on the severity of the hearing loss. The common treatment for hearing impairment are:
- Auditory training: Auditory training and rehab treatments help a patient relearn the process of noise to sound. Exercises like listening to an audiobook, using apps, and other similar activities can help sharpen the hearing.
- Cochlear implants: Cochlear implant is the process under which a thin electrode is inserted that stimulates electricity and helps improve speech comprehension. A cochlear implant includes a microphone, speech processor, transmitter, electrodes, etc.
- Hearing aids: Hearing aids are the most common method of treating hearing loss. The treatment process for hearing aids is known as fittings and is used to amplify the sound. Hearing aids are wearable devices that help in hearing.