Sensorineural Hearing Loss Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

What is sensorineural hearing loss?

This is one of several types of hearing loss, and is characterized by inner ear problems, due to damage to the hearing nerve (cochlear nerve) or a problem in the brain itself such as a brain tumor.

Known causes of sensorineural hearing loss includes:

• Trauma


• Temporal bone fracture


• Toxic drugs


• Repeated infection


• Age (presbycusis)


• Genetics


• Tumors

Other factors may involve:

• Anemia


• Leukemia


• Lupus


• Reduced oxygen

The red blood cells circulate through the body carrying oxygen and nutrients to feed the cells. When cells are sickled, they have a reduced capacity to carry oxygen. Additionally, anemia is characteried by low RBC (red blood cell) count, which also presents a reduced amount of oxygen to the body cells. Couple these with a reduced circulation and you have a situation ripe for reduced oxygenation and circulation to the auditory system resulting in hearing loss. In these cases, treatment of the underlying cause may restore hearing. Otherwise, hearing impaired devices may certainly be an option to improve hearing ability.

Symptoms:

• Unable to hear high tones (high frequency hearing loss)


• Can not understand or hear speech


• Loud TV volume


• Always needing conversation repeated


• Retreat from social activities and interaction with others


• Depression

Diagnosis of this hearing loss type may involve a CT scan, MRI, and EEG (electroencephalogram) which measures electrical activity in the brain. Performing these tests are dependent upon the patients age, condition, and results of previous testing.

Treatment for Sensorineural Hearing Loss:

When diagnosis has been established as to the type of hearing loss has occurred, treatment can be prescribed by the attending health care provider, which may include:

Hearing aids which consist of an electronic device that can be worn behind the ear, in the ear, or deeper into the ear canal where it is virtually undetectable. It has a microphone for sound waves, an amplifier to increase sound, and a speaker that transmits to the ear. Then it travels to the middle ear, the inner ear to the cochlea, then to the brain where the sound is produced. An audiologist will help you in choosing the right hearing aid for your needs.

Cochlear implant is a surgically implanted hearing device that is comprised of the internal and external parts. The internal part is inserted beneath the skin behind the ear in the temporal bone, that functions to stimulate the auditory nerve. A band of 22 electrodes encased in tubing is then inserted into the cochlea. The external part is worn behind the ear, same as a behind the ear hearing aid, and transmits vibrations to the implanted piece. The sound is not like what is normally heard and will take some time to get accustomed to it. Cochlear implants work well for children as well as adults, even in the presence of profound deafness.

by Barb Hicks, RN/LMT