Hearing loss or complete loss is, of course, not a death sentence for a person, and it is quite possible to exist with such a deficiency. However, the quality of life can be significantly reduced. If you find yourself in a similar situation, do not despair and lose heart. Let's try together to figure out what can be done to improve the state of shaky he alth and how to choose hearing aids that can restore lost properties to the body.
Why hearing gets worse
There are many reasons that reduce the severity of the perception of sounds. The most common and easily eliminated is the accumulation of a significant amount of sulfur in the ear canal. Hearing can also be affected by complications resulting from infectious diseases. In such cases, it is enough to contact a specialist and undergo a course of treatment prescribed by him. As a result, lost hearing can recover very soon.
Professional activity can affect the deterioration of the quality perception of sounds. Noise from working equipment at the construction site, loud club music, the sounds of shots in shooting ranges - all this has a negative effect on human he alth.
The main causes of hearing loss include:
- head or ear injury;
- congenital defects in the development of the auricle and ear canal;
- effects of exposure to certain types of antibiotics;
- chemotherapy, radiation;
- age-related changes;
- genetic predisposition.
The impact of hearing loss on a person's life
Bad hearing interferes with normal communication. A person has to strain hard to hear the words of the interlocutors, and those, in turn, need to repeat their remarks several times. In order to understand the essence of the conversation, a deaf person has to constantly look people in the face. It becomes more and more difficult to catch the thread of the conversation, and the patient often answers out of place. To watch TV or listen to the radio, you have to turn up the volume of the transmitters, which can disturb people around you.
As a result of such efforts, a hearing-impaired person often experiences headaches and increased irritability. The psycho-emotional state of the patient becomes unstable, and he increasingly avoids communicating with friends and acquaintances.
In no case should you neglect the inconvenience that has arisen. Timely contact with the doctor will helpimprove hearing. In many cases, hearing aids can help. Its use in combination with therapeutic measures will significantly improve overall he alth.
Medical indications
With the seeming simplicity of the answer to the question of how to choose hearing aids yourself, it is quite obvious that you should not do this. Based only on the appearance of the sound conductor or its cost, you can purchase a device that not only does not help restore hearing, but also aggravates the negative situation. So, an incorrect volume level setting can provoke an increase in blood pressure in a hypertensive patient, which will lead to a disastrous outcome.
Some people are strongly discouraged from using sound pickups. This is especially worth paying attention to when planning to purchase hearing aids for the elderly. Contraindications for use apply to patients with acute or chronic mental disorders, as well as diseases of the central nervous system. Those who have problems with cardiac activity, blood vessels or chronic ear diseases should be careful.
To find out which hearing aid is better to choose, you need to consult with your doctor and do the necessary examinations. The otolaryngologist will conduct a hearing test to determine the level of sound perception reduction across the entire frequency range based on the results of the audiogram.
Degrees of hearing loss
In medicineThere are several levels of hearing loss that require a particular hearing aid. How to choose it correctly, the classifier, compiled according to the results of numerous studies, will tell you.
Normal hearing is the ability to hear noises ranging from zero to twenty decibels. Anything outside this range is considered hearing loss:
- mild degree - from twenty to fifty decibels;
- medium degree - from fifty to seventy decibels;
- severe degree - audibility from seventy to ninety decibels;
- super-heavy - ninety or more decibels.
To correctly answer the question of how to choose hearing aids, you should know that, according to the principle of operation, they are all divided into two main categories: analog and digital. Let's look at the properties of each of them.
Analogue instruments
Hearing aids equally amplify all signals entering the microphone. As a result, sounds that were indistinct will become quite clear. But those noises that the patient previously perceived normally will be further amplified by the analog signal and become excessively loud.
As a result, a person receives an excessive noise load and loses speech intelligibility. As a rule, prolonged use of such devices leads to increased irritability and unwillingness to use them constantly. The main advantage of analog systems is that they are inexpensive hearing aids,the affordable price of which makes them popular so far.
Digital Devices
Devices are, in fact, miniature computers. The principle of operation is based on the selective amplification of incoming signals. When processing incoming sounds, they are divided into speech and noise. As a result, a high degree of intelligibility of human speech is achieved with a simultaneous decrease in extraneous sounds. For hypertensive patients and people suffering from headaches, the best hearing aids are those that have a noise canceling function.
In order to adjust the device as accurately as possible to the hearing parameters of an individual, an audiogram should be carried out more carefully. The greater the number of active points will be taken into account in the study, the more accurately the device will tune in to the individual. Accordingly, the perceived sound will be more distinct.
Features of microphones
Digital instruments are equipped with a dual-mode microphone system.
Directional sound transmitting devices provide a high-quality signal coming from an object in close proximity to a hearing-impaired person. This is the best option for people leading a secluded and measured lifestyle.
Omnidirectional microphones let you hear people around you. For deaf people who lead an active lifestyle, communicate a lot, as well as for children, these hearing aids are most suitable.
Recent developments in the field of sound processing systems have created microphones with adaptive directivity. Such models are able to systematize the surrounding sounds and adapt to them regardless of the direction vector. A change in the surrounding noise environment leads to an automatic switch to the appropriate quality perception program.
Types of hearing aids
Sound transmitters have a variety of external forms. You can choose the appropriate one for yourself, based on the design of the device, its size, the technology used, as well as the color scheme.
To know how to choose hearing aids according to your needs and lifestyle, you need to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the most popular models. By type of location, they are divided into:
- intra-ear - located in the ear or ear canal;
- behind the ear - placed behind the ear.
Device behind the ear or inside it - what to choose
The obvious advantages of in-ear devices include a stylish design and miniature size, which makes them completely invisible, especially with a well-chosen color shade. In-the-ear devices are made for each patient individually in accordance with the anatomical structure of the auricle.
As a disadvantage, it can be recognized that the compact hearing aid is more difficult to use and maintain. The impact of earwax as an aggressive environment negatively affects the quality of the device. The technical characteristics of in-the-ear devices have a number of limitations that do not allow them to be used by people with a hearing loss of more than seventy decibels. Miniature remedies are not suitable for those people who are prone to frequent inflammatory processes in the ears. Also, do not recommend compact audio devices for use by children and the elderly.
Behind-the-ear models look rather bulky and draw attention to themselves. The aesthetic disadvantage of the devices is compensated by providing sound quality even with an extremely severe degree of hearing loss, reaching one hundred and twenty decibels. Ease of maintenance and reliability make behind-the-ear hearing aids popular with the elderly.
Hearing aid lifespan
In order for the device to last as long as possible, it needs proper care. In accordance with the instructions, the device and the earmould should be cleaned regularly. For preventive actions, it is necessary to periodically contact the service center. Under the right conditions, a quality hearing aid can last up to five to six years.
When faced with the need to use hearing aids, it should be understood that high sound quality and comfort depend on the correct choice and high-quality adjustment of the device. This should be assisted by an experienced and qualified audiologist, whose task is to solve the patient's problem in the best way for him.
