Hearing Impairment

Question 1

What is conductive hearing loss?

Answer 1

• disruption in transmission of sound

- obstruction

Question 2

What is sensorineural hearing loss?

Answer 2

• it affects inner ear, auditory nerve pathway
• noise exposure
• ototoxic drugs
• tumors, vascular disorders, degenerative diseases

Question 3

What is presbycusis?

Answer 3

• hair cells of cochlea degenerate with aging

- higher pitched tones, conversational speech lost initially

Question 4

What are the risk factors for hearing impairment?

Answer 4

• 50% of hearing loss in children is genetic
• 25% environmental around time of birth
• positive titer for TORCH infections
• craniofacial abnormalities
• very low birth weight
• bilirubin > 16mg/dL
• Aminoglycoside med administration
• low apgar score at 1 or 5 min
• bacterial meningitis
• mechanical ventilation for over 5 days
• syndrome associated with hearing loss

Question 5

What contributes to hearing damage?

Answer 5

• loudness and length of exposure

- use of air buds/headphones (affect any age group)

Question 6

What do the warning signs for hearing impairment include?

Answer 6

-inability to hear another individuals voice from a distance of 3 ft away, muffled sound perception, ear pain, ringing in ears

Question 7

What are the clinical manifestations of conductive hearing loss?

Answer 7

Loss of hearing at all sound frequencies

Question 8

What are the clinical manifestations of sensorineural hearing loss?

Answer 8

Loss of high-frequency tones

Speech discrimination difficult

Question 9

What are the clinical manifestations of Presbycusis?

Answer 9

They are gradual manifestations

These people are described as unsociable and paranoid

Question 10

What is tinnitus?

Answer 10

-perception of sound, noise without stimulus

Question 11

What is tinnitus usually associated with?

Answer 11

Hearing loss

Question 12

What type of diagnostic test are there for hearing impairment?

Answer 12

• whisper test
• otoscope examination
• tympanogram
• Rinne and Weber tests

Question 13

What are the three types of reconstructive surgeries or the middle ear?

Answer 13

• stapedectomy
• tympanoplasty
• myringotomy

Question 14

What is a cochlear implant?

Answer 14

A surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing.

Question 15

What type of pharmacological therapy should be used for upper respiratory infections that effect hearing?

Answer 15

-Decongestants