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| Leading causes of hearing loss |
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| Adults |
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Excessive noise exposure |
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Presbycusis-aging process |
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Tumors and other space occupying lesions |
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Vascular and circulatory disorders |
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Heredity |
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| Children |
| Middle Ear Problems |
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Before age six, 90% of all children in the United Kingdom will suffer from Otitis Media |
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| Congenital |
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Craniofacial Anomalies |
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Family history of hearing loss |
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Congenital infections |
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| Other |
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Bacterial Meningitis |
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Head trauma |
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Ototoxic medications |
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Childhood infectious diseases (mumps, measles) |
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| Symptoms of hearing loss |
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| Recognizing a hearing loss in yourself, or someone you know, is the first step toward improving the situation. |
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| Symptoms include: |
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Difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds, such as women's and children's voices, as well as birds' singing |
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Difficulty hearing at public gatherings:
concert halls, theaters, houses of worship - where sound sources are far from the listener |
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Difficulty understanding conversations within a group of people, or on the telephone |
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Because hearing loss can develop over several years, most people are not aware of the extent of their loss until family or friends bring it to their attention. Even then they might deny that they have difficulty hearing.
People with mild hearing loss often use the following tactics to cope with the situation: |
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Turning up the volume on the TV to a level that disturbs others |
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Consistently asking people to repeat themselves, or to speak more loudly |
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Avoiding social situations such as restaurants or parties, where noise can make it difficult to hear conversation |
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Turning the head to one side while listening |
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| Although these habits can help the individual with hearing loss in some situations, the hearing loss is most likely depriving them of a wide range of life's sounds. Eventually, as the hearing loss progresses, the above techniques won't provide adequate hearing assistance. |
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