Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Specialist Assoc. Dr. Referring to the fact that hearing loss can sometimes occur suddenly and sometimes gradually, Murat Doğan said, “If you do not notice that the sound is getting louder while listening to music or watching TV, and if the people around you warn you, you should see an otolaryngologist.” Assoc. Dr. Drawing attention to the fact that sounds above 95 decibels can cause hearing loss, Doğan warned people working in noisy environments.
Ear Nose and Throat Specialist Assoc. Dr. Murat Doğan pointed out that hearing loss can occur at any age, but this risk is higher in the elderly, “Men are more affected by hearing loss than women. “More than 10 percent of men aged 65 to 74 years appear to experience some degree of hearing loss,” he said.
Stating that hearing loss is one of the problems we frequently encounter today, Assoc. Dr. Doğan said, “If it is necessary to classify hearing losses, we can separate them as hearing losses originating from the outer, inner and middle ear. Hearing loss from the outer ear can often be due to ear contamination, infections or foreign bodies.
Rarely, hearing loss can be seen in tumors of the external ear canal. Middle ear infections or fluid accumulation, which we see a lot in childhood, are also one of the hearing losses. We see inner ear hearing loss mostly as neural hearing loss,” said Associate Professor Dogan. , stroke, genetics, Meniere’s disease can cause hearing loss.
Assoc. Dr. Doğan said the following about inner ear hearing losses: “These losses are associated with side effects due to uncontrolled drug use and exposure to loud noise or radiation, which we call some acoustic traumas of the inner ear. It can cause sudden hearing loss of 95 decibels and above. Loud noise especially those who work in noisy environments.”
Emphasizing that hearing loss often does not give any symptoms, and some patients may experience gradual hearing loss, Assoc. Dr. Doğan said, “If you are telling the people you are speaking to repeat their sentences, if you cannot distinguish different sounds in crowded environments, if you do not notice the loudness of the sound while listening to music or watching television, and even if you are warned by the people around you, if you miss conversations from time to time, you may be experiencing hearing loss. In case the symptoms persist or frequently recur, an ear, nose and throat specialist should be consulted.
Saying ‘There are more than one treatment option’, Assoc. Dr. Stating that some of the hearing losses can be corrected with some treatment options, Doğan said that they can treat most of the hearing loss in the inner ear with hearing aids or some implants, and that they can treat the hearing loss in the middle or outer ear with medical or surgical methods.