Deafness is often a symptom of illness

Deafness is often a symptom of other disorders

11/21/2011

According to a recent report by the German Association of Otolaryngologists, deafness is often a symptom of another disease. Therefore, the association advises all concerned not only to make a hearing test, but to have a complete ear, nose and throat diagnosis performed by a specialist. In addition to the hearing test, this includes ear microscopy, which can be used to rule out various serious illnesses.

Which diseases can be the cause of deafness??
Dr. Dirk Heinrich, President of the German Professional Association of Otolaryngologists explains: „Hearing loss is not an independent disease, but always a symptom of a disease behind it. The causes of deafness range from tumors on the auditory nerve via diseases of the middle ear and ear canal to the more generally known noise deafness. Also hearing loss and degenerative processes can lead to deafness.“ Precisely because of the wide range of possible causes of deafness, a comprehensive diagnosis must be carried out by the specialist. This is the right of every patient, according to the German Professional Association of Otolaryngologists in their current report. The aim of such a thorough examination is to rule out serious illnesses and to treat deafness. This can be done by surgery or other means depending on the cause of the hearing loss. If the cause can not be resolved completely, it may be necessary for the patient to be supplied with a hearing aid. Deafness in old age is not considered as a symptom of another disease but as a natural part of the aging process. As a rule, a hearing aid can help those affected.

Effects of deafness
Listening takes a substantial part of a person's social relationships. If he can not hear or hear badly, it can have serious consequences. Often people with hearing loss and the deaf suffer from loneliness and depression because they lack an essential means of communication. Another consequence may be dementia.

As early as 2005, US researchers led by Arthur Wingfield published a study demonstrating that the mental capacity of the human brain is not sufficient for deaf people to focus equally on understanding and storing content. In the study, the memory of the hard of hearing was compared with that of subjects without hearing loss. It turned out that the hearing impaired had to use a significant portion of their brain power to understand content, so there was insufficient capacity to store the content (Source: Arthur Wingfield et al., Brandeis University, Waltham: Current Directions in Psychological Science). (Ag)

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