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Hearing Loss

By Geon and Komal

How can we hear

The ear is made up of 3 different parts.

Inner ear

Middle ear

Outer ear

The pinna (outer ear) picks up sound wave and the waves then travel through the outer ear canal.

How to hear

When the sound waves hit the eardrum in the middle ear, the eardrum starts to vibrate. When the eardrum vibrates, it moves 3 tiny bones called hammer, anvil and stirrup.

They help sound move along into the inner ear.

The vibration then travel to the cochlea, which is filled with liquid and lined with cells that have thousands of tiny hairs on their surfaces. The sound vibration make the tiny hairs move. Than it travels to your brain, allowing you to hear.

Illness

We will talk about chronic ear infection

(otitis media). Otitis media is an inflammation in the middle ear.

How common

Otitis media is the most frequently diagnosed disease in infants and young children. Seventy-five percent of children experience at least one episode of otitis media by their third birthday.

How can it cause a hearing loss

Three tiny bones in the middle ear carry sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. When you get otitis media, the vibrations are not transmitted efficiently and sound energy is lost. The result may be mild or even moderate hearing loss. Generally, this type of hearing loss is temporary.

However, when otitis media occurs over and over again, damage to the eardrum, the bones of the ear, or even the hearing nerve can occur and cause a permanent hearing loss.

Hearing aids

Hearing aids help people who can’t listen well.

There are 3~4 types of hearing aids.

Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids

In-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids

In-the-canal (ITC) hearing aids

Intra-canal (CIC) hearing aids

but the most common ones are BTE and ITE.

BTE Hearing aids

These have 2 main parts. A small hard plastic case goes behind the ear that holds the electronics that make up the actual hearing aids.

It’s connected to a plastic piece called an ear mold that fits inside the outermost part of the ear.

Sound travels from the hearing aid through the ear mold and into the ear. BTEs are used by people of all ages to treat hearing loss.

ITE Hearing aids

These fit completely inside the outer ear. They can help with mild to severe hearing loss. As with BTEs, there's a hard plastic case that holds the electronic components, but in this case it's joined to the ear mold itself, so it's all one piece.

Economic

The cost for a hearing aid changes by time to time now the cost for a single hearing aid can vary between $500 to $6,000 or more, depending on the level of technology. The cost of a advanced digital hearing aid per day is $3.

You have to pay again if the otitis media happens over and over

Bibliography

"Hearing Aids ." KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about children's health. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/sight/hearing_aids.html#>.

"Causes of Hearing Loss in Children." American Speech-Language-Hearing Association | ASHA. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/disorders/causes.htm>.

"What's Hearing Loss? ." KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about children's health. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems

"Hearing Impairment ." KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about children's health. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/sight/hearing_impairment.html>.

"File:Otitis media entdifferenziert2.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Otitis_media_entdifferenziert2.jpg>.

aids, using hearing, and participate in their everyday  activities with minimum difficulties. Most hearing aids can even help people hear better than normal people in certain environments. Some of the best Hearing Aids Brands are Beltone Hearing Aids. "Hearing Aid Ratings." Hearing Aid Ratings. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://hearingaidsratings.com>.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearing_aid

"Hearing Aid Cost." Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss & Hearing Treatment Information | Healthy Hearing. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.healthyhearing.com/content/faqs/Buying/Prices/30928-Much-do-hearing-aids>.