Hearing loss also known as hearing impairment is a partial or total inability to hear. A deaf person has little to no hearing. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children hearing problems can affect the ability to learn spoken language and in adults it can cause work related difficulties. In some people, particularly older people, hearing loss can result in loneliness. Hearing loss can be temporary or permanent.
Hearing loss may be caused by a number of factors, including: genetics, ageing, exposure to noise, some infections, birth complications, trauma to the ear, and certain medications or toxins. A common condition that results in hearing loss is chronic ear infections. Certain infections during pregnancy such as syphilis and rubella may also cause hearing loss. Hearing loss is diagnosed when hearing testing finds that a person is unable to hear 25 decibels in at least one ear. Testing for poor hearing is recommended for all newborns. Hearing loss can be categorised as mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, and profound. There are three main types of hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, and mixed hearing loss.
Half of hearing loss is preventable. This includes by immunization, proper care around pregnancy, avoiding loud noise, and avoiding certain medications. The World Health Organization recommends that young people limit the use of personal audio players to an hour a day in an effort to limit exposure to noise. Early identification and support are particularly important in children. For many, Hearing aids, sign language, cochlear implants are useful. Lip reading is another useful skill some develop. Access to hearing aids, however, is limited in many areas of the world.
As per World Health Organization 2022, Over 5% of the world’s population – or 430 million people – require rehabilitation to address their ‘disabling’ hearing loss (432 million adults and 34 million children). It is estimated that by 2050 over 700 million people – or one in every ten people – will have disabling hearing loss.
‘Disabling’ hearing loss refers to hearing loss greater than 35 decibels (dB) in the better hearing ear. Nearly 80% of people with disabling hearing loss live in low- and middleincome countries. The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age, among those older than 60 years, over 25% are affected by disabling hearing loss.
Over 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices.
An annual additional investment of less than US$ 1.40 per person is needed to scale up ear and hearing care services globally.
Over a 10-year period, this promises a return of nearly US$ 16 for every US dollar invested.
An Audiologist / Clinical Audiologist is a doctor who specialises in dealing problems about hearing i.e., identifying, diagnosing, treating and monitoring disorders of the auditory and vestibular system portions of the ear. Audiologists are trained to diagnose, manage and/or treat hearing, tinnitus, or balance problems. They dispense, manage, and rehabilitate hearing aids and assess candidacy for and map cochlear implants. They counsel families through a new diagnosis of hearing loss in infants, and help teach coping and compensation skills to late-deafened adults. They also help design and implement personal and industrial hearing safety programs, newborn hearing screening programs, school hearing screening programs, and provide special fitting ear plugs and other hearing protection devices to help prevent hearing loss. Audiologists are trained to evaluate peripheral vestibular disorders originating from inner ear pathologies. They also provide treatment for certain vestibular and balance disorders such as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). In addition, many audiologists work as auditory scientists in a research capacity.
Audiologists have training in anatomy and physiology, hearing aids, cochlear implants, electrophysiology, acoustics, psychophysics, neurology, vestibular function and assessment, balance disorders, counselling and sign language. Audiologists also run neonatal hearing screening programme which has been made compulsory in many hospitals in US, UK and India. An Audiologist usually graduates with one of the following qualifications: B.ASLP, M.ASLP, M. Sc (Audiology), Au.D., PhD.
Practice Settings
Audiologists work in a variety of settings, including but not limited to:
Health care settings (including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, medical rehabilitation centres, mental health facilities),
Regular and special schools,
Early intervention programs/ Multi disciplinary rehabilitation centres,
Industrial settings,
Hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturers,
Universities/colleges and their clinics,
Professional associations,
State and central Government agencies and institutions,
Research centres, and
Private practice settings
