Famous singer Alka Yagnik told through a post on social media that her hearing ability has decreased. She has been diagnosed with a rare problem called sensorineural hearing loss. In the post, the singer said that she had this problem due to a viral infection due to which she now hears less.
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) has often been considered a natural part of the aging process. However, due to lifestyle and certain environmental conditions, you can fall prey to it even at a young age. Anyone can be at risk of this problem of damage to the structures of the inner ear or auditory nerve.
Doctors say, ears are very sensitive organs, which require special care, although a growing bad habit among the youth has increased its risk significantly. Let us know why this problem of hearing loss occurs and how can it be prevented.
First, understand what is sensorineural hearing loss.
Our ear is surrounded by many types of sensitive nerves. Any problem in them not only disrupts the ability to hear, but it can also cause many other problems including problems in physical balance.
With increasing age, your hearing ability starts getting affected due to some types of infections in the ears, genetic factors as well as being exposed to loud noise. Listening to music at high volume through earphones-headphones is considered to be the main factor for this problem increasing at a young age.
Ears are damaged by loud noise
Inside our inner ear, there is a part called stereocilia which has small hairs. These hairs convert vibrations from sound waves into nerve signals which your auditory nerves carry to the brain. Usually, our ears can bear a sound of 70-75 decibels for a few hours. On the other hand, when you come in contact with a sound louder than 85 decibels, these hairs can be damaged, which increases the risk of SNHL.
What do the experts say?
In a conversation with Amar Ujala, Pune-based ENT specialist Dr Zakir M Khan says, that long-term use of earphones is harmful to the ears. On the other hand, if you use headphones-earphones that completely cover the ears, then outside air is not able to enter the ear. There is a risk of infection by putting rubber earphone plugs in the ears.
To keep the ears healthy and safe, it is most important to avoid using such devices that completely cover the ears or have a loud sound.
Deafness may occur
In some situations, SNHL can develop within three days. About 5 to 20 people out of one lakh people may have this type of SNHL problem. If it is not taken care of in time, SNHL can also cause deafness immediately or in a few days. It often affects only one ear and many people notice it first after waking up in the morning.
Apart from the use of earphones, head injury, autoimmune diseases, Meniere's disease, and blood circulation problems as a side effect of certain medications can also cause SNHL.
(PC: Freepik)
