The deafness is one of the most urgent problems of otolaryngology. More than 2% of people suffer from various forms of hearing impairment. However, according to statistics, doctors most often reveal neurosensory hearing loss. When her symptoms appear, it is very important to begin treatment immediately, which greatly improves the prognosis.
Sensorineural hearing loss, ICD 10
This term is understood as the pathology of the sound-receiving part of the inner ear, which is accompanied by a malfunction of the auditory nerve. This ailment is characterized by a decrease in hearing and the appearance of noise in the ears. According to the ICD-10 pathology is coded under the code number H90 "Sensorineural hearing loss".
The appearance of hearing loss can be observed at any age, but the risk increases significantly in the elderly. This is due to the gradual development of atrophy of nerve endings in the cochlea. A characteristic feature of this form of pathology lies in the lack of effective therapy and the impossibility of complete restoration of the functions of the organ of hearing.
Pathology is divided into several stages:
- An acute form of the disease is diagnosed if a hearing impairment occurs within a month before the disease is detected.
- Subacute hearing loss lasts 1-3 months.
- The chronic form of the disease develops after the third month.
Structure of the ear and hearing aid of a person
Feature of the disease
The main feature of this disorder is hearing loss. Additional manifestations of the disease include the following:
- tinnitus;
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- vomiting.
Sometimes problems with the vestibular apparatus are detected only when performing a neurological examination, which is supplemented by computer and magnetic resonance imaging. Rheoencephalography and ultrasound dopplerography can also be performed.
Reasons for
The following are the factors that can trigger the development of sensorineural hearing loss:
- Infectious diseases. The cause of the disease can be influenza, herpetic infection, rubella, measles, infection with meningococci.
- Intoxication of the body with medication. Symptoms of hearing loss can appear after the use of cytostatics, salicylates, loop diuretics.
- Poisoning by industrial or household substances.
- Vascular pathology. The cause of the ailment may lie in hypertension, atherosclerosis. Also, the deafness can lead to a tendency to form blood clots.
- Traumatic injury.
- Continuous operation in noise and vibration.
- Allergic reactions.
- Stressful situations.
- The elderly.
- Hypoxia of the fetus during pregnancy.
Diagnosis
To identify the disease, you need to contact an ENT doctor. The specialist conducts research on the sound-receiving and sound-conducting systems.
Also the role of is played by the functioning of the vestibular analyzer, assessment of cardiac and vascular function, examination of the parameters of the blood coagulation system and liver function .Due to a comprehensive survey, it is possible to identify the causes of the disease.
An initial assessment of the functioning of the hearing organ requires the study of acoustic and audiological indicators. Among them, sampling with the help of a tuning fork and the recording of a threshold audiogram are mandatory.
A more informative technique that allows you to determine the type of hearing loss is considered to be audiometry. It should be conducted in the frequency range of more than 8000 Hz.
Diagnostics is also performed using impedance testing. This technique allows you to detect the rupture of the auditory canal, the deviation in the auditory tube, effusion in the tympanum.
Degrees
For diagnosis, it is necessary to determine the degree of disease in patients:
- An easy degree - while a person confidently distinguishes spoken language from a distance of 4-6 m.
- Medium degree - the patient can understand spoken with 1-4 m.
- Severe degree - this diagnosis is made if a person can perceive a colloquial speech with less than 1m.
Treatment of
To cope with the pathology, you need to contact the otolaryngologist in a timely manner. After a detailed examination, the specialist will choose therapy.
Medication
With the development of sensorineural hearing loss, prescriptions are prescribed to improve blood circulation in the inner ear and brain area. These include nootropic drugs - cerebrolysin, pyracetam. You also need to take funds to improve the rheological characteristics of the blood - for example, pentoxifylline.
Such funds are usually written out with an intensive course. Treatment lasts from 10-14 days. Usually, these drugs are prescribed in a higher dosage - intramuscularly or intravenously in the form of droppers. Also, the administration of medications can be administered intrapotally, that is, directly into the inner ear. To do this, use a shunt in the tympanic membrane.
If hearing impairment supplements dizziness and instability, use means that act on a specific area of the inner ear that is responsible for the position in space. This category includes such agents as betagistin, betaserk, etc.
To reduce the inflammatory process in the affected area, hormonal agents are used. It is also often prescribed substances that contribute to the elimination of swelling. They include, in particular, diuretics.
In addition to these drugs, often prescribed drugs that reduce the body's resistance to pathologies. This group includes vitamins B - pyridoxine, thiamine. Also prescribe drugs containing vitamin E and various trace elements. With this diagnosis, magnesium is especially important.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy can not be an independent therapy. With its help, it only manages to cope with unpleasant manifestations of the disease - in particular, by noise in the ears. To effective methods of therapy carry the following:
- acupuncture;
- acupuncture;
- magnetotherapy;
- phonoelectrophoresis.
Operative intervention
When a cochlea is affected, cochlear implantation is performed, which consists in its prosthetics. Thanks to the electronic prosthesis it is possible to achieve speech coding. Implant is installed from the outside into the temporal bone. In this case, electrodes are placed in the cochlea through which the coded signal is conducted.
Good results can be achieved through intervention, during which corticosteroids are injected into the cochlea. Most often, doctors use dexamethasone.
Traditional medicine
As a supplement to the traditional therapy of hearing loss, folk methods are often used. In the menu of a person with such ailment, there must necessarily be products containing vitamins B, E, and C. They have a positive effect on the state of the auditory nerve.
In addition, traditional medicine offers such methods of therapy:
- every day you need to eat half a lemon along with the skin;
- to prepare the composition based on propolis, then apply it on the turunda and place in the ear;
- inject into the ear canal the juice made from the leaves of geranium.
Prevention, complications, consequences
Many factors influence the operation of the auditory organs. Therefore, it is so important to provide comprehensive prophylaxis of sensorineural hearing loss. It should include the following components:
- eliminating the negative effects of noise and vibration;
- refusal from the use of alcoholic beverages and smoking;
- use of ototoxic drugs solely for life indications and only in conjunction with detoxification therapy;
- use of detoxification products and drugs to improve microcirculation in the presence of infectious diseases.
With the timely treatment of sensorineural hearing loss, the prognosis is favorable in about half the cases. If a person develops a chronic form of a disease, it is necessary to achieve hearing stabilization. Subsequently, rehabilitation is carried out by cochlear implantation or prosthetics.
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Sensorineural hearing loss is considered a serious enough violation, which can lead to a complete loss of hearing. To prevent this from happening, it is very important to contact a doctor as soon as possible, who will select a comprehensive therapy after a thorough diagnosis.