Otosclerosis
Otosclerosis is one of the most common causes of progressive deafness in young adults.
Otosclerosis is an abnormal growth of bone in the ears. In most cases, a surgical operation will restore normal hearing.
The disease has to do with the three small bones in the middle ear, more specifically the stapes. A part of the bone will grow abnormally. The bone growth will prevent the stapes from vibrating normally in response to sound. At this early stage, the person will not be affected.
Otosclerosis is often inherited, although isolated cases do occur. Both ears may be affected but it is more common for one ear to be more severely affected than the other. If left untreated, hearing loss typically worsens progressively until late middle age when complete deafness occurs.
The most famous otosclerosis victim is said to have been Beethoven. Deafness made him unable to hear his late compositions.
| The diagnosis should be made by specialists, but some signs can be detected by the suffering person himself or his relatives.
Strong background noise usually adds to the confusion of people with nerve deafness, but in the case of otosclerosis, this confusion does not often occur. Sometimes, the person may even hear better in noisy surroundings, possibly because of the high frequency and loudness of other people's voices in those circumstances. Otosclerosis tends to affect low frequencies more than high ones.
| Hearing aids help people who are suffering from conductive deafness, including otosclerosis. However, a hearing aid will not cure the deafness. Since the deafness is progressive, more powerful hearing aids may be needed as time goes. At the early stages, hearing aids are a great help for those who do not wish to undergo surgery.
A straightforward surgical operation is now widely performed, and it is a relatively simple procedure. The operation can restore normal hearing in most cases. |
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