Suffering from hearing disorders is not uncommon these days. The kind of loud noises that the ears are exposed to and the over-usage of cheap-quality headphones/earphones degrade the hearing quality and cause disorders. The different auditory disorders that we will be talking about in this guide are Tinnitus, Hyperacusis and Misophonia, Vertigo, and Auditory Processing Disorder. Dive in!
Tinnitus
The irritating ringing noise that just won’t leave you alone despite there’s no sound source is Tinnitus. The amount of discomfort it causes depends upon the extent of severity. You need to fill a TFI questionnaire that helps the doctors in finding out the severity of tinnitus.
Following which, the doctors usually prefer using Zen Therapy. Meditation sessions are also suggested to improve concentration so that the patients can learn how to avoid the background tinnitus and focus on the task at hand.
Bear in mind, tinnitus cannot be cured, only treated. If anybody says it can be cured, they’re either misinformed or lying.
Hyperacusis and Misophonia
Sensitivity to loud noises is hyperacusis and sensitivity to selective low sounds like the sound of breathing or swallowing is misophonia. Whichever of the two the patient has, it affects the quality of life very badly.
Doctors use the TFI score to find out the severity of these two disorders. Rehabilitation programs are suggested accordingly. If you’ve been juggling these conditions but don’t know who to consult, then the doctors at clinics like Audiologie Centre-Ouest are the ones you should visit. With the amount of experience that they have, they offer the best treatment solutions.
Vertigo
Vertigo refers to the imbalance in movement. For those of you who do not know, legs do not maintain balance, the ears do. When suffering from vertigo, the patient suffers from the following issues.
- Inability to balance the body.
- Inability to move in darkness.
- Inability to detect which direction a sound is coming from.
- Feeling of constant dizziness.
The different tests that are done to determine vertigo and its extent are Videonystagmography (VNG), Oculomotor assessment (visual tests), Assessment of oscillopsia, and Assessment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).
The results help the doctors in deciding which kind of rehabilitation program the patient requires.
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)
Whilst it is observed in adults, it mostly affects young children. It is a disorder where noises in the background make it very hard for the patient to concentrate even on what the person right next to them is saying. This inability to process and separate sounds from each other is APD. The best tool that doctors use for APD is FM as a means for therapy. It helps the patients in getting accustomed to background noises so that they can hear and perceive sound better.
To sum up, proper care makes every hearing disorder treatable. The only thing you have to do is to consult a doctor as soon as you can.