Hearing Problem in Children and Adults

Children

People usually believe that hearing problem is associated with adults or elders. It is because of the noise-induced environment, which is correct to some extent. But children can also get affected and loses their intense capacity to hear. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 6 to 19 years of children are affected. 12% of children of 6 to 19 years old face hearing dysfunctions. It is all because of the noise-induced environment in which 5% of children lose the ability permanently. The causes, treatment, and prevention may vary from child to child.

Causes of hearing problem in children

• Sometimes the hearing problem in children is because of the genetic makeup. If the ancestors or parents of the children have a weak hearing capacity, it makes the child more vulnerable to lose hearing ability.
• Sometimes the buildup of wax in a child’s ear canal can be the reason for the hearing problem.
• If the foreign object, such as the tip of the cotton bud or a bead, stays inside and sucks in the ear canal, the child may face temporary damage to the hearing capacity.
• Cold can cause an excess amount of mucus in the Eustachian tube that impairs the hearing ability of a child. It might be temporary but sometimes causes pain and harshness while hearing voices, sounds, and phantom noise.
• Infection of the middle ear can affect your child temporarily.
• If the unborn baby exposes to any disease in the mother’s womb, such as rubella, it can affect the fetus developing ear and cause a problem later.
• Firecrackers, personal stereos, or rock concerts are the lead reasons for the new generation of children.

Adults

It has been estimated that more than 30 million adults in the USA are affected and face hearing loss. Age-related hearing loss also becomes the reason, but adults make it worse over time by the constant exposure to loud noises and harsh music. The high volume of televisions and loud volume in parties make hearing ability worse and lead to complete hearing loss by crossing the threshold of hearing capacity. According to WHO, by 2050, nearly 2.5 billion people are projected to have some degree of hearing problems. There can be several causes that affect adults and increases hearing loss over time. Let’s have a look at the most leading causes of hearing loss in adults.

Causes of hearing problem in adults

• Chronic exposure to loud noises has become one of the main causes of hearing loss in the adult generation.
• Excessive earwax can affect the hearing capacity and make it difficult for a person to hear right in front of the other person. Excessive earwax diminishes the good hearing performance over time and does not conduct the sound waves well enough.
• The noise of snow blowers and lawnmowers contributes to tinnitus in adults.
• Ototoxic medication and work-related ototoxic chemicals are also the considered reasons for this exposure.
• Viral infections, neural deficiencies, and delayed start or progressive genetic hearing loss can also happen in adults.