Today is the 69th International Day of the Deaf. It is estimated that about 220 million people in my country suffer from hearing loss, and the current prevalence rate of hearing loss among people over 60 years old is about 45%. Many elderly people often choose to be patient when hearing loss first occurs. Many elderly people gradually become reluctant to communicate and avoid social interactions from being unable to hear. How should we communicate well with people with hearing loss?
Li Yongxin, Director of the Otology Department of Beijing Tongren Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University: The elderly's hearing is declining, which affects their language ability. Over time, their emotional cognition and brain cognitive abilities have declined, and their emotional centers have also changed. They have become irritable, unconfident, fragile, and even anxious. Some have become depressed, showing a bad temper and unwillingness to communicate.
According to experts, hearing intervention is not as simple as just buying a hearing aid. First, do an otology and audiology evaluation to find out the cause of hearing degradation. Hearing aids, cochlear implants, remote microphones and other methods have different indications. After wearing them, you need to go to the hospital for debugging regularly, which is not a one-and-done solution.
Dong Ruijuan, deputy chief technician of the Clinical Hearing Center of Beijing Tongren Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University: For general debugging, the initial trial fitting should be more frequent. Some details are not so well grasped, and some debugging must be done. It depends on which sounds are heard well and which sounds are not heard well, so that targeted debugging and solutions can be carried out. Six months or one year after the trial period, there is a routine follow-up visit. This is also very important. As age increases, hearing may change, so a debugging is conducted every six months to one year.
Misunderstandings about wearing hearing aids that you should pay attention to
According to experts, there are many misunderstandings about hearing aid wearing. What should we pay attention to in daily use?
·If hearing degradation is not severe and you can still hear, do you need to wear a hearing aid?
Li Yongxin, Director of the Otology Department of Beijing Tongren Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University: Our ears on both sides hear signals and transmit them to the center. After the center receives the signal, it will give some nutrients and neurotrophic factors to the ears. When the signal cannot be transmitted, the brain does not secrete these nutrients, and the ears cannot receive these nutrients. It gets worse and worse. It is a vicious cycle. Once you hear it with a hearing aid, the signal can be transmitted up, and the brain will give you nutrients. It is a virtuous cycle.
·Can a person not wear a hearing aid when he is at home or does not need to communicate?
Dong Ruijuan, deputy chief technician at the Clinical Hearing Center of Beijing Tongren Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University: You should also wear it in a quiet environment, so that all kinds of sounds can be heard. The sound must be transmitted to the brain, and the brain will decide whether the sound is important or not. This is also very important for the elderly, especially when they are at home. Even if they do not communicate, they have to listen to all these sounds.
Avoid constant overdraft
Safe listening time for ears
The roar of the subway, watching TV shows on headphones, dynamic music in the gym, all kinds of noise surround us all the time. For many young people, hearing damage is often not caused by sudden loud noises, but by continuously overdrawing the safe listening time of the ears day after day. How to use ear protection correctly?
The louder the sound, the shorter the safe exposure time. For every 3 decibel increase in sound intensity, it is recommended that the exposure time be reduced by half.
80 decibels shall not exceed 40 hours per week;
85 decibels no more than 8 hours a day;
90 decibels shall not exceed 2.5 hours per day;
100 decibels for no more than 15 minutes a day.
"Two signals" can be remembered in daily life: you have to raise your voice to have a conversation in the environment, which is usually around 85 decibels; tinnitus and ear tightness appear after taking off the headphones, which is the "arrears reminder" of the ears.
Sudden deafness becomes younger
The window for treatment is very short
Many people wake up with stuffiness in one ear and blurred hearing. They often mistakenly think that it is because of internal heat, fatigue or earwax blockage, thinking that it will get better after taking a rest. Experts remind that this sudden hearing loss is likely to be sudden deafness, also known as "ear stroke". It is an otolaryngological emergency with sudden onset and irreversible damage. Nowadays, the incidence is gradually increasing among young people. The window for treatment of this disease is very short, and with every day of delay, the probability of hearing recovery will be significantly reduced.
Clinical data shows that patients with sudden deafness are getting younger. Young and middle-aged people aged 20 to 35 who stay up late, work under high pressure, and use headphones for a long time have become a high-risk group.
Li Yongxin, Director of the Otology Department of Beijing Tongren Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University: Long-term and high-intensity concentrated work causes circulation problems in the inner ear. It is very prone to temporary ischemia and even temporary thrombosis, which can lead to sudden deafness.
Sudden deafness refers to the sudden onset of sensorineural hearing loss, which mostly occurs in one ear. The hearing loss occurs suddenly within a few minutes to a few hours. The onset is very insidious and progresses rapidly. In addition to sudden hearing loss, sudden deafness also has typical warning signs, such as unilateral tinnitus, ear swelling and stuffiness, and some people are also accompanied by symptoms such as dizziness and nausea.
