Context:
Recently, bollywood playback singer Alka Yagnik has been diagnosed with Sensorineural deafness.
Relevance:
Facts for Prelims
Understanding Sensorineural Deafness
Definition and Causes
- Sensorineural deafness is a type of hearing loss resulting from damage to the inner ear or the nerve pathways that relay sound from the ear to the brain.
- Although it is often a natural part of aging (sensorineural hearing loss or SNHL), exposure to very loud music can also cause permanent damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve.
- Within the inner ear, the cochlea—a spiral-shaped organ—contains tiny hairs called stereocilia. These hairs convert sound wave vibrations into neural signals, which are then transmitted to the brain by the auditory nerve.
Causes of Sensorineural Deafness
- Congenital Factors: Genetic predispositions or complications during pregnancy or childbirth.
- Noise Exposure: Prolonged exposure to loud noises can damage the inner ear hair cells, leading to noise-induced hearing loss.
- Aging: The natural aging process can damage or destroy hair cells in the inner ear.
- Infections and Diseases: Conditions like meningitis, mumps, measles, and autoimmune diseases such as Meniere’s disease.
- Trauma: Injuries to the head or inner ear trauma.
- Ototoxic Medications: Certain antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs can damage the inner ear.
Symptoms
- Difficulty understanding speech.
- Muffled or distorted sounds.
- Ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ears.
- Difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds.
- Balance issues.
-Source: India Today
