วันศุกร์ที่ 25 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2555

How Traumatic Brain Injury Affects Hearing

Ear Lobe Surgery:

Hearing problems are quite common after a traumatic brain injury (Tbi) because the inner ear is directly linked to the central nervous system. Ringing in the ear (tinnitus) and hearing loss are two of the most widely reported side effects of a traumatic brain injury. Some other hearing problems that may occur following a brain injury consist of hyperacusis (normal situations seem very loud); mystery filtering one set of sounds from background noise; and auditory agnosia (also called pure word deafness). Auditory agnosia is a condition in which the person is unable to identify the meanings of distinct sounds.

Following a Tbi, hearing problems can occur for a whole of reasons, both mechanical and neurological, particularly when the inner ear and/or temporal lobes have been damaged. External bleeding in the ear canal, middle ear damage, cochlear injury and/or temporal lobe lesions can all cause auditory dysfunction.

Children who suffer Tbi typically face added problems in the areas of communication, acquiring new information, spatial orientation, task completion, impulse control, and group conversation.

Ear Lobe Surgery:How Traumatic Brain Injury Affects Hearing

The inner ear is made up of a series of delicate membranes, which can indubitably rupture during a head trauma. The cochlea, which is the leading spiral-shaped bone in the ear, can be damaged by a strong blow to the head causing hearing damage. Other types of membrane damage may cause hearing loss as well as dizziness (vertigo) and nausea. Sometimes, surgery can correct damage to the inner ear.

Because hearing loss limits or takes away one of the former means we use to communicate, hearing loss has the inherent to complicate many of the other side effects of brain damage, in general cognitive and group problems. Many Tbi victims already suffer cognitive issues such as issue finding words, and these problems are only exacerbated if the sick person cannot hear what is going on colse to him.

Fortunately, for some Tbi victims, hearing problems disappear a few weeks after the accident that led to the patient's brain damage, but other hearing problems will last indefinitely. Since many hearing problems cannot even be detected by the sick person himself after the Tbi, it is recommended that anyone suffering a traumatic brain injury be evaluated by an audiologist, even if nothing appears to be wrong with the victim's hearing.

Ear Lobe Surgery:How Traumatic Brain Injury Affects Hearing