Hearing is vital to both your mental health and safety. If you can hear, you won’t be able to communicate properly, connect with other people, and hear the sounds in your surroundings. From listening to music and watching TV and talking with others at a party to taking instructions at work, being unable to hear can impact your ability to interact socially.
Right from when one is born, hearing them helps them develop intelligence as well as the ability to understand and connect with others.
It can be frustrating not having this ability, both for suffering from it and the people around them. About 5% of the world’s population suffers from hearing loss, and it’s predicted that by around 2050, one in ten will be suffering from it.
What Causes Hearing Loss
Many things can cause hearing loss. Age is often one of the most common ones. Here’s a shortlist of the most common causes:
- Aging: Around 1/3 of the population will suffer “Presbycusis” or some form of hearing loss by the time they reach 65 years old. This usually happens because the inner ear changes as you grow older.
- Tumors: Acoustic neuroma is a type of cancer that can cause hearing loss. It can also cause a plugged sensation or ringing in the years.
- Genetics: This is typically associated with non-syndromic hearing loss, usually based on one’s DNA makeup, like GJB2 mutation. This gene targets the connexin 26 protein produced in the ear’s cochlea cells.
- Head Injury: People who have gone through traumatic head injuries can form holes in the middle ear or eardrum, preventing them from hearing.
Looking Ahead
Supporting people suffering from hearing loss can allow them to have a better life. Social skills therapy and age-appropriate support can allow these people to have higher self-confidence and esteem.
