Deafness consists of a limitation or lack of hearing ability.
Deafness is the lack or limitation of the ability to hear . This disability can be absolute (what is known as cophosis ) or only partial (in this case, it is called hypoacusis ).
There are various reasons that can lead a person to develop deafness. In some cases it is inherited and is present from birth, while in others it is a condition acquired from an impact or blow , an illness or even from being exposed, for a long time, to very strong auditory stimuli.
Degrees of deafness
Each person, therefore, can suffer different degrees of deafness, which are established according to an audiometry evaluation. What this test makes possible is to determine if the subject has problems capturing the frequency or intensity of sound . The results of the audiometry will allow the expert to know if the individual suffers from severe, moderate, mild deafness, etc.
It should be noted that the loss of the ability to hear can occur due to problems located in different parts of the auditory system. The damage, in this way, can be found in the outer ear , the middle ear , the inner ear or even in the brain .
A hearing aid can reverse certain types of deafness.
Various classifications
There are several classifications of deafness based on various criteria. Among the most relevant is the one that is undertaken based on the moment in which said hearing loss is acquired. Specifically, according to this element we find prelingual deafness , which is what a person acquires before turning three years old, and postlingual deafness, which is what an individual experiences when they have already developed language.
Continuing in terms of classification, we can establish that there is a second one that, in this case, is determined taking as a starting point the degree of intensity of the aforementioned deafness suffered by a person. Thus, it establishes the existence of the following types:
- Mild . It represents a hearing loss between 20 and 40 dB, which makes it difficult for the individual to communicate in noisy places but does not prevent their development in terms of language.
- Media . The patient loses between 40 and 70 dB in this type of deafness, which will make the acquisition and development of language much more difficult, making it necessary to use a prosthesis and the help of a speech therapist.
- Severe . The loss is between 70 and 90 dB. In this case the person has serious problems in spoken communication and will need the use of lip reading.
These three classes would also be joined by profound deafness , which makes the use of hearing aids or cochlear implants vital, and cophosis, which is the total loss of hearing .
Deafness treatment
Disability linked to deafness can be treated with hearing aids or other hearing aids .
The hearing aid consists of a microphone that transforms the acoustic signal and converts it into an electrical signal, and an earpiece that completes the reverse path (passes from the electrical signal to the acoustic signal). What this system allows is to selectively amplify the electrical signal, allowing the person to hear it.