Hearing Loss in a Hearing World

This world is dominated by music, TV, and sounds of nature, but there are souls that go through life without being able to hear these wonderful vibes; the deaf. People with the deafness disability are a proud people who do not let anyone push them around or shut them out from hearing people. Unfortunately, they still face predigous today and probably always will.

Going back in time, deaf people were said to be untouchable and unbearable to live with. As a result, they were placed in asylums and isolated and ignored from the rest of the world. However, in the late 16th century a physician named Geronimo Cardano discovered that deaf people could be taught with a combination of hand signs and finger spelling. The conclusion to this was the first edition of a deaf alphabet, published in1620 by a man named Juan Pablo de Bonet. Since then, technology and techniques for the deaf have come a long way.

As time went by, more opportunities were present for the deaf. The first school for the deaf was founded in 1755 by Abbe Charles Michel de L'Eppe of Paris. L'Eppe added his own creative genius for not only ASL, but also a signed version of spoken French. A German educator brought forth the idea of speech or lip reading. He developed a manual and oral methods used in today's concept of communication. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, a minister, became interested in helping the deaf community by meeting a young girl named Alice Cogswell. He studied communication methods with Abbe Roche Ambroise Sicard in Paris. He returned with Laurent Clerc who alternately became the United States first deaf teacher for Gallaudet University. This university was founded by non other that Thomas Gallaudet in 1817. Milestones began to grow with the opening of Gallaudet College during the American Civil War in 1864 in Washington D.C. This school remains the only liberal arts college for deaf people in the U.S. and the world existing today.

Causes of Deafness

There are several causes of deafness some that results in different levels of hearing loss.
1. Microtia, which is a deformity of the outer ear effective at birth. With this, there may or may not be an ear canal or what's called an auditory canal, located in the inner ear. There are four types of grades of Microtia.
1. Type 1: Small but normal looking ear
2. Type 2: Moderately deformed external ear
3. Type 3: Only a little tissue visible
4. Type 4: Anotia-no sign of any ear

2. Miniere's Disease is a disorder that affects balance and hearing. With this you could experience dizziness, loss of hearing in one or both ears, and ringing and noises in the ears, known as Tinnitus. Ear infections and head injuries may cause Meniere's Disease.
Causes of Hearing Loss in Adults

1. Ototoxic Drugs
Just like dying from overdoses, large quantities of certain drugs could cause hearing loss. Such drugs are aminoglycoside antibiotics, salioylales in large levels of aspirin, loopdiuretics, and drugs used in chemotherapy regimens.
3. Of course excess and repeated exposure to loud noises can cause hearing loss. The longer you're exposed the more damage is done to the hair cells in the cochlea. Noise-induced hearing loss can develop gradually, but painlessly.

4. People can be born with hearing loss, which can be contracted from a disease being carried by the mother. Rubella disease is a form of German Measles that automatically affects the child.

What can you do for deafness?

Now there are proven ways to treat deafness; one is the hearing aid. It's a common misconception that hearing aids cure deafness, but all they really do is amplify sounds. There is no total cure for deafness that presently exists. Scientists are working on what's called a cochlear Implant. This advanced surgery could be the wave of the future and help all causes of deafness all over the world.
According to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, there are about 9 million people who are hard of hearing or deaf in the UK. Many have had gradually losses of hearing throughout their lifetime. There are also some where around 123,000 people over age 16 who were born hearing but developed severe or profound deafness all over the world today.

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/hearing_loss/article_em.htm#Hearing%20Loss%20Overview

http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/disorders/types.htm

http://www.hearingloss.org/