Essay On Congenital Hearing Loss

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Congenital hearing loss is described as hearing loss that exists at birth. Factors responsible for this condition include those present during pregnancy (such as hereditary factors), as well as factors present after pregnancy. An inherited congenital hearing loss could be conductive, sensorineural, or even a combination of both. The amount or progression of this type of hearing loss varies according to each individual’s case. According to Richard Smith, congenital hearing loss is “syndromic (associated with malformations of the external ear or other organs or with medical problems involving other organ systems) or nonsyndromic (no associated visible abnormalities of the external ear or any related medical problems)…” Over 400 genetic syndromes are associated with congenital hearing loss. These include Treacher Collins, an autosomal dominant disorder and Down syndrome, an x-linked hearing loss. Although congenital hearing loss can be difficult to live with, hearing aids, surgery, and therapy are all available as forms of treatment. Hearing loss must be treated as soon as possible to prevent as many delays in the child’s language development as possible.
Congenital hearing loss can be the result of several causes. As mentioned before, it is a type of hearing loss present at birth. There may be hereditary factors that play into this type of hearing loss, along with others that are prenatal or present at birth. Fifty percent of congenital hearing incidents in children are all caused by genetic factors. These may be autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or related to the sex chromosome X.
When one parent carries a dominant gene for hearing loss or has hearing loss, this means that they have the autosomal dominant gene for it...

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...n the treatment process because this is the primary way to get undistorted sound waves directly to the inner-ear. The problem for patients with this disorder tends to be malformations of the external and middle ear. By bypassing those two areas a sound can be successfully transmitted directly into the inner ear via a bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA). The BAHA consists of a sound processor which takes in sound waves and transmits them to the external abutment. The vibrations then go through this abutment and into the titanium implant which works through direct bone conduction, via the skull bone which is integrated within and stimulates the nerve fibers of the inner ear. The malformations of the external and middle ear can be treated through reconstructive surgery. Success of this varies depending on how severe different aspects of the individual’s anomalies are.

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