Hearing impairment as social problem

Abstract

The hearing loss can occur at any stage of life - from prenatal to late old age. Etiology of hearing defects is varied: genetic load, congenital malformations, prenatal intoxications, perinatal injuries. The important causes of hearing impairment in young children could be diseases. In adulthood, hearing loss is caused by hearing cell degeneration and systemic diseases. Newborn hearing screening enables early detection of defects occurred at this stage of life. However hearing impairment could also be detectable at preschool and school age, as well as at over forty-year-olds or sixty -year -olds. Therefore, auditory screening should also be applied at these stages of life. The early detection of hearing loss does not however guarantee a rational approach to diagnosis and rehabilitation. The lack of effective control system causes undue delays, meaningfully reducing the results of rehabilitation. Due to the aging of the population in the developed world, hearing impairment is a growing problem that has been reported to reduce quality of life, particularly reducing one’s social activity and relations as well as the sense of value. Furthermore, hearing loss still remains a shameful and embarrassing problem in a socjety which eventually should be hidden even within the immediate family.