Deaf in One Ear

Of all our five senses, after the sense of sight, hearing is of prime importance. Without hearing ability, understanding language and consequently understanding people would be difficult, if not impossible. Hearing loss problems exist and we need to deal with them. Hearing loss in one ear, also called unilateral hearing loss, though not as severe as total hearing loss, is a prevalent problem all over the world. Being deaf in one ear can cause a substantial problem especially in children, leading to problems ranging from learning disability to social isolation. There are many types of deafness. This article will talk about the symptoms, causes and treatment of this single ear hearing impairment.

Let us see what characterizes the condition of being 'Deaf', 'Hearing Impaired' or 'Hard of Hearing'. Any kind of hearing impairment is an inability, ranging from partial to complete, to detect a range of audio frequencies, which fall within the hearing ability of human ear. Sounds are longitudinal disturbances that travel through any material medium, especially air. Hearing loss involves an inability to detect some sound frequencies or low amplitude sounds. Some people become partially or fully deaf in one ear, while their other ear is unaffected. This condition is called unilateral hear loss (one sided hearing loss), as opposed to bilateral hear loss, which is human deafness in both ears. In a 1998 study, conducted in the United States of America, it was found that as much as 6 - 12 children in a thousand, suffer from mild unilateral hearing loss, while up to five children among thousand, suffer from partial to profound unilateral hearing loss.

Some people become deaf in one ear after swimming, which is mostly due water choking and sudden change in air pressure. Sometimes, people become deaf in one ear after a cold. Both these conditions are usually cases of temporary hearing loss. Being deaf in one ear is a disability which can be cured depending on the observed degrees of hearing loss and its cause. There can be various causes of sudden hearing loss. Let us explore the various aspects related to the condition of being deaf in one ear or persistent unilateral hearing loss.

Symptoms of Deafness in One Ear
Profound unilateral hearing loss is a condition wherein, there is a total inability to detect sound, by one ear. The other type is partial unilateral hearing loss in which the person is not completely deaf in one ear, but can hear some frequencies or high amplitude sounds. Here are the symptoms of unilateral hearing loss or single sided deafness (SSD), ranging from partial to profound.

• A substantial hearing loss on one side.
• Inability to localize the source of a particular sound, that is sound disorientation.
• An inability to understand the spoken word in presence of a pronounced background, that is, inability of speech discrimination.
• A symptom which is often seen in a person affected by profound unilateral hearing loss is 'Tinnitus', which is a ringing noise, that is persistently or intermittently heard by the affected person.
• Another symptom shown in people affected by profound unilateral hearing loss is that they can hear only monoaural sound, that is, sound transmitted on a single channel or specific frequencies.

Causes of Deafness in One Ear
There is no single reason which causes a person to be deaf in one ear. The hearing loss causes, range from damage to the whole auditory apparatus to damage to the neural mechanism, that helps in interpreting sound. Here are some of the causes of partial and profound unilateral hearing loss.

• Meningitis
• Microtia
• Acoustic Neuroma
• Physical trauma
• Mumps
• Measles

Treatment Options
The treatment of being deaf in one ear is through the use of hearing aids mostly. In some cases, inner ear surgery may improve hearing ability. Hearing aids mostly work with people who are partially deaf in one ear. Here are the two hearing aid based treatment methods, that can help people who are deaf in one ear:

• Hearing Aid Based on Contralateral Routing of Signals (CROS): This hearing aid solves the problem of inability to hear sound from one ear, by taking in sound signals from one side and transmitting it to the good ear. It consists of two wired or wireless devices fitted behind both ears, which enables hearing.
• Hearing Aid Based on Bone Anchored Hearing Aid: This type of hearing aid enables hearing among people deaf in one ear, by conducting sound through bones. It also stimulates the cochlea of the good ear. This hearing aid involves the embedding of certain devices in the inner ear, which enable hearing sound among people who are deaf in one ear.

Hope this article has given you a comprehensive overview of some of the aspects associated with the condition of being deaf in one ear. Technology is improving with time and it can now effectively compensate for most of the disabilities that occur in humans, including deafness.