Hearing Loss and Music
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Hearing loss is defined as diminished sensitivity to the sounds normally heard. Globally, hearing loss affects about 10% of the population to some degree. It caused moderate to severe disability in 124.2 million people as of 2004 (107.9 million of whom are in low and middle income countries). Of these, 65 million acquired the condition during childhood. At birth, around 3 per 1000 in developed countries and more than 6 per 1000 in developing countries have hearing problem. There is a progressive loss of ability to hear high frequencies with increasing age known as presbycusis. This begins in early adulthood, but does not usually interfere with ability to understand conversation until much later. Although genetically variable it is a normal concomitant of aging and is distinct from hearing losses caused by noise exposure, toxins or disease agents. A sensorineural hearing loss is one resulting from dysfunction of the inner ear, the cochlea, the nerve that transmits the impulses from the cochlea to the hearing center in the brain or damage in the brain. The most common reason for sensorineural hearing impairment is damage to the hair cells in the cochlea. As one grows older, the hair cells degenerate and lose their function, and our hearing deteriorates. Depending on the definition it could be estimated that more than 50% of the population over the age of 70 has an impaired hearing. Impaired hearing is the most common physical handicap in the industrialized world.
Noise-induced hearing loss Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) occurs when too much sound intensity is transmitted into and through the auditory system. An acoustic signal from an energy source, such as a radio, enters into the external auditory canal, and is funneled through to the tympanic membrane (eardrum). The tympanic membrane acts as an elastic diaphragm and drives the ossicular chain of the middle ear system into motion. Then the middle ear ossicles
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Hearing loss is defined as diminished sensitivity to the sounds normally heard. Globally, hearing loss affects about 10% of the population to some degree. It caused moderate to severe disability in 124.2 million people as of 2004 (107.9 million of whom are in low and middle income countries). Of these, 65 million acquired the condition during childhood. At birth, around 3 per 1000 in developed countries and more than 6 per 1000 in developing countries have hearing problem. There is a progressive loss of ability to hear high frequencies with increasing age known as presbycusis. This begins in early adulthood, but does not usually interfere with ability to understand conversation until much later. Although genetically variable it is a normal concomitant of aging and is distinct from hearing losses caused by noise exposure, toxins or disease agents. A sensorineural hearing loss is one resulting from dysfunction of the inner ear, the cochlea, the nerve that transmits the impulses from the cochlea to the hearing center in the brain or damage in the brain. The most common reason for sensorineural hearing impairment is damage to the hair cells in the cochlea. As one grows older, the hair cells degenerate and lose their function, and our hearing deteriorates. Depending on the definition it could be estimated that more than 50% of the population over the age of 70 has an impaired hearing. Impaired hearing is the most common physical handicap in the industrialized world.
Noise-induced hearing loss Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) occurs when too much sound intensity is transmitted into and through the auditory system. An acoustic signal from an energy source, such as a radio, enters into the external auditory canal, and is funneled through to the tympanic membrane (eardrum). The tympanic membrane acts as an elastic diaphragm and drives the ossicular chain of the middle ear system into motion. Then the middle ear ossicles
Bibliography: Mirhaj, P., Khani, G., Sedaie, M., and Faghihzadeh, S.The effect of music on hearing of string musicians.Audiology. 14,2. p.56.