Hearing Loss From Pathogenesis To Treatment

This book systematically discusses the pathogenesis, prevention, and the current and potential clinical treatment of hearing loss, as well as the latest advances in hearing research. Hearing loss is a prevalent sensory disorder, which according to a 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) report affected 9% of the global population in 2015. As populations continue to age, more and more people are suffering from the condition, with 60% of those aged between 65 and 75 affected. Hearing loss seriously affects patients’ ability to work ability and quality of life, and as such deafness has become an increasingly urgent social problem around the globe. Sensorineural hearing loss is mainly caused by damage to the hair cells (HCs), and the subsequent loss of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs). Damage to the HCs in the inner ear can result from exposure to loud noises and environmental and chemical toxins as well as genetic disorders, aging, and certain medications. This book provides ENT specialists and researchers, as well as individuals affected a comprehensive introduction to the field of hearing loss.

Hearing loss is one the commonest disabling diseases affecting populations of all ages worldwide. The impairment of hearing may be the cause of impaired language development in children, the cause of scholarly issues in adolescents, the cause of worsening of quality of life in the adults, and the cause of isolation of aged people. In this book, the authors present the hearing loss in all its facets, starting from the basis of pathophysiology and anatomy, passing through the clinical and instrumental diagnosis and, finally, describing the most important diseases causing hearing loss with reasonable treatment options. A section was dedicated to the imaging of the ear with about 100 original figures. The readers will find a complete classification of genetic hearing loss and all information related to congenital deafness as well. A wide section was reserved to the description and discussion of the most important pathology leading to hearing loss (Meniere's disease, otosclerosis, trauma and occupational hearing impairment, etc.). The treatment of hearing loss is continuously evolving with the progress of technology, and the authors gave a wide space to describe all treatment options available for the patients, providing all information useful to manage hearing disease correctly.

Understanding tinnitus and treating patients with tinnitus must involve many disciplines of basic science and clinical practice. The book provides comprehensive coverage of a wide range of topics related to tinnitus including its pathophysiology, etiology and treatment. The chapters are written by researchers and clinicians who are active in the areas of basic science such as neurophysiology and neuroanatomy and in clinical specialties of psychology, psychiatry, audiology and otolaryngology. * Comprehensive coverage of the pathology and cause of tinnitus including genetics * Hyperacusis, phonophobia and other abnormalities in perception of sounds * The role of neural plasticity in tinnitus

Otology and Neurotology provides guidance on the clinical and practical management of diseases of the ear and lateral skull base.It discusses the latest techniques and technologies that encompass the complex nature of the specialty.Topics important to the otologist and neurotologist, such as chronic ear disease, cochlear and brainstem implants, robotic surgery, and many others, are covered by experts in their fields. This book is an invaluable reference for residents, fellows, allied health professionals, comprehensive otolaryngologists, otologists, neurotologists, and skull base surgeons. Key Features: Applied anatomy and physiology of the ear and lateral skull base Evidence-based approach to diseases of the ear and lateral skull base Practical presentation of cutting-edge concepts in otology and neurotology The contributors to this volume are internationally recognized experts in otology, neurotology, and lateral skull base surgery.

In the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress declared that its purpose was to assure, so far as possible, safe and healthful working conditions for every working man and woman and to preserve our human resources. In this Act, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is charged with recommending occupational safety and health standards and describing exposure concentrations that are safe for various periods of employment-including but not limited to concentrations at which no worker will suffer diminished health, functional capacity, or life expectancy as a result of his or her work experience. By means of criteria documents, NIOSH communicates these recommended standards to regulatory agencies (including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA]) and to others in the occupational safety and health community. Criteria documents provide the scientific basis for new occupational safety and health standards. These documents generally contain a critical review of the scientific and technical information available on the prevalence of hazards, the existence of safety and health risks, and the adequacy of control methods. In addition to transmitting these documents to the Department of Labor, NIOSH also distributes them to health professionals in academic institutions, industry, organized labor, public interest groups, and other government agencies. In 1972, NIOSH published Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Noise, which provided the basis for a recommended standard to reduce the risk of developing permanent hearing loss as a result of occupational noise exposure [NIOSH 1972]. NIOSH has now evaluated the latest scientific information and has revised some of its previous recommendations. The 1998 recommendations go beyond attempting to conserve hearing by focusing on preventing occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). This criteria document reevaluates and reaffirms the recommended exposure limit (REL) for occupational noise exposure established by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in 1972. The REL is 85 decibels, A-weighted, as an 8-hr time-weighted average (85 dBA as an 8-hr TWA). Exposures at or above this level are hazardous. By incorporating the 4000-Hz audiometric frequency into the definition of hearing impairment in the risk assessment, NIOSH has found an 8% excess risk of developing occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) during a 40-year lifetime exposure at the 85-dBA REL. NIOSH has also found that scientific evidence supports the use of a 3-dB exchange rate for the calculation of TWA exposures to noise. The recommendations in this document go beyond attempts to conserve hearing by focusing on prevention of occupational NIHL. For workers whose noise exposures equal or exceed 85 dBA, NIOSH recommends a hearing loss prevention program (HLPP) that includes exposure assessment, engineering and administrative controls, proper use of hearing protectors, audiometric evaluation, education and motivation, recordkeeping, and program audits and evaluations. Audiometric evaluation is an important component of an HLPP. To provide early identification of workers with increasing hearing loss, NIOSH has revised the criterion for significant threshold shift to an increase of 15 dB in the hearing threshold level (HTL) at 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, or 6000 Hz in either ear, as determined by two consecutive tests. To permit timely intervention and prevent further hearing losses in workers whose HTLs have increased because of occupational noise exposure, NIOSH no longer recommends age correction on individual audiograms.

Update on Hearing Loss encompasses both the theoretical background on the different forms of hearing loss and a detailed knowledge on state-of-the-art treatment for hearing loss, written for clinicians by specialists and researchers. Realizing the complexity of hearing loss has highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary research. Therefore, all the authors contributing to this book were chosen from many different specialties of medicine, including surgery, psychology, and neuroscience, and came from diverse areas of expertise, such as neurology, otolaryngology, psychiatry, and clinical and experimental audiology.

Dizziness and vertigo are symptoms related to peripheral vestibular disorders. These are among the most common complaints in medical offices, and knowledge of the major diseases affecting this system is of fundamental importance to the specialist in otolaryngology. In recent years, great advances have been made in otoneurology, which, coupled with increasing knowledge in the field of neurosciences, have substantially modified the approach of the patient with balance complaints. This book studies the most polemic of these vestibular diseases, the Meniere's disease.