Hearing Loss Prevention

Hearing Loss: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment covers hearing loss, causes and prevention, treatments, and future directions in the field, also looking at the cognitive problems that can develop. To avoid the “silent epidemic of hearing loss, it is necessary to promote early screening, use hearing protection, and change public attitudes toward noise. Successful treatments of hearing loss deal with restoring hearing sensitivity via hearing aids, including cochlear, brainstem, or midbrain implants. Both the technical aspects and effects on the quality of life of these devices are discussed. The integration of all aspects of hearing, hearing loss, prevention, and treatment make this a perfect one-volume course in audiology at the graduate student level. However, it is also a great reference for established audiologists, ear surgeons, neurologists, and pediatric and geriatric professionals. Presents an in-depth overview of hearing loss, causes and prevention, treatments, and future directions in the field Written for researchers and clinicians, such as auditory neuroscientists, audiologists, neurologists, speech pathologists, pediatricians, and geriatricians Presents the benefits and problems with hearing aids and cochlear implants Includes important quality of life issues

The brain is the most complex organ in our body. Indeed, it is perhaps the most complex structure we have ever encountered in nature. Both structurally and functionally, there are many peculiarities that differentiate the brain from all other organs. The brain is our connection to the world around us and by governing nervous system and higher function, any disturbance induces severe neurological and psychiatric disorders that can have a devastating effect on quality of life. Our understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of the brain has improved dramatically in the last two decades. In particular, the critical role of cations, including magnesium, has become evident, even if incompletely understood at a mechanistic level. The exact role and regulation of magnesium, in particular, remains elusive, largely because intracellular levels are so difficult to routinely quantify. Nonetheless, the importance of magnesium to normal central nervous system activity is self-evident given the complicated homeostatic mechanisms that maintain the concentration of this cation within strict limits essential for normal physiology and metabolism. There is also considerable accumulating evidence to suggest alterations to some brain functions in both normal and pathological conditions may be linked to alterations in local magnesium concentration. This book, containing chapters written by some of the foremost experts in the field of magnesium research, brings together the latest in experimental and clinical magnesium research as it relates to the central nervous system. It offers a complete and updated view of magnesiums involvement in central nervous system function and in so doing, brings together two main pillars of contemporary neuroscience research, namely providing an explanation for the molecular mechanisms involved in brain function, and emphasizing the connections between the molecular changes and behavior. It is the untiring efforts of those magnesium researchers who have dedicated their lives to unraveling the mysteries of magnesiums role in biological systems that has inspired the collation of this volume of work.

CONTENTSHearing and Hearing Loss--An Introduction. Factors Affecting Hearing Loss. Development of Acoustic Principles. The Physics of Musical Instruments. Hearing Protection. Clinical Assessment of Musicians - Audiologist as a Detective. Room Acoustics. Clinical and Environmental Strategies to Reduce Music Exposure. The Human Performance Approach to Prevention. References. Index.

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.