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In the UK,
it is estimated that some
8.7m people are deaf or
partially
hearing.
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Hearing loss is one
of the most common impairments affecting both young
and old throughout the world. Unfortunately, because
it is invisible few people are aware of its existence!
There are 2 main types of deafness, Conductive and
Sensori-Neural.
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Conductive hearing loss
Conductive deafness arises
from any defect or blockage in those parts of the
ear which conduct sound to the inner ear i.e. any
defect or blockage in the outer or middle ear. This
type can often be helped or remedied medically or
surgically. It is also the type of deafness that
can be most easily helped by amplification.
Unfortunately those suffering from conductive deafness
often suffer from that plus some nerve deafness
which complicates the choice of hearing aid. Such
deafness is named ’Mixed Deafness’.
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Sensori-Neural hearing
loss
Sensori-Neural deafness is
sometimes called ’nerve deafness’ or ’perceptive
deafness’. The effects of this vary greatly
since the frequencies lost or damaged determine
what a person hears.
It is also possible to have damage to the auditory
nerve leading to the brain from the inner ear. This
prevents the person from correctly interpreting
the sounds he or she hears.
The
effects of deafness are many and varied.
Each person is
different from the other. The aids available
may be very different even for two people
with identical audiograms (maps of frequency
and volume levels). While Mini Loop®
products don’t work for every type
of hearing impairment, for many people
the improvement is dramatic, even life
changing. |
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