The Treatment of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss with The Help of Cochlear Implant

Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL) is a common problem which is a sudden deafness in the ear, usually in just one ear where the inner ear (cochlea) gets inflamed or swollen, this is because of trauma such as head injuries or impaired blood circulation.

The function of a cochlea is to transfer pressure waves into nerve impulses. The wave travels through the ear canal and to the tympanic membrane, also known as the ear drum, where the waves are then intensified, which allows us to hear sound. [image: Image result for ear diagram]Symptoms of sudden sensorineural hearing loss is having trouble with hearing (e. g. In conversations), hearing muffled sounds, dizziness, problems with balance and tinnitus which is ringing or buzzing sounds in the ear.

To treat sudden sensorineural hearing loss, the most common treatment is steroids and circulation-enhancing medication, in severe cases, a surgical intervention like a cochlea implant is needed. Steroids are used to reduce inflammation and swelling, which opens the inner ear pathway, hence, helping to hear better. Circulation-enhancing medication is used to improve blood flow in the inner ear since in some cases the blood flow decreases which cause sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Cochlear implant is a sound technology that will help treat sudden sensorineural hearing loss, if the conservative treatments were unsuccessful, this happens by implanting an electronic medical device which will do the work of the inner ear and replace the damaged cochlear.

There are many ways to diagnose sudden sensorineural hearing loss, such as, an MRI scan, audiometry also by a physical exam using a tuning fork. An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan is used to look for any unusual things going on in the ear, for example, a tumor. An MRI scan takes detailed pictures of the inner ear which help diagnose SSHL. An audiometry is used by an audiologist where the patient will be taking tests which is a number of sounds with different volumes to test their hearing ability, this will determine what faded hearing level the patient is at. The physical exam is taken by a doctor which will make the patient listen to an amount of different sounds with different volumes, the tuning fork will be able to measure the vibrations in the ear which will help the doctor diagnose the patient’s case which will determine the defected ear.

There are many implications with the cochlear implant surgery which concern the patient, there also are implications which concern the social factor locally and internationally. For the negative implications there are the risks, if the surgery goes wrong the patient might have irreversible hearing loss for their whole life, another implication is that they will not be able to attend work for a few days since they had a surgery. For the benefits in the social factors, there are, that the patient will be able to hear, and this benefits them by following conversations and meetings in work, also another positive factor is that the person will be able to enjoy simple entertainments such as listening to music or watching a movie.

In an international context, a cochlear implant is applied to help people in need which usually are in third world countries where the citizens can’t afford the surgery. There are benefits and limitations for the cochlear implant surgery, benefits are that the patients will be able to hear properly and it’s a cure not just a treatment and it’s also long term. Limitations for this is that the nerve injury will change your sense of taste and the device will not work when it’s infected, that means they’ll have to replace it.

Even though cochlear implants are financially challenging by some people in the UAE, the government hospitals provide a coverage of cochlear implants to people in need by utilizing the money from the budget that was collected by charity campaigns, this is also reflected internationally by holding charity campaigns worldwide, especially in third world countries by assessing, investigating and treating people with SSHL.

Using sound technology, such as cochlear implants, to treat sudden sensorineural hearing loss has many benefits that outweighs the risks in many areas that concern the patient and that concerns the social factors.