What are the facts about hearing impairment?
According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2005 estimates, 278 million people across the world suffer from some kind of hearing impairment, including, but not limited to, total deafness. “Hearing impairment” technically refers to partial or total loss of hearing in either one ear or in both; it encompasses both conductive and sensorineural hearing impairment issues. These may be obtained from environmental factors, or they may be congenital (in other words, acquired at birth.) Most of the facts about hearing impairment typically fall into two categories. Conductive hearing impairment is defined as a problem with the sound wave-conducting tissue in the middle or outer ear. It is commonly due to such causes as untreated childhood ear infections and is can generally be cured or treated through use of both medications and surgical methods. Sensorineural hearing impairment, on the other hand, involves the inner ear and occasionally the main nerve that connects it to the brain. It re
