Hearing loss
Hearing loss is either a partial inability to hear, or a total inability termed deafness. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken language. In adults, it can create difficulties with social interaction and at work. Hearing loss can be temporary or permanent. Hearing loss related to age usually affects both ears and is due to cochlear hair cell loss. In some people, particularly older people, hearing loss can result in isolation and loneliness.
Underlined words are explained — tap any of them.
Symptoms — what it feels like
- ·Decreased ability to hear
Causes — why it happens
- ·, aging, exposure to noise, some , birth , to the ear, certain medications or toxins
Prevention
- ·Immunization, proper care around pregnancy, avoiding loud noise, avoiding certain medications
Treatment
- ·Hearing aids, sign language, cochlear implants, closed captioning, subtitles
Complications
- ·Social isolation,
The sections below are general education drawn from public guidelines (NHS, Mayo, CPIC, WHO, ICMR). They are not individually reviewed by a clinician and are not medical advice — always talk to a doctor about your own health.
When to see a doctor
If sound is muffled after water, wax, or a cold, it often clears on its own, but do not poke anything into the ear.
See a doctor if hearing fades gradually, you keep asking people to repeat themselves, turn the volume up high, or have ringing in the ears. For a baby or child, get hearing checked if they do not respond to sound or speech is delayed.
Get urgent care for sudden hearing loss in one or both ears, hearing loss with severe ear pain, discharge, dizziness, or after a head injury. Sudden hearing loss can sometimes be treated better when seen quickly.
General guidance, not a diagnosis. When in doubt, see a doctor.
Questions to ask your doctor
- ?Which hearing tests do I (or my child) need?
- ?What is likely causing the hearing loss?
- ?Is it likely to get worse, and can it be helped?
- ?Could it be inherited, and should family be checked?
- ?How can I protect the hearing I have?
- ?Do I need to see an ear specialist or audiologist?
What to note before your visit
- ·when hearing changed and if it was sudden or gradual
- ·one ear or both
- ·any ringing, pain, discharge, or dizziness
- ·family history of hearing loss
Test yourself
0/4 answered4 quick questions on Hearing loss. Tap an answer to check it.
Across the other high- (india) gene set (GJB2), 19 -'' are actually seen in South Asians () - many European-absent and still clinically 'uncertain'. For hearing loss, that's a pool of computationally-damaging, India-relevant, clinically-unresolved variants no one has systematically characterised.
A study that would help: Take the South-Asian-observed, European-absent, ClinVar-uncertain in GJB2 and them for hearing loss: functional or family segregation to move them from 'uncertain' to a real call. Each is a usable diagnostic result.
India's most common deafness-gene variant is the one Western tests don't lead with
Inherited hearing loss in India is frequently down to the GJB2 (connexin-26) gene — responsible for roughly a fifth of non-syndromic cases. But the specific differs: in India the is W24X (c.71G>A), making up around 72% of GJB2 mutant alleles across studies, while 35delG — the variant Western testing leads with — accounts for only ~15%. It is essentially the reverse of Europe.
A GJB2 test tuned to the European 35delG under-detects Indian deafness, because the common Indian cause is W24X. raises the further. Early matters: it guides cochlear-implant decisions and family counselling within the window where intervention changes a child's language development.
The Indian GJB2 (W24X-led) is well described. The gap is making a cheap, W24X-first newborn or early screen standard, so deaf children are identified early enough for implantation and language to develop.
A W24X-first GJB2 screen integrated into newborn hearing programs in high- regions, measuring how much earlier it confirms a cause than audiology alone.
- High-frequency GJB2 (W24X) mutations in Kerala, Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2009 ↗
- Connexin-26 (GJB2) mutations in non-syndromic hearing loss, Indian J Pediatr 2018 ↗
- D2I2 rare-pathogenic South-Asian scan (GJB2)