The treatments vary depending on the type, site/s and severity of hearing loss. This is best assessed and diagnosed by an Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist.
The appropriate treatment may be conservative observation, hearing aiding and /or ear surgery. For children with persisting “glue ear” especially when in both ears with notable signs of language and /or attention problems, a ventilation tube (grommet) can be placed into the eardrum by surgery. For patients with a perforated eardrum, this can be repaired by surgery.
For patients with bilateral complete deafness, a cochlear implant sound processor should be considered. This re-stimulates the deaf ear using an electrode array and some very clever speech software processing. The new sound that is heard will indeed be different. Speech and hearing rehabilitation exercises to re-learn these sounds would be required. Children do better than adults with these cochlear implants. Studies have shown that a child’s brain has a higher neuro-plasticity than an adult, and therefore a greater capacity to adapt to new sounds and learning development.
The information aims to provide educational purpose only. Anyone reading it should consult ENT Specialists before considering treatment and should not rely on the information above.
