This book systematically discusses the pathogenesis, prevention, and the current and potential clinical treatment of hearing loss, as well as the latest advances in hearing research. Hearing loss is a prevalent sensory disorder, which according to a 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) report affected 9% of the global population in 2015. As populations continue to age, more and more people are suffering from the condition, with 60% of those aged between 65 and 75 affected. Hearing loss seriously affects patients’ ability to work ability and quality of life, and as such deafness has become an increasingly urgent social problem around the globe. Sensorineural hearing loss is mainly caused by damage to the hair cells (HCs), and the subsequent loss of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs). Damage to the HCs in the inner ear can result from exposure to loud noises and environmental and chemical toxins as well as genetic disorders, aging, and certain medications. This book provides ENT specialists and researchers, as well as individuals affected a comprehensive introduction to the field of hearing loss.
Hearing loss is one the commonest disabling diseases affecting populations of all ages worldwide. The impairment of hearing may be the cause of impaired language development in children, the cause of scholarly issues in adolescents, the cause of worsening of quality of life in the adults, and the cause of isolation of aged people. In this book, the authors present the hearing loss in all its facets, starting from the basis of pathophysiology and anatomy, passing through the clinical and instrumental diagnosis and, finally, describing the most important diseases causing hearing loss with reasonable treatment options. A section was dedicated to the imaging of the ear with about 100 original figures. The readers will find a complete classification of genetic hearing loss and all information related to congenital deafness as well. A wide section was reserved to the description and discussion of the most important pathology leading to hearing loss (Meniere's disease, otosclerosis, trauma and occupational hearing impairment, etc.). The treatment of hearing loss is continuously evolving with the progress of technology, and the authors gave a wide space to describe all treatment options available for the patients, providing all information useful to manage hearing disease correctly.
Otology and Neurotology provides guidance on the clinical and practical management of diseases of the ear and lateral skull base.It discusses the latest techniques and technologies that encompass the complex nature of the specialty.Topics important to the otologist and neurotologist, such as chronic ear disease, cochlear and brainstem implants, robotic surgery, and many others, are covered by experts in their fields. This book is an invaluable reference for residents, fellows, allied health professionals, comprehensive otolaryngologists, otologists, neurotologists, and skull base surgeons. Key Features: Applied anatomy and physiology of the ear and lateral skull base Evidence-based approach to diseases of the ear and lateral skull base Practical presentation of cutting-edge concepts in otology and neurotology The contributors to this volume are internationally recognized experts in otology, neurotology, and lateral skull base surgery.
The loss of hearing - be it gradual or acute, mild or severe, present since birth or acquired in older age - can have significant effects on one's communication abilities, quality of life, social participation, and health. Despite this, many people with hearing loss do not seek or receive hearing health care. The reasons are numerous, complex, and often interconnected. For some, hearing health care is not affordable. For others, the appropriate services are difficult to access, or individuals do not know how or where to access them. Others may not want to deal with the stigma that they and society may associate with needing hearing health care and obtaining that care. Still others do not recognize they need hearing health care, as hearing loss is an invisible health condition that often worsens gradually over time. In the United States, an estimated 30 million individuals (12.7 percent of Americans ages 12 years or older) have hearing loss. Globally, hearing loss has been identified as the fifth leading cause of years lived with disability. Successful hearing health care enables individuals with hearing loss to have the freedom to communicate in their environments in ways that are culturally appropriate and that preserve their dignity and function. Hearing Health Care for Adults focuses on improving the accessibility and affordability of hearing health care for adults of all ages. This study examines the hearing health care system, with a focus on non-surgical technologies and services, and offers recommendations for improving access to, the affordability of, and the quality of hearing health care for adults of all ages.
This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This handbook synthesizes and analyzes the growing knowledge base on life course health development (LCHD) from the prenatal period through emerging adulthood, with implications for clinical practice and public health. It presents LCHD as an innovative field with a sound theoretical framework for understanding wellness and disease from a lifespan perspective, replacing previous medical, biopsychosocial, and early genomic models of health. Interdisciplinary chapters discuss major health concerns (diabetes, obesity), important less-studied conditions (hearing, kidney health), and large-scale issues (nutrition, adversity) from a lifespan viewpoint. In addition, chapters address methodological approaches and challenges by analyzing existing measures, studies, and surveys. The book concludes with the editors’ research agenda that proposes priorities for future LCHD research and its application to health care practice and health policy. Topics featured in the Handbook include: The prenatal period and its effect on child obesity and metabolic outcomes. Pregnancy complications and their effect on women’s cardiovascular health. A multi-level approach for obesity prevention in children. Application of the LCHD framework to autism spectrum disorder. Socioeconomic disadvantage and its influence on health development across the lifespan. The importance of nutrition to optimal health development across the lifespan. The Handbook of Life Course Health Development is a must-have resource for researchers, clinicians/professionals, and graduate students in developmental psychology/science; maternal and child health; social work; health economics; educational policy and politics; and medical law as well as many interrelated subdisciplines in psychology, medicine, public health, mental health, education, social welfare, economics, sociology, and law.
The book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of pediatric ENT infections. It brings together the experience of authors from more than 30 countries and aims to provide a broader understanding of the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in children, that will likely lead to improve their health globally. In addition to new infections like COVID-19, the work reviews the latest treatments modalities. The list of topics ranges from basic to very advanced and the book will be therefore an invaluable resource for ENT and pediatrics trainees and students, as well as for experienced practitioners in these fields.
This textbook provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in otolaryngology, discussing all the newly advances in the subspecialties of head and neck, plastics, otology, laryngology, rhinology and pediatrics, and also addressing topics like allergy, sleep medicine, trauma, and the fundamentals of systemic diseases that frequently manifest in the head and neck region. The book is divided into 9 sections, presenting the recent literature concerning all the subspecialties in otolaryngology and providing the information necessary for readers to gain an understanding of the field of otolaryngology. Each chapter includes definitions, key points and take-home messages, to aid learning. Throughout the book, tips and key features are highlighted with boxes, tables and figures, which the reader can refer back to for quick revision. Above all, the book enables medical students, residents and junior specialists in the field of ENT to develop their learning and surgical skills.
Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery is the medical and surgical specialty addressing disorders of the head and neck in both adult and pediatric populations. The goal of the encyclopedia is to serve as a single and comprehensive source of all the information that is essential for students and practitioners of the specialty. The vast amount of information included in the encyclopedia is divided into 5 volumes in line with the subspecialties of general otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, pediatric otolaryngology, otology–neurotology, and facial plastics. All volume editors are internationally recognized otolaryngologists with experience in publishing. Each section editor recruited experienced authors from all over the world to contribute on structured topics, and all entries are supported by published references. Thus, all information included in the encyclopedia is from credible sources and has been carefully screened for accuracy. The strength of the encyclopedia is its online availability and quick search features, which allow rapid retrieval of definitions and more in-depth information. Key words are hyperlinked to provide a gateway to numerous referenced manuscripts, journals, and books.
In the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress declared that its purpose was to assure, so far as possible, safe and healthful working conditions for every working man and woman and to preserve our human resources. In this Act, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is charged with recommending occupational safety and health standards and describing exposure concentrations that are safe for various periods of employment-including but not limited to concentrations at which no worker will suffer diminished health, functional capacity, or life expectancy as a result of his or her work experience. By means of criteria documents, NIOSH communicates these recommended standards to regulatory agencies (including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA]) and to others in the occupational safety and health community. Criteria documents provide the scientific basis for new occupational safety and health standards. These documents generally contain a critical review of the scientific and technical information available on the prevalence of hazards, the existence of safety and health risks, and the adequacy of control methods. In addition to transmitting these documents to the Department of Labor, NIOSH also distributes them to health professionals in academic institutions, industry, organized labor, public interest groups, and other government agencies. In 1972, NIOSH published Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Noise, which provided the basis for a recommended standard to reduce the risk of developing permanent hearing loss as a result of occupational noise exposure [NIOSH 1972]. NIOSH has now evaluated the latest scientific information and has revised some of its previous recommendations. The 1998 recommendations go beyond attempting to conserve hearing by focusing on preventing occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). This criteria document reevaluates and reaffirms the recommended exposure limit (REL) for occupational noise exposure established by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in 1972. The REL is 85 decibels, A-weighted, as an 8-hr time-weighted average (85 dBA as an 8-hr TWA). Exposures at or above this level are hazardous. By incorporating the 4000-Hz audiometric frequency into the definition of hearing impairment in the risk assessment, NIOSH has found an 8% excess risk of developing occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) during a 40-year lifetime exposure at the 85-dBA REL. NIOSH has also found that scientific evidence supports the use of a 3-dB exchange rate for the calculation of TWA exposures to noise. The recommendations in this document go beyond attempts to conserve hearing by focusing on prevention of occupational NIHL. For workers whose noise exposures equal or exceed 85 dBA, NIOSH recommends a hearing loss prevention program (HLPP) that includes exposure assessment, engineering and administrative controls, proper use of hearing protectors, audiometric evaluation, education and motivation, recordkeeping, and program audits and evaluations. Audiometric evaluation is an important component of an HLPP. To provide early identification of workers with increasing hearing loss, NIOSH has revised the criterion for significant threshold shift to an increase of 15 dB in the hearing threshold level (HTL) at 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, or 6000 Hz in either ear, as determined by two consecutive tests. To permit timely intervention and prevent further hearing losses in workers whose HTLs have increased because of occupational noise exposure, NIOSH no longer recommends age correction on individual audiograms.
