Did you know that 3 in 1,000 infants are born with a congenital hearing disability or hearing loss? These can have a significant impact upon the child’s development, especially with regards to speech, and may lead to them becoming mute if left undiagnosed and untreated. Adults can experience hearing loss at a young age as a result of a loud work environment, or simply from listening to loud noises for example from watching a movie, listening to music, or frequenting clubs.
With this in mind, Bangkok Hospital Medical center realizes the importance of infant care and treatment for individuals with hearing disabilities and has opened the Hearing, Speech, Balance & Tinnitus Center with the aim of improving the population’s quality of life.
Presently, the growth of modern medical technology allows us to diagnose hearing disabilities and hearing loss in infants since birth. If there are suspicions of hearing difficulties then a diagnosis should be carried out within the first 6 months because this will contribute greatly to treatment and rehabilitation through the use of hearing aids and speech lessons. Hearing loss or deafness can lead to speech impediments or muteness. If one waits too long to receive a diagnosis from a medical specialist it can make recuperation difficult as the part of brain that is responsible for the development of hearing would have been lost by the age of 2. As such, treatment for children with hearing disabilities should begin preferably before the age of 1, as the brain will be more susceptible to learning and improvement. Once the child is over the age of 6, recuperation can be difficult or ineffective because the brain’s development had stalled. If a child does not receive diagnosis upon birth, symptoms can be observed by parents at home. These include: the child is unresponsive to communication, or when called he/she does not turn, learning difficulties, does not attempt to imitate parent’s speaking, or does not speak clearly.
Services available at Hearing, Speech, Balance, & Tinnitus Center
- Otoacoustic Emission Test (OAEs) – a sound which is generated from within the normal inner ear can inner ear health.
- Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) – a useful non-invasive diagnostic tool for measuring hearing when conventional hearing tests cannot be used.
- Auditory Steady State Response (ASSR) – this is another type of audiogram from which questions regarding hearing, hearing loss, and aural rehabilitation can be answered and information for hearing aids fitting.
- Fitting Hearing Aids – for individual fit – Fit to Fit
- Cochlear Implant – a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing.
- Audiology and Speech Therapy in hearing impaired children – is essential
– Hearing Loss and Dizziness
– Hearing loss and deafness in babies
– Vertigo and Dizziness
Seniors with tinnitus, deafness, dizziness
Individuals aged 60 and above are often referred to as seniors, often symptoms of tinnitus, deafness, or dizziness are often ignored and attributed to the body’s natural deterioration. Often with this assumption, no attempts are made to remedy such symptoms because it is often considered normal. This is a general misunderstanding about hearing and especially how hearing contributes to balance in the elderly. Today, more and more attention is being given to seniors experiencing tinnitus, deafness, and dizziness.
Care for senior patients is a complex and delicate procedure due to illnesses not being isolated to an organ; rather it is a result of abnormalities in several organs simultaneously. There is also the chance of other chronic illnesses that includes symptoms of the body’s natural deterioration. The aforementioned makes diagnose and treatment more difficult, as such the medical team must have expertise and understand the factors that contribute to good health in the elderly.
Losing the ability to maintain balance, dizziness, as well as hearing loss are issues commonly associated with the elderly. However, these are preventable and symptoms can be reduced if not fully treated. Furthermore, dizziness can be a sign of other hidden physical and mental conditions such as ischemia of the brain or inner ear.
The Hearing, Speech, Balance & Tinnitus Center at Bangkok Hospital has a specialized medical team supported by advanced medical technology to diagnose and treat hearing, speech, balance, and tinnitus conditions.