Table Of ContentHEARING LOSS
Edited by Sadaf Naz
Hearing Loss
Edited by Sadaf Naz
Published by InTech
Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia
Copyright © 2012 InTech
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Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors
and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the
accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no
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Publishing Process Manager Martina Blecic
Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic
Cover Designer InTech Design Team
First published March, 2012
Printed in Croatia
A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com
Additional hard copies can be obtained from [email protected]
Hearing Loss, Edited by Sadaf Naz
p. cm.
ISBN 978-953-51-0366-0
Contents
Preface IX
Part 1 Hearing 1
Chapter 1 Technology for Hearing Evaluation 3
Josefina Gutierrez
Chapter 2 Contralateral Suppression of Otoacoustic Emissions:
Working Towards a Simple Objective Frequency Specific Test
for Hearing Screening 25
Nikolaus E. Wolter, Robert V. Harrison and Adrian L. James
Chapter 3 A Prediction Method for Speech Audibility
Taking Account of Hearing Loss Due to
Aging Under Meaningless Noise 51
Takahiro Tamesue
Chapter 4 The Mongolian Gerbil as a Model for the Analysis of
Peripheral and Central Age-Dependent Hearing Loss 67
Gleich Otto and Strutz Jürgen
Part 2 Childhood Hearing Loss 93
Chapter 5 Families of Children with Hearing Loss
and Parental Educational Practices 95
Bolsoni-Silva Alessandra Turini and
Rodrigues Olga Maria Piazentin Rolim
Chapter 6 Early Intervention with Children Who Have a Hearing Loss:
Role of the Professional and Parent Participation 117
Zerrin Turan
Part 3 Injuries & Traumas 133
Chapter 7 Hearing Loss in Minor Head Injury 135
Lingamdenne Paul Emerson
VI Contents
Chapter 8 Conductive Hearing Loss Due to Trauma 157
Olushola A. Afolabi, Biodun S. Alabi,
Segun Segun-Busari and Shuaib Kayode Aremu
Chapter 9 Occupational Chemical-Induced Hearing Loss 171
Adrian Fuente and Bradley McPherson
Chapter 10 Exploration Databases on Occupational Hearing Loss 191
Juan Carlos Conte, Ana Isabel García,
Emilio Rubio and Ana Isabel Domínguez
Part 4 Genetics 209
Chapter 11 Genetics of Hearing Loss 211
Nejat Mahdieh, Bahareh Rabbani and Ituro Inoue
Chapter 12 Genetics of Nonsyndromic Recessively Inherited Moderate to
Severe and Progressive Deafness in Humans 247
Sadaf Naz
Chapter 13 Genetic Hearing Loss Associated with
Craniofacial Abnormalities 275
S. Lunardi, F. Forli, A. Michelucci, A. Liumbruno, F. Baldinotti,
A. Fogli, V. Bertini, A. Valetto, B. Toschi, P. Simi, A. Boldrini,
S. Berrettini and P. Ghirri
Chapter 14 Usher Syndrome: Genes, Proteins, Models, Molecular
Mechanisms, and Therapies 293
Jun Yang
Part 5 Treatment 329
Chapter 15 Cochlear Implants in Children: A Review 331
Julia Sarant
Chapter 16 Intratympanic Corticosteroid
for Neurosensorial Hearing Loss Treatment 383
Malek Mnejja, Bouthaina Hammami, Amine Chakroun,
Adel Chakroun, Ilheme Charfeddine and Abdelmonem Ghorbel
Chapter 17 Effects and Prognostic Factors of Acupuncture Treatment for
Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss 393
Kyu Seok Kim and Hae Jeong Nam
Preface
Hearing loss affects 278 million people world wide and is one of the most significant
health problems. Deafness can be acquired due to environmental insults including
injuries and infections. Additionally, about 50 % of hearing loss is genetic and
scientists have identified nearly 100 genes implicated in deafness, while many more
remain to be identified. This book brings together different topics on our current
understanding of hearing loss.
The first section on “Hearing” presents a brief overview about normal hearing as well
as the technology and instruments involved in its measurement including audiometry
and auditory brainstem response as well as methods to record otoacoustic emissions.
Scientists have also investigated the listening scores of audio signals and the
psychological impressions related to speech audibility. In the last chapter in this
section, the suitability of the Mongolian gerbil is discussed, particularly as a model of
structural and functional aspects of age-dependent hearing loss in humans.
The section on “Childhood Hearing loss” provides an overview of parental practices
and behaviours related to children with and without hearing loss. The results
indicated that the interactions established between mothers and children favour the
acquisition and maintenance of social skills. Additionally, early detection of hearing
loss and prompt intervention gives children with deafness a chance to develop spoken
language comparable to those with normal hearing.
“Injuries & traumas” as cause of hearing loss are the focus of the third chapter in this
book. This section includes a report on head injuries in India and the ensuing hearing
loss. Symptoms of hearing loss were found in 10% of the patients with head trauma.
Sensorineural hearing loss was the most common finding in the affected individuals.
Additionally, perforation of the tympanic membrane is reported as a common finding
in Nigeria due to trauma to the ear. The next two chapters explore the role of ototoxic
agents such as solvents, pesticides and metals, and their interaction with noise in
causing hearing loss. Research conducted in human subjects exposed to these
chemicals indicates that these agents cause auditory dysfunction. The combined
influence of noise and chemical pollutants on hearing loss confirmed the existence of
an interaction between physical and chemical factors which influence the alteration of
auditory function.
X Preface
The “Genetics” of hearing loss is discussed in a series of review articles in the next
section. An overview is provided of different genes involved in nonsyndromic and
syndromic hearing loss and reflects the unparalleled heterogeneity of deafness genes.
Different modes of inheritance of deafness are also discussed. The genetics of
recessively inherited, moderate to severe and progressive hearing loss in humans is
covered in detail. Strategies are described about identification of modifiers of deafness
genes. Common craniofacial abnormalities inherited together with hearing loss are
discussed in the next chapter. The genes involved in causing Usher syndrome as well
as different mouse models for each of these genes are also comprehensively reviewed.
The last section of the book presents the “Treatment” of hearing loss for both genetic
and acquired cases of deafness. Cochlear implants are now accepted as the standard of
care for children with severe to profound hearing loss. They have allowed many
children to attend regular schools, and to develop their language, social and academic
skills to levels that exceed those for their peers with severe to profound hearing loss
using hearing aids. The efficacy of corticosteroid treatment through the eardrum and
into the middle ear to treat various otologic disorders, such as Meniere’s disease and
sudden sensorineural hearing loss is also reviewed. The last chapter discusses an
ancient Chinese technique of acupuncture for treatment of sudden sensorineural
hearing loss. The authors’ experimentally demonstrate improvement of the hearing
loss in more than 20% of the individuals who underwent the treatment. Acupuncture
has gained scientific ground after it was experimentally demonstrated that during this
process adenosine is released and improves different symptoms in patients. Exactly
how acupuncture may help in treating hearing loss remains to be determined.
It is hoped that the research and the reviews on various aspects of hearing loss
described in this book will be of benefit to different students and the researchers
working actively in this field. The coming years will see accelerated discoveries in
many research areas discussed in this book, particularly in genetics of deafness due to
the use of massively parallel sequencing technologies to identify disease genes.
Therapies based on genetic findings for treatment of hearing loss may also become
possible in future.
Ms. Martina Blecic, the publishing process manager, Ms Ana Pantar, editor relations
consultant and Ms Nina Dundovic, the technical editor contributed to editing of this
book.
Sadaf Naz
School of Biological Sciences,
University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590,
Pakistan
