Ho Chi Minh City Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital has recorded a sudden increase in deaf children recently, recommending parents to detect them early and take them to the hospital as soon as possible˳
A child with hearing loss is examined at the Ho Chi Minh City Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital – Photo: M˳THUONG
Dr˳ Le Tran Quang Minh – director of the Ho Chi Minh City Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital – informed that the number of children who were diagnosed with sudden deafness at the hospital had increased recently˳ Most children have sudden deafness in one ear, rarely both ears˳
Specifically, on average, every recent month, the hospital receives examination and treatment for about 4-5 children with sudden deafness; while on average every month before, only 1-2 children or no cases at all˳
Spot the “culprit” of sudden deafness in children
Dr˳ Nguyen Tuong Duc, deputy head of pediatrics – general hospital Ho Chi Minh City, said that sudden deafness in children is sensorineural deafness, which occurs when the hearing loss is over 30 dB (decibels) per person˳ 3 consecutive frequencies within 3 days˳
Regarding the cause of sudden deafness, there have been studies in adults, but in children the cause is almost unknown, mainly due to viral infections (measles, mumps, shingles…)˳
Dr˳ Quang Minh added that, under pressure in studying, children often stay up late to study and do homework, exam stress can cause blood vessels in the ear to be blocked, or spasm, leading to sudden deafness˳ sudden increase in children˳
Besides, with the hot summer weather, most of us (including children) like to take a cold shower˳ This is a possible cause of vasoconstriction causing sudden deafness in both children and adults˳
About the common cause of sudden deafness, the most common cause is spasm of blood vessels, causing poor blood supply to the cochlear vascular system, thereby leading to hearing loss˳
In addition, a viral infection or infection of the ear, trauma or tumor can also cause sudden deafness˳
How to detect sudden deafness in a child?
Doctor Minh said that sudden deafness in children is different from that of adults˳
Adults will recognize themselves as suddenly deaf and often occur after a night bath (body temperature changes suddenly from hot to cold) or early in the morning after waking up˳ As for children, it is more difficult to recognize, especially young children who have not yet realized that they have hearing loss˳
In older children (14 – 15 years old) will find themselves with one-sided hearing loss as adults˳ But with younger children, they will not recognize and detect sudden deafness, but only through manifestations such as poor academic performance and sometimes inability to concentrate˳
For younger children, whose deafness has not been described, they often experience discomfort in one ear˳ Manifestations are that the baby often rubs the ear on the side with hearing loss or turns the ear on the side of the ear towards someone who is talking˳
“The ear is a relatively special structure: small, narrow, difficult to see˳ Therefore, when detecting a child with hearing loss, it is best for parents to take the child to specialized ENT facilities for examination, diagnosis and treatment˳ suitable”, recommended doctor Minh˳
Dr˳ Minh emphasized that the “gold standard” for treating patients with sudden deafness is the time of early detection and proper treatment˳ If the patient is diagnosed with deafness early and is given appropriate medication, the recovery rate is high, with 70-85% in about 2 weeks˳
However, this success rate decreases with time of detection˳ If detected after 2 weeks, the rate will decrease to 50-60% and this rate is lower if the detection time is longer˳
Regarding the treatment plan, Dr˳ Minh said that depending on the group of causes, doctors will give the necessary tests to diagnose whether the patient is deaf or not, such as audiometry, tympanometry, and reflex measurements˳ pedal muscle…
After being diagnosed with sudden deafness, patients will do some imaging tests such as: otolaryngoscopy, CT-Scan and MRI… to see if there is a tumor with cerebellar pontine angle and cause sudden deafness˳ or not˳
Once all possible physical causes of sudden deafness have been ruled out, the doctor will focus on the most common causes, which are sudden spasm of blood vessels, lack of blood supply due to the change in body temperature from hot to cold or have surgical diseases such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, etc˳
To prevent sudden deafness, frequent stress should be avoided; limit bathing in cold water, take a warm bath; well control the underlying disease for people with underlying diseases (high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, diabetes…)˳
How to deal with sudden deafness
Source link: https://cocc˳edu˳vn/tang-tre-bi-diec-dot-ngot-ap-luc-hoc-tap-thich-tam-nuoc-lanh-20230607150953662˳htm
