Auditory system pathology
HEARING LOSS
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affects at least 20 million people in the U.S.
(numbers are increasing dramatically as the population ages) -
1 in 1000 children is born profoundly deaf
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1 in 500 children has a hearing impairment significant enough to impact speech and language development, education or social development
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temporally, can divide hearing loss into PRELINGUAL or LINGUAL categories
types:
- CONDUCTIVE:
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processes that prevent sound from reaching the cochlea (i.e., outer and middle ear problems)
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- SENSORINEURAL:
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processes that damage hair cells, spiral ganglion cells (and/or the auditory nerve) or cochlear nucleus neurons
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- MIXED:
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both conductive and sensorineural
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- CONDUCTIVE:
- tests are available to distinguish among types of hearing loss:
- Rinne and Weber tests to distinguish conductive vs. sensorineural
- audiograms
OTHER CONDITIONS
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Central auditory processing disorders (CAPD)
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primarily CNS problems, but may involve sensorineural hearing loss
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