Unilateral hearing loss, or single-sided deafness, is more common than people realize, prominently in kids.Because of this, the average person sees hearing loss as a black and white — either somebody has healthy hearing in both ears or reduced hearing on both sides, but that ignores one kind of hearing loss entirely.
A 1998 research estimated approximately 400,000 kids had a unilateral hearing loss due to trauma or disease in the moment. It is safe to say this number has gone up in that last two decades.
What’s Single-Sided Hearing Loss and What Causes It?
As its name implies, single-sided hearing loss indicates a reduction in hearing only in one ear. The hearing loss may be conductive, sensorineural or mixed. In intense cases, profound deafness is potential.
Causes of unilateral hearing loss differ. It can be the result of injury, for example, a person standing next to gunfire on the left may end up with profound or moderate hearing loss in that ear. A disorder can lead to this problem, too, for example:
- Measles
- Acoustic neuroma
- Meningitis
- Waardenburg syndrome
- Mastoiditis
- Microtia
- Mumps
Whatever the origin, a person who has unilateral hearing must adapt to a different method of processing sound.
Management of the Sound
The brain uses the ears nearly just like a compass. It identifies the direction of sound based on what ear registers it initially and at the maximum volume. When somebody speaks to you while positioned on the left, the brain sends a message to turn in that way.
Together with the single-sided hearing loss, the sound will only come in one ear regardless of what way it comes from. If you have hearing loss in the left ear, then your head will turn to search for the sound even if the person talking is on the right.
Pause for a second and consider what that would be similar to. The audio would always enter 1 side regardless of where what direction it comes from. How would you know where an individual talking to you is standing? Even if the hearing loss isn’t profound, sound direction is tricky.
Focusing on Audio
The brain also uses the ears to filter out background noise. It tells one ear, the one nearest to the sound that you wish to focus on, to listen to a voice. Your other ear manages the background noises. This is why in a noisy restaurant, so you may still concentrate on the dialogue at the table.
When you don’t have that tool, the brain gets confused. It is unable to filter out background sounds like a fan running, so that is everything you hear.
The Ability to Multitask
The mind has a lot going on at any one time but having use of two ears allows it to multitask. That’s why you’re able to sit and examine your social media sites whilst watching Netflix or having a conversation. With only one functioning ear, the mind loses that ability to do something while listening. It must prioritize between what you hear and what you see, which means you tend to lose out on the conversation around you while you browse your newsfeed.
The Head Shadow Effect
The head shadow effect describes how certain sounds are inaccessible to an individual having a unilateral hearing loss. Low tones have long frequencies so they bend enough to wrap around the mind and reach the ear. High pitches have shorter wavelengths and don’t endure the trek.
If you are standing beside an individual with a high pitched voice, then you might not know what they say if you don’t flip so the working ear is facing them. On the other hand, you might hear someone having a deep voice just fine no matter what side they are on because they produce longer sound waves which make it to either ear.
People with just a slight hearing loss in only one ear have a tendency to adapt. They learn fast to turn their head a certain way to listen to a friend talk, for instance. For those who battle with single-sided hearing loss, a hearing aid might be work round that yields their lateral hearing to them.
