Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

There are an estimated 8.7 million people in the UK who have either a hearing loss or are hard of hearing. Out of this 8.7 million around 2 million people use a hearing aid. (www.rnid.org.uk) Hearing loss can occur at any stage throughout life and may be present from birth. As with the other senses hearing deteriorates with age and therefore some degree of hearing loss occurs during later life. There are two forms of hearing loss, these are conductive and sensiorneural. Conductive hearing loss occurs between the outer and middle ear and leads to a loss of loudness. This can be overcome through medical and surgical means. For example a build up of wax may cause an individual to have difficulty in hearing. This would be overcome by the use of eardrops or syringing. The other form of hearing loss is sensorineural. This occurs when there is damage to the cochlea in the inner ear. This can also lead to a loss of loudness as well as a distortion of sound. Therefore the individual, even if the are close to the source of the sound, will have difficulty in understanding the sound. This form of hearing loss cannot be cured in medical or surgical means and therefore a hearing aid or cochlea implant is required. (Cowan D) For many p