What is Single Sided Deafness?
Single Sided Deafness (SSD) is often a permanent condition that refers to significant or total hearing loss in one ear. SSD can affect people of any age; some people are born with it, while others acquire it later in life due to disease or their environment. The most common age group of SSD sufferers is 35-54 years of age. Although symptoms vary from person to person, the most common symptoms are:
- Being unable to locate where a sound is coming from.
- Difficulty distinguishing between background noise and a target sound such as speech.
- Inability to hear anything from one direction.
SSD can be caused by a variety of other conditions, including:
- Physical Trauma
- Acoustic Neuroma
- Microtia
- Diseases such as meningitis, mumps, or measles
- Sudden deafness
- Inner ear infections
- Tumors in the ear or the brain
- Pressure on the hearing nerve
Although there is no cure for SSD, there are treatments and groundbreaking technologies available to restore the sensation of hearing on the deaf side. The BAHA, or bone-anchored hearing aid, is one of the treatment options available.
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