Ms. Pan, 53, was diagnosed with hearing loss at the age of 30 and has worn hearing aids on both sides for 24 years. However, the hearing in her left ear suddenly declined to severe hearing loss 7 years ago, so the hearing aid is not effective. A year ago, the hearing loss in his right ear also dropped sharply to severe hearing loss. He was often unable to recognize speech and communicate with others, which seriously affected his daily life and required him to seek medical treatment.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, as the world's population ages, hearing deterioration becomes more obvious from the age of 50. In 2020, at least 70-80% of the world's 1.2 billion people over the age of 60 will have hearing impairment. Phenomenon. For various causes of hearing impairment, except sudden hearing impairment that can be cured with medication, otitis media or other sound transmission hearing impairment that can be cured by surgery, most hearing impairments require the assistance of hearing aids.

Among them, "otosclerosis" is a disease that Taiwanese are relatively unfamiliar with. This genetic disease is more prevalent in Europe and the United States, with an incidence rate of about 0.5% among whites in Europe and America, and about 0.5% among blacks and Orientals. It is less. Patients with otosclerosis experience gradual hearing loss from a young age, and usually both ears are damaged.

Yang Zonghan, director of the Department of Otolaryngology at Lianhe Maternal and Child Hospital in Beishi, said that "osteogenesis imperfecta", which has an incidence rate of 1 in 20,000, may lead to high-grade otosclerosis. "'Osteogenesis imperfecta' can be divided into 8 types," Yang Zonghan pointed out. Severe "osteogenesis imperfecta" is commonly known as "glass doll", and the one that can cause otosclerosis is type 1 osteogenesis imperfecta.

Symptoms of otosclerosis

Otosclerosis probably includes the following symptoms:

1. Progressive loss of hearing: early hearing The loss is mainly in low frequencies, and speech recognition ability is still good. It is usually purely conductive, but sensorineural damage may occur years later. Hearing impairment usually begins in adolescence.

2. Tinnitus: 70% of patients have unilateral or bilateral tinnitus. The early stage is low-frequency pulsating tinnitus; in the middle stage, it causes a rumbling or hissing sound due to damage to the inner ear.

3. Dizziness: Rarely occurs. However, it is common if the vestibular balance organ is violated and toxic enzymes enter the inner ear labyrinth to cause imbalance.

Surgical treatment of otosclerosis

Yang Zonghan said that if the degree of hearing impairment reaches severe hearing impairment (greater than 70 decibels) and extremely severe hearing impairment (greater than 90 decibels), Due to the deterioration of the cochlear auditory hair cells, the speech discrimination ability becomes worse, and it is difficult for traditional hearing aids to help alone. At this time, artificial electronic ears are needed to skip the auditory hair cells and directly activate the neurons in the cochlea to hear and understand the sound. .

Yang Zonghan introduced that the surgery was performed using a small wound of 3-4 cm. During the implantation, the round window was not obvious and looked like a long depression. A 1mm ear drill was used to open the front and bottom of the window and a cavity was found. , the scala tympani was confirmed to be the scala tympani after being opened downward with a microscopic needle, and the pre-curved electrode was used to successfully implant it. All 22 electrodes responded during the operation.

"There are not many surgeries of this kind, but this surgery was quite successful. There was no facial nerve damage. Moreover, the frequency was turned on 2 weeks after the operation, and the patient could understand the conversation in 1 week. After the frequency modulation, you can talk on the phone." Because it is impossible to read lips when talking on the phone, the patient's hearing progress can be said to be very remarkable.

Yang Zonghan reminded that installing artificial electronic ears can help the hearing-impaired to improve their hearing health, prevent the hearing-impaired from being isolated from society, and avoid the occurrence of dementia in the future. If it meets the conditions of middle- and low-income households, You can also refer it to relevant units to apply for medical subsidies.