Medical specialists in ear, nose and throat management have warned Nigerians against drug misuse, poor treatment of infections in pregnancy, as well as exposure to loud noise, noting that unknown to many people, they could lead to sudden hearing loss.
According to the experts, certain medications when used inappropriately which often arise from self-medication can damage some very sensitive organs in the ear and lead to hearing loss.
The experts also cautioned Nigerians against undue exposure to loud noise, warning that such could also cause sudden deafness.
Speaking with our correspondent, the experts, ENT Head and Surgical Resident at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Dr. Onyekachi Iheagwu, and the Head ENT, National Hospital, Abuja, Dr. Abiodun Olusesi said it has become imperative for the Nigerian nation to pay better attention to and address factors leading to sudden hearing loss among Nigerians.
Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise, Dr. Iheagwu said that hearing loss could happen to a baby even in the womb and due to some other cases after birth.
He said: “The misuse of some drugs, drug overdosage, improperly treated maternal infections in pregnancy should all be addressed as they could cause hearing loss. It is important to stress that there are some diseases that a pregnant woman might experience that if not properly treated can affect the developing child. Then after birth, there are other things like exposure to loud noise which is also dangerous and many people do not know this.
“People should also stop inserting objects into their ears, you see people using feathers and some even stick to clean their ears, which could rupture the eardrum and lead to hearing loss.
“Then when a child is sick, like a child who has even developed his hearing, sometimes when they suffer from some sicknesses and they are given some drugs like chloroquine, quinine, or geneticin, it could lead to hearing loss.”
Dr. Iheagwu also added that some health conditions could also lead to hearing loss.
“A lot of health conditions could lead to hearing loss. Some of these health conditions include some congenital heart diseases, that’s diseases the child was born with, they have multiple symptoms. Some of them like gastrointestinal, and developmental disorders could lead to hearing disorders. There is also the welding box syndrome and chromosome disease.
“Then harmful practices, such as when a child is convulsing and people inserting stuff into the ears, nose, and all that. So much could lead to hearing loss. There are also some diseases in adults that could lead to hearing loss. This includes complicated diabetes and sickle cell diseases. Both could lead to hearing loss. Patients on cancer drugs are also at risk as some of the drugs are auto-toxic to the ear cells which could lead to ear loss.
“In this teaching hospital, we’ve been having quite a good number of hearing loss cases. Some authorities have said it is up to 30 per cent in our clime, others have put it at ranges as low as let’s say 10-15 per cent so I’ll just say the range is about 10-30 per cent,” Dr. Iheagwu said.
The ENT specialist explained that factors often responsible for hearing loss can be grouped into three major groups.
