India’s most popular and renowned female playback singer, Alka Yagnik, suffers from hearing loss. The Bollywood singer revealed this to her fans and friends on Instagram yesterday.
Alka Yagnik was diagnosed with a rare condition called “sensorineural hearing loss” by doctors a few days ago. According to health experts, this primarily happens due to damage to the inner ear.
Revealing her condition on social media, the legendary singer wrote, “This sudden major setback has caught me completely unaware.”
Let’s understand what “sensorineural hearing loss” is and what causes it.
“Suddenly, I felt, I was not able to hear.”
On Monday, acclaimed Bollywood singer Alka Yagnik took to social media to reveal her medical condition. In an emotional post, Alka disclosed that she is suffering from hearing loss.
On Instagram, she wrote, “A few weeks ago, as I walked out of a flight, I suddenly felt, I was not able to hear anything.”
While narrating her ordeal to her fans and friends, she said, Having mustered some courage in the weeks following the episode, I want to break my silence.
“It has been diagnosed as a rare sensory-neural nerve hearing loss, due to the viral attack. As I attempt to come to terms with it, please keep me in your prayers.”
The Bollywood singer has sung more than 9,000 songs in over 300 films during her playback singing career.
Giving caution and advice to all the youngsters over loud music and headphones, she further wrote, “For my fans and young colleagues, I would add a word of caution regarding exposure to very loud music and headphones.”
The 90s-era singer has been recognised as the most streamed artist in the world by Guinness World Records. In the year 2022, she had 15.3 billion YouTube views, of which 12.3 billion, or 80%, were registered users from India.
What is “sensorineural hearing loss”?
Now let us understand more about “sensorineural hearing loss”.
Health experts say many people complain about difficulty hearing when someone is talking to them, while there is a sound in the background. Like being in a crowded place and not being able to hear properly.
According to the American Speech-language Hearing Association, “Sensorineural hearing loss, or SNHL, happens after inner ear damage. Problems with the nerve pathways from your inner ear to your brain can also cause SNHL. Soft sounds may be hard to hear. Even louder sounds may be unclear or may sound muffled.”
“Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when there is dysfunction of the cochlea or the nerve pathways of hearing,” according to Stanford Medicine.
- Sound normally travels down the ear canal to vibrate the ear drum (tympanic membrane). The ear drum is connected to three middle ear bones (malleus, incus, and stapes), which transmit the sound into the inner ear (cochlea). The cochlea is the organ that changes sound vibrations into a nerve signal that goes to the brain.
((Source: Standford Medicine))
What causes this condition?
According to the American Academy of Audiology, it is estimated that the annual incidence of sudden sensorineural hearing loss is 1 in 5000 people, or about 4000 new cases per year in the US.
In the case of Alka Yagnik, the cause is a viral infection. But, there are many other causes of Sensorineural hearing loss.
- Illnesses.
- Drugs that are toxic to ear.
- Hearing loss that runs in the family.
- Aging.
- A blow to the head.
- A problem in the way the inner ear is formed.
- Listening to loud noises or explosions.
((Source: https://www.asha.org/public/hearing/sensorineural-hearing-loss/))
Symptoms of Sensorineural hearing loss
- Some sounds seem overly loud in one ear.
- You have problems following conversations when two or more people are talking.
- You have problems hearing in noisy areas.
- It is easier to hear men’s voices than women’s voices.
- It is hard to tell high-pitched sounds (such as “s” or “th”) from one another.
- Other people’s voices sound mumbled or slurred.
- You have trouble hearing when there is background noise.
((Source: https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/symptoms/sensorineural-deafness))
Are there any treatments available?
According to health experts, there is no cure for permanent sensorineural hearing loss. However, there are ways to help people who are diagnosed with this condition. Hearing aids, cochlear implants, or assisted hearing devices can assist patients in managing their hearing loss.
Mayank Bhagwat 