When silence is not golden

MANILA, Philippines - The French-German artist Jean Arp describes our addiction to sound succinctly. “Soon, silence will have passed into legend,” he says. “Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day, he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation … tooting, howling, screeching. Booming, crashing, whistling, grinding and trilling bolster his ego.”

 The thing is, we have become too attached to our devices. With earphones attached to the newest, most expensive MP3 players, we crank up the volume and go about surrounded by sound. But while the music helps us get into the groove of our daily tasks, the irony is that constant, loud sounds can contribute to hearing loss.

“Deafness can be noise-induced,” confirms Dr. Gretchen Navarro-Locsin, head of pediatric otorhinolaryngology (ORL) at the St. Luke’s Medical Center. She explains that there are two kinds of deafness — that which is congenital or present at birth, and acquired deafness which occurs later on in life.

“Hearing loss can be a consequence of infection and trauma. It can be noise-induced and age-related,” explains Dr. Locsin. The degree of hearing loss is classified as mild when an individual may hear some speech but will have some difficulty discerning the sound of consonants; moderate, when a patient hears almost nothing when another person is talking at normal sound levels; and severe, when only the loudest sounds can be heard. Since sound is necessary to be able to communicate, hearing loss becomes a cause for isolation. “Silence is a burden for the hearing-impaired members of a community,” says Dr. Locsin.

 The most common cause for babies being born deaf is when the mother contracts rubella or German measles during the first trimester of pregnancy. Premature babies also have increased risk for hearing loss because their auditory system is not yet mature and is thus vulnerable to damage.

 In older children, otitis media or infection and inflammation of the middle ear is linked to the incidence of deafness. Statistics show that the disease which is locally known as “luga” is so common that six out of 10 children will experience more than one otitis media infection by the time they are a year old; four in five children will experience at least one episode by age three; and by seven years old, one-third will have suffered six infections. Otitis media can go on to more chronic forms of the disease which cause perforation of the eardrums, and consequently, hearing disability.

Tumors can lead to hearing loss, and certain antibiotics are ototoxic or cause damage to the ear, specifically the cochlea and auditory nerve. Dr. Locsin recommends that “antibiotics should be taken in prescribed therapeutic dosages” to avoid this, and one should not self-medicate or use antibiotics indiscriminately.

   Understandably, substance abuse can also result in deafness. “Drug abuse affects all systems of the body including the auditory nerves,” says Dr. Locsin.  Inhalants like shabu, for example, spread toxic chemicals throughout the body so that apart from hearing, the kidneys, liver, bone marrow and other organs are affected. Malnutrition is also a factor to consider because an undernourished child becomes susceptible to diseases, including those involving the ear. “Hearing loss is a social, educational, and medical problem,” concludes Dr. Locsin.

To increase the public’s awareness on hearing impairments and to encourage the deaf to become functioning members of society, the second week of November has been designated as Deaf Awareness Week (DAW). This year’s event carries the theme “Educate, Enrich, Empower,” with the Metro Manila Federation of the Deaf (MMFD) embarking on an awareness campaign whose ultimate goal is the improvement of the quality of life for the hearing-impaired.

A commitment to prevent hearing loss: Melissa Veloso, GSK Vaccine marketing manager; Derrick Sim, VP-GSK Vaccines Commercial; Dr. Norberto Martinez, MMFAD chairman; Dr. Gretchen Locsin-Navarro, FPSOHNS-Otorhinolaryngology of St. Luke’s Medical Center; Veron Medina, GSK CME manager; and Anna Leah Favia, GSK Vaccines product manager

“We want to uplift the position of deaf individuals in our society. Together with our partner organizations, we will center on aiding them to become an integral part of the community by enabling them with skills and enhancing their innate talent,” says Dr. Norberto Martinez, chairman of MMFAD and head for DAW 2011. “Sometimes we are more cognizant of (the difficulties encountered by) the blind and physically disabled because hearing impairment is not as visible,” he observes. “Fifty percent of the cause of deafness is preventable.”

Newborn hearing screening allows for early rehabilitation should a problem exist, hearing aid devices allow auditory-impaired children to learn language naturally, and cochlear implants have been in the Philippines since 1997.

At a program to initiate the Deaf Awareness Week celebration this year, the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) donated vaccines against Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD), which is a leading cause of meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis, and otitis media in children. Moreover, Dr. Derrick K. Sim, commercial director for vaccines, signified the company’s firm commitment to preventing congenital hearing loss by donating to MMFAD rubella vaccines for pregnant women.