deafness is a topic covered in the Taber's Medical Dictionary.
Complete or partial loss of the ability to hear. The deficit may be temporary or permanent. More than 20 million Americans have hearing impairment; most of them are over 65; about 5% are children. Hereditary forms of hearing impairment affect about 1 newborn in 2000. In this population hearing deficits may impair language acquisition and speech. Acquired hearing loss affects the lives of nearly half of all people over 80, in whom it may be a prominent cause of social isolation or depression.
Hearing impairment has multiple causes. Congenital deafness occurs during pregnancy or delivery and in such syndromes as neurofibromatosis or Usher syndrome. Toxic deafness may result from exposure to such agents as salicylates, diuretics, or aminoglycoside antibiotics, or be due to infections of the central nervous system (meningococcal meningitis, syphilis) or of the eighth cranial nerve. Many viruses may contribute to loss of hearing, as may prolonged or repetitive exposures to environmental noise. Otosclerosis is an example of bilateral conductive hearing loss due to progressive ossification of the annular ligaments of the ear. Presbycusis is an otologic effect of aging resulting from the loss of hair cells in the organ of Corti and leading to progressive, symmetrical, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, esp. of high-frequency tones. Sudden hearing loss may result from ear trauma, fistulae, stroke, drug exposures, cancer, multiple sclerosis, vasculitis, or Ménière disease. Not infrequently, adult patients with unilateral conductive hearing loss have a cerumen impaction.
Venes, Donald, editor. "Deafness." Taber's Medical Dictionary, 23rd ed., F.A. Davis Company, 2017. Nursing Central, nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/730897/all/deafness.
Deafness. In: Venes D, ed. Taber's Medical Dictionary. 23rd ed. F.A. Davis Company; 2017. https://nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/730897/all/deafness. Accessed April 20, 2019.
Deafness [Internet]. In: Venes D, editors. Taber's Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company; 2017. [cited 2019 April 20]. Available from: https://nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/730897/all/deafness.