The aim of this book is to explain the handicap of hearing loss to people with impaired hearing and to parents of hearing-impaired children. The book begins by describing how the normal ear functions and then differentiates between hearing loss in adults and children. The first section discusses childhood hearing loss occurring before normal speech development and addresses the medical care and education of the affected child. The second section explores adult problems, including hearing loss that can be successfully treated by surgery. The book includes a chapter on noise, the most common cause of hearing loss, and explains sudden deafness, hearing problems of old age, and the choice and use of hearing-aids.

1. Introduction: Normal Ear and Function

PART I: Childhood Hearing Loss

2. Normal Speech and Language Development

3. Types of Childhood Hearing Loss

4. The Hearing-Impaired Baby

5. Care of the Hearing-Impaired Infant

6. The Child with Deafness in One Ear

7. Glue Ear

PART II: Adult Hearing Loss

8. Otosclerosis

9. Eustachian Tube Problems

10. Eardrum, Middle Ear, and Mastoid Problems

11. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

12. Ageing Ears

13. Sudden Hearing Loss

14. Miscellaneous Hearing Problems

15. Aids to Hearing

16. The Future