補聴器使用が奏功した高度難聴者の1例

Successful Use of Hearing Aid in a Patient with Profound Hearing Loss

I．はじめに

　高度難聴者の中には聴力が極度に悪いにもかかわらずわずかの聴覚を頼りに補聴器を使用して社会生活に不自由ないコミュニケーションを行っている例がある。今回中耳炎を伴う聾患者に鼓室形成術を行ったところ，低音域でわずかながらも聴覚がみられるようにこなり，さらにこ補聴器の使用で日常生活に不自由のない程度にこまでコミュニケーション能力の改善した症例を経験した。このような症例は実地臨床では必ずしも稀ではないと思われるが，高度難聴者の治療を考えるうえで参考になると思われるので，その詳細について報告する。

A deaf patient who regained hearing after tym-panoplasty and attained good speech intelligibility by use of a hearing aid was reported. The pa-tient is a 51-year-old barber, who had suffered from bilateral chronic otitis media since childhood. He had radical mastoidectomy on the right ear at the age of 31, resulting total deafness. At the age of 33, he had traffic accident, which worsened hearing of the left ear. He could have heard by use of a hearing aid on the left ear until chloro-mycetin otic drop was applied five years ago. Reconstruction of the ossicular chain and closure of tympanic membrane perforation improved hear-ing mainly at lower frequencies. Use of a hear-ing aid brought unexpected improvement in speech intelligibility sufficient for daily life.