Meningitis
Meningitis is a disease that occurs due to the inflammation of the meninges, which surround the central nervous system: the brain, and the spinal cord. Meningitis is a very serious neurological disease that damages important membranes that cover the spinal cord and the brain, which aid in transmission of impulses and relay of senses across the body. Usually, pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites as well as malignant disorders cause meningitis in the population. However, common causes of meningitis are pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. As a neurological disorder, meningitis impairs hearing and sight among patients. According to a case study, 65 year old man who suffers from meningitis experiences difficulties in communication because of “poor vision, deafness, and altered mental status” (Bruce, Tehrani, Newman, & Biousse, 2010, p. 564). In this case, meningitis inflames membranes that are critical in hearing and sight. Hence, the presentation examines deafness and blindness as two main sensual deficits of meningitis.
Hearing Deficit
Meningitis causes an individual to lose hearing ability because it damages membranes involved in hearing. A damage of essential membranes in hearing impairs hearing ability of an individual and eventually leads to deafness when severe inflammation emerges. Meningitis affects meninges in the brain that are responsible for relaying impulses from ear to the brain. Inflamed and swollen meninges impair with normal hearing ability because auditory nerves and eardrums cannot respond to sound vibrations normally. According to Hoffman and Weber (2009), about 50% of the meningitis survivors experience neurological effects that impair hearing, because “clinically as well as experimentally, the hippo-campus seems to be the most vulnerable area of the brain” (p. 403). Hence, the patient in the case study has lost his hearing ability due to the damage caused by inflammation of meninges. To ascertain the level of meningitis inflammation, major diagnostic tests done are serological tests of cerebrospinal fluid. Scanning using computer tomography is also necessary to locate the sites of inflammations.
Sight Deficit
Meningitis usually causes blindness among individuals. Inflammation of the meninges by the pathogens causes irreversible damage on the optic nerves, thus making a patient to become blind. Meningitis damages optic nerves due to either pressure caused by swelling or due to inflammation of the vital membranes, which transmit optic impulses from the eyes to the brain. Combination of both pressure and inflammation makes an individual to experience complete loss of sight. Overt signs and symptoms of meningitis can result into an abscess in anterior fontanelle, thus interfering with optic nerves (Irani, 2008). The extent of the sight loss is dependent on the inflammation on the optic nerves and meninges responsible for good eyesight. To examine the extent of eyesight damage, physicians examine visual acuity of a patient. Additionally, to assess the nature of myelopathy, physicians perform magnetic resonance imaging because it shows the extent and site of damage that meningitis has caused on the membranes in the brain and spinal cord.
References
Bruce, B., Tehrani, M., Newman, N., & Biousse, V. (2010). Deafness and blindness as a presentation of colorectal meningeal carcinomatosis. Clinical Advances in Hematology & Oncology,8(8), 564-568.
Hoffman, O., & Weber, J. (2009). Pathophysiology and treatment of bacterial meningitis. Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders, 2(6), 401-412. Irani, D. (2008). Aseptic meningitis and viral myelitis. Neurologic Clinics 26(3), 1-19.