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Hearing Loss

Hearing Loss

Hearing Loss

Minor decreases in hearing are common after age 20.

Hearing problems usually come on gradually, and rarely end in complete deafness.  There are many causes of hearing loss. Hearing loss can be divided into two main categories:

  • Sensorineural – Sensorineural also called nerve loss or inner ear hearing loss is the most common type of hearing impairment. It stems from damage to the nerve endings in the inner ear or the nerves that transmit the message from the inner ear to the brain.
  • Conductive - Conductive hearing loss is the term used to describe a hearing loss caused by the interruption or reduction of sounds passage through the ear canal or middle ear space. For example, a perforated ear drum affects how well sound is received by the eardrum causing decreased hearing. Ear infections are also common causes of conductive hearing losses.
  • Perforation - Perforation of the ear drum is a tear or puncture of the ear drum.
  • Ear Infection - Otitus media with effusion is a middle ear infection with fluid. The fluid builds up in the middle ear reducing the mobility of the ear drum and middle ear bones. Reduced mobility results in a low frequency conductive hearing impairment. Below is a picture of a person’s eardrum who is suffering from otitus media with effusion. Note the fluid and air bubbles behind the eardrum.

Quiz

Ten Signs You Should Have Your Hearing Tested

  1. People complain your TV is too loud.
      Yes   No
  2. You are embarrassed by how many times you ask others to repeat themselves.
      Yes   No
  3. Hearing on the telephone is difficult.
      Yes   No
  4. You cannot follow conversation in noisy environments.
      Yes   No
  5. You feel everybody mumbles.
      Yes   No
  6. You frequently respond inappropriately because you misunderstood the question.
      Yes   No
  7. Women and children are difficult to understand.
      Yes   No
  8. People get annoyed with you because you misunderstood them.
      Yes   No
  9. Ordering dinner at a restaurant is difficult because you cannot understand the waiter.
      Yes   No
  10. You feel embarrassed to contribute at meetings or in group discussion, because you are not 100% sure what was said.
      Yes   No

Causes

Causes of Hearing Loss

Learn more about hearing loss.