Hearing Loss
Understand more information about the three types of hearing loss and causes of hearing loss.
Hearing Loss
The process by which sounds in our environment are collected, translated into nerve signals, and interpreted by our brains is nothing short of incredible. Hearing loss can arise from an issue in any part of this hearing sequence, and it’s helpful to understand the mechanisms underlying it. We believe that educating patients on every facet of hearing loss leads to the most appropriate hearing treatment available.
How we hear
Sound waves begin by entering your outer ear, called the pinna. It funnels these waves through your ear canal and into your middle ear, which are separated by the tympanic membrane, also known as the eardrum. This flexible membrane begins to move when sound vibrations hit it, which in turn starts to move the ossicles—the three small bones in the middle ear: the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup). These bones work together to amplify the sound waves and move them to your inner ear. The middle ear is often where hearing loss begins to occur, so it’s important that all of these moving parts are free of damage.
The inner ear is full of fine hair-like cells, replete with nerve endings, within a spiral-shaped organ called the cochlea. These tiny hair cells collect information from sound vibrations coming in from the middle ear and transmit those vibrations into nerve impulses, via the auditory nerve, to your brain. The brain processes and interprets these nerve impulses as sound in the auditory cortex, allowing us to hear sounds around us.
If you are experiencing hearing loss, it means that one of the above sections isn’t working correctly. Our hearing evaluation is designed to diagnose which type of hearing loss is present, and enables us to offer a range of treatment plans that are most appropriate for you.
Now that you understand how a healthy ear functions, let’s discover the three types of hearing loss and how they are caused.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Hearing Loss?
A number of factors can cause hearing loss. The most common include aging, noise exposure, ear infections, excessive earwax, ear or head trauma, genetics, birth defects, benign growths or tumors, otosclerosis, Meniere’s disease and reactions to drugs.
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Noise-induced hearing loss is the most common type experienced by younger individuals. It can be caused by exposure to a single loud sound, such as a gunshot or explosion, or by continuous exposure to loud noise over a period of time.
It is estimated that 15 percent of Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 are experiencing hearing loss that is the result of exposure to excessive noise either at work or through recreational activities. High-risk pursuits include hunting, riding motorcycles, listening to music at high volume and even mowing the lawn.
Age-Related Hearing Loss
The most common type of hearing loss is presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss. Diminished hearing is a common side effect of aging, usually coming on gradually and affecting high-pitched sounds most frequently. It occurs as a result of natural changes in the inner ear of an individual over time with additional variations from other chronic health conditions, exposure to medications, etcAn estimated one third of adults aged 65 or older experience age-related hearing loss; that number jumps to nearly 50 percent by the age of 75. Presbycusis usually affects both ears equally. It may be mild, moderate, severe, or profound affecting communication, social engagement, increasing feelings of depression, and increased risk of cognitive decline.
The Three Types of Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss is usually separated into three types:
Conductive hearing loss is caused by a physical or mechanical problem preventing the flow of sound waves into and through the ear. For example wax in the ear canal or fluid in the middle ear can create a blockage, preventing sound from getting into the inner part of the ear. These mechanical or physical problems can often be medically or surgically corrected.
Common causes of conductive hearing loss are:
- Fluid in the middle ear from colds
- Ear infections
- Allergies
- Perforated eardrum
- Impacted cerumen (earwax)
- Benign tumors
- Swimmer’s Ear
- Foreign object in ear
- Absence or malformation of the outer ear, ear canal, or middle ear
Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by damage or deterioration to the hair cells or nerve endings in the inner ear. For example damage from noise exposure or deterioration as a result of getting older.
Common causes of sensorineural hearing loss are:
- Illnesses
- Drugs that are toxic to hearing (ototoxicity)
- Genetics
- Aging (or Presbycusis)
- Head trauma
- Malformation of the inner ear
- Exposure to loud noise
Mixed hearing loss is a combination of conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss. When there is damage to either the outer or middle ear and the inner ear or auditory nerve, mixed hearing loss occurs.
The sensorineural hearing loss is permanent while the conductive hearing loss may be reversible. Mixed hearing loss typically occurs when the ear sustains some type of trauma or injury, but can also result from a combination of the possible causes listed above. Learn more about causes of hearing loss.
Whether it is a permanent hearing loss or only temporary will vary between individuals and needs to be assessed by an audiologist.
What Are the Symptoms of Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss isn’t always easy to detect. Symptoms often develop gradually and your brain learns to adapt, so you might not even notice there is anything wrong until your condition has advanced. Learning to recognize the signs early will improve your odds of successful treatment. Here are 10 signs you might have hearing loss.
- People seem to mumble when they speak.
- You often ask people to repeat themselves.
- You experience tinnitus (ringing in your ears).
- Others complain that you are watching TV or listening to music too loudly.
- You are unable to hear everyday household sounds (e.g., ringing doorbell).
- You have trouble following conversations in a large group setting, especially when background noise is present.
- You have difficulty hearing when you are not facing the speaker.
- You have trouble understanding every word in a conversation.
- Telephone conversations are difficult for you to follow.
- Others accuse you of speaking too loudly.