Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is a loss of hearing in one or both ears, which could be due to many factors such as age, lifestyle and many more. Hearing loss is a significant loss to human life because it separates people’s connection from people.

The three types of hearing loss – 

1. Sensorineural Hearing Loss – It is the most common type which is found in individuals. It is a permanent loss as the auditory nerve or the tiny hair cells in the inner ear gets damaged which carries all the essential information to the brain about the loudness, pitch and meaning of the sounds. 
2. Conductive hearing loss is temporary and can be treated medically, but it could get permanent if not cared for. It is a mechanical problem in the outer ear caused due to some obstruction like earwax. Earwax is one of the cerumen substances among others that our body secretes to protect ear.  Impacted Ear wax prevents the sound from reaching the eardrum.
   Mechanical problem in the middle ear could be due to stiffening of ear bone (ossicles) chains . And this will require surgery
3. Mixed hearing loss – when both Conductive and Sensorineural hearing loss takes place at the same time

There are many causes such as –

1. Age-related hearing loss
2. Inherited hearing loss
3. Noise-induced hearing loss
4. Illness related hearing loss
5. Sudden Unilateral hearing loss (Viral)
6. Drug induced hearing loss
7. Trauma induced hearing loss
8. Middle ear infection related
9. Ossicular chain (earbone) stiffness