Hearing Loss: the basics
- Bill Demarzo
- Apr 20, 2022
- 2 min read
Hearing loss is a common occurrence for those who are growing older, but there are other factors that contribute to hearing loss. Hearing loss is quite common. Therefore, there are many options to aid you in living your life how you want.
Classification of Hearing Loss
Not all hearing loss is the same. There are three types that can impact a person's hearing. They are as follows:
Sensorineural hearing loss
Conductive hearing loss
Mixed hearing loss
Sensorineural hearing loss impacts the inner ear. Conductive hearing loss affects the middle or outer ear. A combination of both of those types is considered a mixed hearing loss.
Factors that Cause Hearing Loss
Various factors can lead to hearing loss. Some cause an abrupt change to hearing ability while others are a slow decline. Most individuals will gradually experience hearing impairment with age.
Untreated ear infections
Ear infections like otitis media is an infection that affects the middle ear. It can affect anyone, ranging from children to adults and when diagnosed, it is required to get treatment because when left untreated, it results to frequent infections, fluids or skin cells building up inside the ear drum (chloesteatoma).
Exposure to loud noises
Exposure to loud sounds is harmful to the cochlea which is the inner ear. It causes damage to the inner ear and when there's continuous exposure to loud sounds, you're at risk of hearing loss. This is often seen in persons who attended loud events regularly for years, work in factories or with large machinery, etc.
Excessive ear wax
When there's a buildup of ear wax, it leads to blockage and causes a temporary hearing loss. This can seen through a hearing consultation with a hearing aid dispenser or diagnosed and treated by visiting a physician.
Aging
Aging leads to hearing loss through an inability of the ear to focus on high pitched sounds. In the United States, anyone older than the age of 65 has some degree of hearing loss.
Hereditary
In some cases, genetic factors can contribute and make a person predisposed to hearing loss. Genetic Hearing loss is studied at length by geneticists and physicians.
What can be done about hearing loss?
Hearing loss can be difficult to experience. Some people take time to realize that they cannot hear as well as they once did. The first step in the process to acknowledge there may be a hearing loss present.
The following step is to seek out a hearing test. In some cases, hearing tests are free, like at Hearing by Audio Optics in Emerson, NJ. Once the test is conducted, the true cause of hearing loss can be determined and an expert can discuss next steps with you.
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