Hearing Loss

Signs of hearing loss

Hearing loss is very common and can create problems with communication, safety, and overall quality of life. Because it happens very slowly -- usually over several years -- people often don't notice that they have hearing loss. Some of the symptoms of hearing loss include:

• Difficulty hearing normal conversations
• Finding yourself watching and reading lips to understand what someone is saying
• Asking people to repeat things
• Misunderstanding what people are saying
• Turning the TV or radio volume higher than normal
• Thinking people are mumbling when they speak
• Experiencing ringing in the ears, frequent ear infections, or dizziness
• Feeling exhausted from trying to hear people
• Finding that you can hear better on the telephone if you switch to a different ear

What causes hearing loss?

There are two different types of hearing loss: conductive loss and sensorineural loss.

Conductive hearing loss is caused by a blockage that disrupts sounds waves and prevent them from reaching the inner ear. A blockage in the ear canal can be due to ear wax, infection, a tumor, or a foreign object, or the ear drum itself may be damaged. In the middle ear, there may be a blockage due to infection, tumors, or abnormal bone growth. This type of hearing loss can sometimes be corrected.

Sensorineural hearing loss is when the sounds make it to the cochlea, but are not processed properly, or the signals that are processed are disrupted before they can reach the brain. Several things can cause this type of hearing loss. Some of the most common causes are:

• Changes to the ear due to aging
• Injury or infection that may have damaged the ear
• Exposure to loud noise
• Exposure to ototoxic drugs (aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, quinine, loop diuretics, aminoglycoside antibiotics, and others)
• Inherited