Causes Of Hearing Loss
By Ellen Mc Lauglin

CAUSES OF HEARING LOSS

The causes of hearing loss are many and varied, and usually depend on the type of hearing loss. Many causes can be effectively treated and the hearing loss minimized; others cannot. The causes of Conductive hearing loss are perhaps the most treatable. In conductive hearing loss, something is blocking sound from reaching the middle ear.

The causes of such loss of hearing include the simple, such as ear wax blocking the ear canal or fluid in the ear, to the far more serious, such as diseases of the small bones of the middle ear. Once the underlying cause is determined, hearing loss can be “cured” by treatment; while some hearing loss may remain, it’s usually minimal.

The causes of sensorineural hearing loss may be far more complex and, therefore, difficult to treat. Sensorineural is the most common type of hearing loss, and is usually caused by some type of damage to the pathway sound waves travel from the inner ear to the auditory nerve and the brain.

The causes of such damage resulting in hearing loss are varied, and include diseases such as Meniere’s Disease, which causes abnormal pressure to build in the ear, noise-induced trauma, certain medications such as aspirin and antibiotics, and the aging process itself.

A rare disease that also causes hearing loss is Otosclerosis, which affects the movement of the small bones of the middle ear. One of the major causes of hearing loss is prolonged exposure to harmful levels of sound, this is referred to as Noise-Induced hearing

loss.

People may be at risk of hearing loss in their places of employment, their recreational activities, and even in their own homes; exposure to such noise levels causes hearing loss that is, unfortunately, permanent and irreversible. Harmful noise is also one of the causes of Sudden hearing loss, which usually involves exposure to a sudden, extremely loud noise at a very close range. This hearing loss is also permanent and irreversible and often causes tinnitus.

Age is perhaps one of the most widely-known causes of hearing loss, although certainly not every elderly person suffers from hearing loss. The process of hearing is actually quite delicate and complex, and the nerves involved will often eventually wear out to at least some degree, resulting in permanent loss of hearing. Age-related hearing loss is called “presbycusis”, and it often causes a loss of hearing of high-frequencies before any other type of hearing loss.

There are also many causes of congenital hearing losss, which range from disease to abnormalities of the inner ear. While some causes of such hearing loss can be treated in modern times, such as with the use of cochlear implants, most other causes cannot yet be effectively treated.

For more information in tinnitus associated with high frequency hearing loss visit T-Gone Natural Tinnitus Treatments or visit the American Tinnitus Association

Ellen Mc Laughlin is a prolific writer and has been active in the field of hearing loss, tinnitus and deafness for a number of years.