Hearing loss is complex. It can affect anyone of any age, and it has many possible causes. As a starting point, when discussing an individual’s hearing loss, there are two broad categories: conductive and sensorineural.
How Does Hearing Work?
Several steps occur in the hearing process, which involves multiple organs and processes working like a relay race team. It begins in the outer ear, where sound waves travel into the ear canal and hit the eardrum, making it vibrate. The eardrum’s vibrations travel through three bones in the middle ear called the ossicles (the smallest bones in your entire body) and into an organ in the inner ear called the cochlea, in which small sensory cells translate those vibrations into pitches and send them to the brain via the auditory nerve. The brain then processes these pitches and interprets them, and that is how you perceive sound.
When you experience hearing loss, some member of this relay race (outer ear, middle ear, inner ear, auditory nerve, brain) isn’t functioning correctly. Which member it is determines the type of hearing loss.
What Is Conductive Hearing Loss?
If your hearing loss is conductive, it means the breakdown in the relay race happens in the outer or middle ear. The sound waves are blocked before they reach the inner ear, usually by an obstruction, injury, infection or deformity of the outer or middle ear. With conductive hearing loss, it’s typical that all sounds across the board will sound muffled or quiet. Some possible causes include:
- Earwax impaction
- Foreign object stuck in the ear canal
- Ruptured eardrum
- Ear canal deformities
- Middle ear infection
- Bone abnormality
- Benign tumor
What Is Sensorineural Hearing Loss?
Sensorineural hearing loss is the more common type of the two. It occurs when the breakdown happens in the inner ear or auditory nerve. Since the damage is usually to the sensory cells in the cochlea or the nerve, it’s common to lose the ability to hear certain pitches, unlike conductive hearing loss, which affects all sounds equally. Sensorineural hearing loss can develop gradually or suddenly, depending on the cause. Some of the most common causes of sensorineural hearing loss are:
- Aging
- Head trauma
- Loud noise exposure
- Ototoxic medications
- Medical conditions that affect the cardiovascular system (diabetes, heart disease, some autoimmune diseases)
Can I Have Both Conductive and Sensorineural Hearing Loss?
Yes, it is possible to have a combination of sensorineural and conductive hearing loss. This is known as mixed hearing loss, and it most commonly occurs when the ear sustains trauma or when causes of hearing loss compound on each other.
How Can I Find Out What Type of Hearing Loss I Have?
Your first step is a hearing evaluation with an audiologist. They use a series of tests and your medical history to determine what type of hearing loss you have and what caused it. Once that information is known, you and your audiologist can make a treatment plan, whether that’s surgery to remove a benign tumor causing conductive hearing loss or hearing aids to treat sensorineural hearing loss from loud noise exposure. Decibel Hearing Services has the expertise to diagnose your type of hearing loss and make a personalized treatment plan. Call today to find out more or schedule an appointment.