Hearing Loss / Common Causes
Many different conditions can result in hearing impairment and the cause can be located in any part of the hearing system. At any age, hearing can be damaged gradually or suddenly. Most often hearing is gradual and painless.
The cause may be congenital or acquired.
If the condition affects middle ear function, the resultant hearing loss is described as conductive. If the condition affects the inner ear (cochlea) or the auditory nerve, the hearing loss is described as sensori-neural or nerve loss/
Common causes of conductive hearing loss:
blockage of the ear canal by impacted wax or foreign objects.
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outer ear infection (sometimes a result of swimming)
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“glue ear” (middle ear infection), a common problem in young children
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perforated ear drum, maybe from a bad middle ear infection or a loud explosion
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ostosclerosis, which is an hereditarycondition where bone grows around the tiny stirrup bone (stapes) in the middle ear partial or complete closure of the ear canal (known as atresia).
A conductive loss can be acquired (like an ear drum perforation) or congenital (like atresia).
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Physical trauma, example motor car accident, hit with an open hand over the ear.
Common causes of a sensori-neural hearing loss:
Examples of causes of an acquired sensorineural hearing loss are:
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The ageing process
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Excessive noise exposure
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Diseases such as meningitis and Meniere’s
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disease
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Viruses, such as mumps and measles
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Drugs which can damage the hearing system
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(called ototoxic drugs)
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Head injuries
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Systemic diseases like diabetes
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Genetic
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Idiopathic, cause not known but which results in degeneration usually of the cochlea (inner ear)
A congenital sensorineural hearing impairment may be the result of:
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Inherited hearing loss
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Prematurity, lack of oxygen at birth, or other
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birth traumas
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damage to the unborn baby due to a virus,
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such as German measles (rubella) or CMV
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(cytomegalovirus)
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jaundice, particularly when serious enough to
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require blood transfusion.