Conductive
A condition in the outer or middle ear causes conductive hearing loss. Among the most common causes are:
- Blockage due to wax
- Infection
- Ear Drum with Perforations
- Otosclerosis is a hereditary disorder in which bone forms around the stapes bone in the middle ear, preventing vibrations from reaching the inner ear.
These circumstances limit the volume of sound but, thankfully, do not influence its clarity. Medical treatment is readily available, but if it is not possible, most people find that amplification with a hearing aid is very helpful.
Sensorineural
An issue with the inner ear causes sensorineural hearing loss. Among the most common causes are:
- Natural Ageing
- High Exposure to Noise
- Meniere’s disease and meningitis
- Injury to the head
The clarity and loudness of sound are both reduced due to these factors. Because medical treatment is rarely accessible, it is usually a permanent loss that necessitates the help of an audiologist who can prescribe a hearing aid that can restore clarity by boosting only the pitches that have been affected.
Effect of Age
Hearing loss is mainly caused by progressive destruction to microscopic hair cells in the inner ear as people age. These hairs transmit sound vibrations to our hearing nerve, which subsequently sends messages to our brain. These hairs can eventually collapse, resulting in permanent hearing loss.
High-pitched noises are generally the first to leave, making it harder to hear and understand what others are saying. The damaged high-pitch hearing range includes sounds like p, b, d, k, s, f, t, z, and ch. These sounds are required to comprehend speech; without them, everything sounds garbled.
The ears’ capacity to hear low-frequency background noises like cars, crowds, and air conditioning units exacerbates the problem.
Impact of Noise
Noise-induced hearing loss is a significant issue in the industrial sector. Consider spending 40 years or more of your career operating a pneumatic drill or working in a noisy environment. It’ll undoubtedly have an impact.
Noise at this level kills the microscopic hairs in the ear, resulting in irreversible hearing loss. While you can still hear, voice clarity deteriorates, making everything sound muffled and distorted. Simple conversations in locations with background noise become incredibly difficult as a result of this.