If you are experiencing hearing loss, it is always a good decision to look for a reliable audiologist and seek the proper evaluation of your condition. There are three different types of hearing loss and each of them requires an appropriate assessment to provide suitable recommendations to correct these hearing concerns.
What are the Types of Hearing Loss and Treatment?
Here are the three types of hearing loss with the corresponding causes and treatments:
1. Conductive Hearing Loss
This type is a condition that obstructs the passing of sound coming from the outer ear going to the middle ear and passing through the inner ear. With this, you may need more energy or loudness to hear a sound more clearly.
Causes: Common causes of ear infection, allergies, abnormal bone growth in your middle ear, a punctured eardrum, excessive earwax, or a fluid build-up from colds.
Treatments: Traditional and modern hearing aids are effective devices to use to correct it. Available hearing technologies can also be used to treat this type. These treatments are middle ear implants, bone-anchored hearing devices, and bone conduction hearing aids.
2. Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Sensorineural is the most typical type. It involves an inner ear problem or the auditory nerve. When you have sensorineural hearing loss, it is difficult for you to transfer nerve signals to your brain, making it hard to recognize the clarity and volume of sounds.
Causes: You can have it from birth or from exposure to intense and deafening noise. Other causes can be traumatic injuries, side effects from medicines, ear infections, deterioration due to aging, and etc.
Treatments: There is no complete method that can repair the damaged auditory nerve. Even medical or surgical treatment can’t fix the impaired tiny hair-like cells in your inner ear. Treatments such as aids or cochlear implants can help aid this problem. The solution will depend on the assessment of the severity of the hearing loss.
3. Mixed Hearing Loss
From the name itself, it is a combination of the conductive and sensorineural. In this type, you may be suffering from ear damage in the outer/middle/inner ear or auditory nerve. When you are experiencing factors that contributed to these two types of disorders, then you might have a mixed hearing loss and it is advised to immediately seek help from audiologists.
Causes: An ear trauma, active ear infection, and all the causes of both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss can contribute to this hearing issue.
Treatments: Suitable treatment depends on what components are more prominent, is it conductive or sensorineural. If it is more of the conductive factors, medical and surgical procedures are suitable options. If the loss is more on the sensorineural components, hearing aid and implantable hearing devices are effective solutions.
Takeaway
Knowing these types of hearing loss, the causes, and treatments will help you recognize if have a problem. But, even if you don’t experience any of these difficulties, it is still advisable to schedule a check-up. There is nothing wrong to monitor your overall health and that includes the hearing test.
