Causes of hearing loss
Information from the Better Hearing Institute www.betterhearing.org
Patricia E. Connelly, PhD, CCC-A, FAAA, New Jersey Medical School, NEWARK, NJ
The causes of hearing loss are varied and their impact on hearing is variable. Sometimes the cause or etiology is readily apparent, such as a wax build-up in the external ear canal or an ear infection. At other times, the cause of the hearing loss is presumed or indefinite given current levels of technology and the information they provide, such as in cases of sudden onset or non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss.
The main causes of hearing loss are as follows:
Conductive
External Ear
Middle ear
Sensorineural
Sensory
Neural
More information on hearing and hearing loss can be obtained at www.betterhearing.org
Patricia E. Connelly, PhD, CCC-A, FAAA, New Jersey Medical School, NEWARK, NJ
The causes of hearing loss are varied and their impact on hearing is variable. Sometimes the cause or etiology is readily apparent, such as a wax build-up in the external ear canal or an ear infection. At other times, the cause of the hearing loss is presumed or indefinite given current levels of technology and the information they provide, such as in cases of sudden onset or non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss.
The main causes of hearing loss are as follows:
- Excessive noise (i.e. construction, rock music, gun shot, etc)
- Aging (presbycusis)
- Infections (otitis media)
- Injury to the head or ear
- Birth defects or genetics
- Ototoxic reaction to drugs or cancer treatment (i.e. antibiotics, chemotherapy, radiation)
Conductive
External Ear
- congenital malformation where pinna and ear canal fail to form
- blockage in ear canal - foreign body or accumulated cerumen (ear wax)
Middle ear
- perforation in tympanic membrane (ear drum) from trauma or disease
- otitis media (ear infection)
- broken ossicular chain due to head trauma or trauma to the ear
Sensorineural
Sensory
- neonatal risk indicators
- genetic disorders causing non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss
- presbycusis - hearing loss from aging
- ototoxic drugs such as some antibiotics
- cancer treatments - chemotherapy and radiation therapy
- head trauma - fractured temporal bone
- excessive noise expose
- diseases of the vascular system such as sickle cell anemia
- kidney disease
- Meniere's syndrome
- congenital infections such as toxoplasmosis, rubella, CMV, herpes, other bacterial infections like syphilis
- acquired infections such as influenza, meningitis, labyrinthitis, mumps, syphilis
Neural
- acoustic neuroma or other tumor of or near the nerve of hearing and balance
More information on hearing and hearing loss can be obtained at www.betterhearing.org
