Hearing loss
What is it and what are the different types?
Hearing loss affects 432 million adults worldwide.¹ It’s estimated that there are around 11 million people in the UK with hearing loss, which makes it our second most common disability.²
Hearing loss is a gradual reduction in your ability to hear certain sounds. Because it’s gradual you may not even know you’re affected, so it’s important to understand the warning signs to look out for.
¹ World Health Organisation
² www.hearinglink.org
The three main types of hearing loss
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Sensorineural
The most common type of hearing loss, this happens when the nerves and hair cells in your inner ear are damaged because of aging or exposure to loud noise. It can’t be corrected medically or surgically, but can be helped if you wear hearing aids.
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Conductive
This is usually caused by blockages in your outer or middle ear — fluid, tumours, earwax or even ear abnormality. These can affect sound from getting to your inner ear. This type of hearing loss can often be treated surgically or with medicine.
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Mixed
This is simply a combination of sensorineural and conductive hearing loss. As with any medical condition, you need to know what you have before deciding what to do next. Start with a free hearing check with David Peel to discover if you’re affected.
So what causes hearing loss?
The most common causes of hearing loss are aging, exposure to loud noise, trauma to the head, a virus infection or disease, genetics passed on from your parents and ototoxic medications that can damage or temporarily affect your hearing.
Sensorineural hearing loss can be caused by a whole range of factors including aging, head injury, exposure to loud noise, viral infections like measles or mumps, shingles, meningitis, diabetes, stroke, fever or raised body temperature, Ménière's disease which can affect hearing and balance, acoustic tumours, genetics, obesity, smoking and high blood pressure.
Conductive hearing loss can be caused by infections in your ear canal or middle ear causing a build-up of pus or fluid, perforation or scarring of your eardrum, earwax build-up, an object in your ear canal, dislocation of your middle ear bones, the ossicles, otosclerosis, an abnormal bone growth in your middle ear and abnormal growths or tumours in your ear.
The four different levels of hearing loss
Mild
You may be able to hear talking, but will find it hard to hear soft sounds.
Moderate
You’ll struggle to hear talking even at a normal level.
Severe
You’ll hear almost no talking at normal volume, and will only hear some loud sounds.
Profound
You will probably only hear very loud sounds and no talking at all.
Do you have hearing loss? The symptoms…
Do you:
1) Have trouble understanding what people are saying especially in noisy places?
2) Constantly ask people to repeat themselves?
3) Have difficulty hearing women and children’s voices?
4) Have ringing in your ears?
5) Find it hard to hear on the phone?
6) Turn the TV volume up to a level other people find uncomfortable?
7) Avoid social situations that you used to love going to?
8) Get teased about going deaf?
Then you might have hearing loss. Don’t leave it to chance, get it checked and live life to the full again.