If you have trouble hearing, you may have different types of hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when the sensory receptors in the hearing system are damaged. It results from abnormal hair cells in the cochlea, preventing sound transmission to the brain. People with this type of hearing loss may have muffled speech, tinnitus, and difficulty understanding speech in background noise.
Sensorineural hearing loss
Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common among the different types of hearing loss. The inner ear comprises tiny hair cells and nerve endings that transmit signals to the brain. When these nerves and cells become damaged, you can experience hearing loss or muffled sound. To treat this condition, hearing aids from EarPros US can help you hear better. Fortunately, there are several treatments available.
In general, sensorineural hearing loss occurs when the inner ear or the auditory nerve malfunctions. While most people who have sensorineural hearing loss are adults, children are also susceptible. The majority of hereditary losses are autosomal recessive. In addition, sensorineural hearing loss is often associated with other systemic findings. For example, more than 100 congenital syndromes are associated with sensorineural hearing loss.
Conductive hearing loss
This type of hearing loss affects the outer, middle, and inner ear, making all sounds faint and hard to make. Various causes of conductive hearing loss are common, including ear infections, earwax, and fluid in the ear. In some cases, a bone conduction hearing aid or osseointegrated device can help. However, chronic ear infections may require surgery.
A doctor can diagnose conductive hearing loss by examining the ears. Often, it is temporary and will clear up on its own, but the treatment depends on the underlying cause. For example, in cases of foreign bodies or wax in the ear, a clinician will use a unique instrument to remove it. Depending on the severity of the foreign object, a specialist may also perform a surgical procedure called a myringoplasty, which removes the ear wax. However, these surgical procedures are costly and can have unpredictable effects on hearing.
A defect in the ossicles of the middle ear can cause conductive hearing loss. This can result from head trauma or a disease such as otosclerosis. The disease process causes osseous dysplasia in the temporal bone, replacing the otic capsule bone with sclerotic bone. The stapes can also become calcified, leading to a gradual loss of hearing.
Mixed hearing loss
Mixed hearing loss is an ordinary loss that combines sensorineural and conductive hearing loss elements. Both parts of the ear are damaged and cannot correctly conduct sound. As a result, the inner ear does not process the sound precisely to send it to the brain, so it can only be diagnosed if you have both types of hearing loss. In addition, the sensorineural part of this type of hearing loss is permanent, while the conductive component may be temporary. As a result, people with this type of hearing loss experience difficulty understanding speech, soft sounds, and a distorted sense of time.
The causes of SNHL are multifactorial, the most common being aging, ototoxic drugs, and trauma. Other causes include infections, traumatic brain injury, and ankylosis, an autoimmune disorder that destroys the middle ear and causes ossicles to fuse. Depending on your mixed hearing loss, surgery and medicines may be the best treatments.
Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder
The diagnosis of Auditory neuropathy can be complicated because some cases of the condition are inherited, and others develop over time. The disorder may occur in childhood, early life, or even during delivery. The condition is often the result of drug damage to the inner hair cells of the newborn or pregnant mother. It can also occur in combination with age-related hearing loss. There is no known cure for Auditory neuropathy. In addition, some people are genetically predisposed to the disorder.
When a child develops Auditory neuropathy, the cochlear nerve sends an impulse to the auditory pathways in the brain stem, located at the skull’s base. The brain interprets these electrical impulses and hears a sound. Some people may have the disorder because of a family history of the condition. However, other conditions can mimic these symptoms, which must be ruled out before making a diagnosis.
