According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 1.5 billion people are living with hearing loss. The organisation adds that this number could rise to 2.5 billion by 2050. Hearing loss can be caused by noise, disease, ageing, and heredity. Untreated hearing problems can get worse over time. People facing trouble hearing often do not open up to this and slide towards stress and frustration. They become extremely confused and unresponsive in case of impacted hearing. Thus, it is important to know what type of hearing loss is troubling you.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
This hearing loss is the most common type of hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss happens when the hearing nerve or the inner ear is harmed. This loss often happens when the cochlea’s hair cells experience some sort of trauma. Ageing, exposure to loud noise, trauma, illness, some medications, or a hereditary condition can also contribute to it. Hearing aids can be helpful for many persons with this kind of hearing loss even though it is often not curable by medicine or surgery.
Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss may happen suddenly or over a few days. In this condition, it becomes essential to visit an otologist (a physician who specialises in ear problems) right away. If treatment is delayed, medicine will unlikely heal the illness.
Conductive Hearing Loss
In this type of hearing loss, the sound waves are not able to reach the inner ear. This happens when the sound waves get blocked by some obstruction in the ear canal, like earwax or a foreign object. Other than this, an ear infection, bone anomaly, or a wounded eardrum may be causing this.
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Through treatment or surgery, conductive hearing loss may be cured in some people. Children with repeated ear infections or those who place foreign items in their ear canals are more likely to develop this type of hearing loss.
Mixed Hearing Loss
In this type of hearing loss, a person may occasionally experience both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. They could first experience sensorineural hearing loss before developing a conductive one.
In this, finding out exactly what kind of hearing loss you have and the appropriate hearing care solution for you depends on the results of a hearing test. You can use hearing aids as a treatment for this issue.
Other than these three common types of hearing loss, two other types of hearing loss are also known.
Age-Related Hearing Loss (Presbycusis)
As a person ages, presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, progressively develops. It appears to run in families and might be brought on by alterations to the auditory nerve and inner ear. A person with presbycusis could find it difficult to endure loud noises or to hear what others are saying.
Both ears are equally affected by age-related hearing loss. People who suffer presbycusis might not be aware that they have lost some of their hearing. This is because the loss is gradual but permanent.
Ringing in the Ears (Tinnitus)
Older adults commonly have tinnitus. In this condition, there is a ringing sensation in the ears, along with sounds like hissing, clicking, or buzzing.
Also Read: 7 Doctor Prescribed Remedies For Tinnitus Hearing Problem
It might be loud or gentle and heard in one or both ears. This can occasionally be the earliest indicator of hearing loss in older adults. Tinnitus is not a sickness but a symptom. Any sort of hearing loss may be accompanied by tinnitus, which can also signal other health issues including high blood pressure, allergies, or pharmaceutical side effects.
Conclusion
In case you have trouble hearing, the first step should be to visit a doctor. Delaying doctor’s visits, if you have symptoms can be severe.
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