Types of Hearing Loss

There are many different types of hearing loss

If any part of the outer, middle or inner ear isn’t working correctly, your hearing may be affected. For that reason, there are various types of hearing losses. Thankfully, there are a wide variety of treatment options available to help with each type of hearing loss.

The chart below outlines the common types of hearing loss (sensorineural, conductive, mixed, and single-sided deafness) and possible treatment options.1,2

TYPE WHAT'S WRONG POSSIBLE CAUSES POSSIBLE TREATMENTS
Sensorineural hearing loss (sometimes called “nerve deafness”) When hearing loss is due to problems of the inner ear or hearing nerve and typically gets worse over time. Some people say that they are able to hear, but don’t always understand what people are saying. 
  • Aging
  • Autoimmune inner ear disease
  • Exposure to loud noise
  • Head trauma
  • Hearing loss that runs in the family
  • Malformation of the inner ear
  • Meniere’s disease
  • Tumors
  • Virus or other disease
 Depending on the amount of hearing loss, most often treated with hearing aids. When hearing aids are no longer enough, severe to profound hearing loss may be treated with cochlear implant(s)  
Conductive hearing loss   When hearing loss is due to problems with the outer ear or middle ear.
  • Benign tumors called cholesteatomas
  • Blockage in the ear canal; including earwax or foreign bodies
  • Malformation of outer ear, ear canal, or middle ear structures
  • Middle ear infections also called otitis media (fluid accumulates in the middle ear, sometimes from colds, and interferes with the movement of the eardrum or middle ear bones)
  • Otosclerosis – typically, a hereditary disorder3 in which there is abnormal bone growth in the middle ear affecting the middle ear bones. The abnormal bone growth affects the response to sound by decreasing the vibrations of the middle ear bones
  • Hole in the eardrum
  • Poor Eustachian tube function
 Depending on the amount of hearing loss, may be treated with medications, surgery, hearing aids or an implantable direct bone conduction system  
Mixed hearing loss Refers to a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. This means that there may be damage in both the outer or middle ear and in the inner ear.
  • May include possible causes from Sensorineural hearing loss and Conductive hearing loss.


 Depending on the amount of hearing loss, may be treated with medications, surgery,  hearing aids or an implantable direct bone conduction system  
Single sided deafness Refers to no hearing or very little hearing in only one ear and normal hearing in the other ear 
  • Autoimmune inner ear disease (sometimes called “sudden deafness”)
  • Birth defects
  • Genetics
  • Head trauma
  • Meniere’s disease
  • Neurological degenerative disease
  • Ototoxicity   
  • Virus or other disease
 CROS hearing aid or an implantable direct bone conduction system  

 

If you think you may have a hearing loss or you have a hearing aid but feel that you are not receiving enough benefit, take our Hearing Quiz to find out what type of treatment may be best for you.

Tinnitus is common with people experiencing hearing loss4

Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the ears or head when no external sound is present. Some people with tinnitus have a ringing or buzzing in their ears, and some describe what they hear as hissing, roaring, whistling, chirping or clicking. Tinnitus can be caused by many things, but the most common cause is exposure to excessive noise. Fortunately, for some people with hearing loss, a hearing aid may help reduce tinnitus while helping them to hear.5 Ask your hearing healthcare professional for more information about treatment options for tinnitus.

References: 1. Hearing Loss Association of America. Types, Causes and Treatment. Available from http://www.hearingloss.org/content/types-causes-and-treatment. Accessed February 2012. 2. Advisory Group for Single Sided Deafness. Hear the other side – a report on Single Sided Deafness. Available from http://www.singlesideddeafness.com/ssd_report.pdf. Accessed February 2012. 3. Katz, J., Burkard, R., Medwetsky, L. (2002) Handbook of Clinical Audiology: Fifth Edition. Baltimore, Maryland: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 4. American Tinnitus Association. What is Tinnitus? Available from http://www.ata.org/sites/ata.org/files/pdf/What_is_Tinnitus_Tabachnick_%20Sept%20%2704.pdf. Accessed February 2012 5. Searchfield G, Kaur M, Martin W. Hearing aids as an adjunct to counseling: Tinnitus patients who choose amplification do better than those that don’t. Int J Audiol. 2010 May 25.

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