What are the Three Types of Hearing Loss?

With hearing loss, there are three types that are dependent on what part of your hearing, in particular, is damaged. It’s good to know these so that you understand them if you ever find yourself in the position where your hearing has been damaged, or perhaps that of your loved one. Here are the three types of hearing loss:

Conductive hearing loss

Conductive hearing loss happens when the sound can’t get through the outer and middle ear. As a result, it can be difficult to hear the softer sounds like a doorbell ringing or perhaps a quieter conversation taking place. Louder sounds may seem muffled too.

With conductive hearing loss, this can often be fixed with medication. The causes of this hearing loss are often due to an ear infection, a hole in your eardrum, earwax that’s stuck in the ear canal or problems with how your outer or middle ear is formed.

Sensorineural hearing loss

Sensorineural hearing loss can happen after damage caused in the inner ear. These can often be due to the nerve pathways that travel from the inner ear to your brain. Softer sounds can be hard to hear and you may also find that louder sounds are muffled or hard to make out. This is the most common of the three types and is a permanent type of hearing loss. 

Most of the time, it’s not something that can be fixed with medicine or surgery but hearing aids are likely to help. There are many causes of sensorineural hearing loss and these include things like:

• Illnesses 
• Hearing loss that’s genetic
• Trauma to the head or ears
• Listening to loud noises
• Aging

Mixed hearing loss

There can usually be a mixture of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. This can be something that involves damage to the outer or middle ear but also in regards to the inner ear and its pathways to the brain.

This could be working in a loud environment when it comes to your workplace and you have fluid in the ear. The combination can make your hearing worse and again this mixed hearing loss is unlikely to be fixed using medicine or surgical procedures.

Again, with mixed hearing loss, you might find that some improvement can come from the use of hearing aids and other devices that are available. Thanks to technology and advancements in engineering, there’s a lot more available today than ever before, which is exciting for many.

If you’re worried about having any of the types of hearing loss, then it’s definitely worth consulting an audiologist to get a professional assessment done. They can be helpful in finding the type of hearing loss you may have and to offer suitable solutions to it. It’s worth getting the help, rather than letting it go untreated and causing perhaps more problems further down the line.