Before discussing the various types of hearing loss, one needs to know what hear loss is. Hearing loss is affirmed when the ability of a person to be sensitive to sounds is inactive, especially in the speech pitches. The level of damage can be classified by both severity/degree and type.
There are many people who suffer the loss of hearing though, it was a big problem back days but with technological advancements, hearing loss is not a big deal anymore. Since there are different types of hearing problems, the solutions vary too. But before you lookout for an option that is suitable for your hearing problem, you should first understand which type of loss you are suffering.
- Sensorineural Loss: Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when the internal nerves that connect the brain to the ear or the cochlea are damaged. This loss is permanent. Only in rare cases, this damage can be treated with surgical or medical solutions. The clear symptom of this problem is when a person is unable to respond to fair sounds. A person can face sensorineural hearing damage due to illness, genetic predisposition, inner ear’s malformation, head trauma, drugs or medicines that are unhealthy for the auditory system, and even aging.
- Conductive Loss: This type of hearing loss occurs when the sound is unable to pass efficiently from the outer canal of the ear to the inner ossicles of the ear and the eardrum, it results in a conductive loss. The symptom of such a loss is when a person is unable to hear the proper volume of the sound. It is sometimes difficult to hear the faintest sound clearly if this type of loss is detected in a person. Conductive loss can be a result of several ear infections, malfunction of the Eustachian tube, allergies, and fluids in the year especially due to the cold, insertion of foreign objects in-ear, perforation of the eardrum, etc. This hearing problem can be treated with both surgical and medical solutions.
- Mixed Loss: When the symptoms of both other damages combine, it causes mixed loss. This means, that a person is not only suffering damage of the auditory nerve and cochlea but also in the outer and middle ear parts. At this stage, a person is suffering from intense hearing loss that cannot be treated completely. Regardless of how many solutions (medical and surgical) are available, in some conditions only a digital hearing aid can help you save your world from crashing down. Find out your hearing loss and discuss it with your audiologist to make a better decision.
- Central: In this case, the problem emanates from the central nervous system and additionally from the brain. This makes it difficult to interpret speech. There are instances when people with this condition can make out what is been said but they cannot understand it.
- Functional: This often involves emotional or psychological problems and as such, has little to do with damage to the pathway earlier mentioned earlier. One of the most difficult aspects of identifying this condition is determining the cause of the emotional problem. In most instances, functional hearing loss is hard to spot and as such, patients keep on receiving treatment for the wrong reasons and this only serves to make the condition worse. In other instances, it increases the trauma in the patient and instead of getting better with therapy provided, they simply get worse. As a result, it is advisable not to start any treatments unless the major cause is determined.