subject: The Various Types Of Hearing Loss [print this page] There are 4 common kinds of hearing lossThere are 4 common kinds of hearing loss. Each of the hearing loss types are due to some specific reason. The treatment of the conditions is based on the cause of the hearing loss. The 4 common types of hearing losses seen are the conductive hearing loss, the neural hearing loss, the sensorineural and the mixed hearing loss.
The malfunction in a person with conductive hearing loss is in the outer ear or middle ear. There are many causes for this kind of hearing loss. Some of the major causes include the infections in the middle ear. There are also some people who suffer from head injuries and birth defects. In some people diseases like otosclerosis can cause the condition to occur. Many of the people who are affected by this condition will suffer from mild to about moderate hearing impairment.
Sensorineural hearing loss usually occurs because of the damage to the various parts of the inner ear. Damage to the cochlea can also be the cause of this problem. This hearing loss can be due to some common causes. Sudden loud noise near the ear can damage the cochlea. Some people suffer from sensorineural hearing loss because of hereditary causes. There are some who suffer a head injury that may cause this kind of hearing loss to occur. Other than these causes mentioned here, the normal process of ageing and also the intake of some kind of medications can lead to various levels of hearing loss. The hearing loss that occurs due to this type of hearing loss can be moderate at times, though it can be severe in some people.
In some people the auditory nerve does not function properly and this can lead to severe hearing loss, depending on the amount of damage to the nerve. The auditory nerve may not function because of hereditary reasons or because of head injury or even tumor in the brain. Neural hearing loss is the name given to this kind of hearing loss.
A combined sensorineural and conductive problem can cause hearing loss too. Mixed hearing loss is this kind of hearing loss. There are also some people who suffer from unilateral hearing loss which is mainly due to the sensorineural problems. These are the various types of hearing loss.
