This is called conductive hearing loss when sounds can’t reach the inner ear.
Before understanding this type of hearing loss, you need to know how the ear works. The ear canal and the eardrum make up the outside of the ear. The middle ear is a small space full of air and tiny bones. The cochlea is inside the ear, in the middle ear. The cochlea is a snail-shaped coil with thousands of tiny hairs. It is connected to the hearing nerve or auditory nerve. It also has fluids in it. The path to the brain stem is linked to the auditory nerve.
The ear takes in sound waves and sends them through the ear canal. The eardrum sends sound vibrations to the middle ear bones. After that, the sound goes to the cochlea, where the tiny hair cells separate the different pitches and tones. Information is sent to the brain from here.
How conductive hearing loss works
Conductive hearing loss can happen in three parts of the ear. A blockage or obstruction in the outer ear can cause hearing loss. Most of the time, an obstruction is caused by a buildup of earwax. There could also be a hole in the eardrum that stops sound from getting through. Third, hearing loss can be caused by the bones in the ear. Loss of hearing could be caused by missing ear bones or bones that are too stiff.
People who lose their hearing often ask people to repeat themselves, turn up the volume on the TV or radio to levels that would be too loud for most people, and get angry when they can’t hear someone talking.
Other causes of hearing loss
Aside from Conductive Hearing Loss, there is also Sensorineural Hearing Loss.
Old age is a big reason people lose their hearing this way. Usually, a person will start hearing problems when they are 40 years old. Sensorineural Hearing loss can also happen if someone is constantly exposed to loud sounds.
Help for hearing loss
Hearing health is essential, and a person should go to the doctor as soon as they notice that they can’t hear clearly. A quick and easy hearing test is the first step in caring for hearing loss. We can start treating hearing loss by having the person cover one ear while the doctor whispers or speaks at a lower volume to see what the person can hear. A hearing test is another kind of test that can be given. We will put headphones on your ears and play different tones and pitches at different volumes in each ear to determine at what level the patient can’t hear.
After the first hearing tests, we will talk about what can be done to help the patient hear better. There are different kinds of hearing problems that different kinds of treatments could help. For conductive hearing loss, the hearing problem could be fixed by a hearing health professional suctioning or scraping out the earwax that has built up.
For sensorineural hearing loss, a hearing aid could be more appropriate. A hearing aid takes in sound and amplifies it so the person can hear it better. Hearing aids come in two different kinds. One goes behind the ear, and the other fits snugly inside the ear. They can be changed to meet the needs of the person.
In more severe cases, you may need a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant is a small electronic device put in the ear during surgery. This device is attached to the cochlea. It helps the damaged hairs by turning sounds into electrical signals directly stimulating the brain. Someone with a cochlear implant must wear a speech processor that looks like a hearing aid. Before getting a cochlear implant, a child must be at least one year old and have severe hearing loss.
To protect your hearing, you should keep your ears clean, keep noises and sounds at an average level when you watch TV or listen to music, and wear ear protection or ear plugs if you spend a lot of time around loud noises or work in a loud environment.
Contact us today if your hearing has changed and it’s hard for you to talk to people. We offer complete services for hearing health and are here to help.