Hearing loss and deafness

Hearing loss and deafness

Causes of hearing loss

• External ear
  • Impacted cerumen
  • Foreign bodies
  • External otitis
• Middle ear
  • Otitis media
  • Serous otitis
  • Otosclerosis
  • Tympanic membrane trauma
  • Cholesteatoma
  • Acoustic neuroma
• Inner ear
  • Ménière’s disease
  • Noise-induced hearing loss
  • Presbycusis
  • Ototoxicity

Types of hearing loss

• Conductive hearing loss
  • Sound transmission to inner ear impaired
    • Patients actually hear better in noisy environments
    • Patient often speaks softly
    • Identify and treat cause
    • Suggest hearing aid
  • Caused by
    • Otitis media with effusion
    • Impacted cerumen
    • Perforation of TM
    • Otosclerosis
    • Narrowing of the external auditory canal
• Sensorineural hearing loss 
  • Results in ability to hear sound but  inability to understand speech
    • Can lead to misunderstanding by others
    • Hearing aids make sounds louder but not clearer
  • Caused by
    • Impairment of the inner ear
    • Vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII) damage
    • Congenital and hereditary factors
    • Noise trauma
    • Aging (presbycusis)
    • Meniere’s disease
  • Ototoxic drugs
    • Aspirin
    • NSAIDs
    • Antibiotics
    • Loop diuretics
    • Chemotherapy drugs
• Mixed hearing loss
  • Central and functional hearing loss