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

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