Five types of Hearing Conditions
Hearing loss is a vexing phenomenon that can change the way a person interacts with the world. In this brief guide, we will examine 5 types of hearing conditions as well as their causes and potential treatments.
Five types of Hearing Conditions You Should Be Mindful Of
Early detection, accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment is essential if you are to mitigate the effects of these 5 hearing conditions:
1: Conductive hearing loss
Conductive hearing loss is the result of sound waves no longer being efficiently conducted through to the inner ear. This can be temporary or permanent condition.
Symptoms include muffled hearing or a sense that there is something plugging up the person’s ears. Diagnosis involves accurate audiological and hearing tests performed by a specialist trained audiologist. You may then require appropriate scans as requested by the medical doctor who you will see after your hearing test. Treatment may be as simple as earwax removal or as involved as surgery. Sometimes you may require medications or nasal sprays.
2: Sensorineural hearing loss
Sensorineural hearing loss is usually permanent. With sensorineural hearing loss, the inner ear is not able to convert sound vibrations into coherent signals that the brain can understand.
One of the first symptoms include sounds becoming garbled in noisy environments. The hearing loss can potentially get worse and worse over time.
If the hearing in your one ear is worse than the other one, this requires early medical investigation and scans including an MRI as it can be a sign of an inner ear or brain tumour.
A common treatment for sensorineural hearing loss is the hearing aid. And in severe cases, a cochlear implant.
3: Sudden hearing loss
Sudden hearing loss comes on quickly and should be treated as an emergency. It may result from head trauma, viral infections or the cause may remain mysterious.
The most common symptom of sudden hearing loss is complete hearing loss in one ear. Treatments include oral corticosteroids tablets or, in some cases, ear injections. Medications need to be started within 24-48 hours for the greatest chance to help recover your hearing.
4: Age-related hearing loss
Age-related hearing loss, or presbycusis, is the gradual loss of hearing that many people experience as they get older.
Symptoms include an inability to hear high-pitched sounds and an inability to distinguish sounds in loud environments. Presbycusis is typically permanent, but hearing aids may mitigate its severity.
Again, if one ear hearing is much worse than the other, it is important to seek the input of a medical doctor to ensure that this is adequately investigated for an inner ear or brain tumour.
5: Auditory processing disorders (APD)
ADP is typified by the brain being unable to interpret sound waves. It may be caused by head trauma, ear infections or neurological conditions including brain tumours. Early and appropriate investigations are required by a medical specialist.
Once other more worrying conditions have been investigated and excluded, treatments include therapy to enhance a person’s auditory processing skills and, in some cases, hearing aids.
Get in Touch With Harley Street AVM
If you are experiencing hearing loss, don’t wait. Contact Harley Street AVM today on 020 3480 9630 and arrange a consultation.
