Causes of Hearing loss in Adult 1. Gradual (as in aging); 2. Sudden (as in viral infection, meningitis etc.); 3. Fluctuating (as in Meniere’s Disease)
Hearing loss is measured in decibel (dB). This number represents the softest level one can hear. In general, people with normal hearing (-10 to 25 dB) can hear most speech sounds in quiet and comfortable listening situations. If one can only hear sounds when they are at 30 dB or more, he or she may have a hearing loss. The levels of hearing loss are generally classified as mild, moderate, moderately-severe, severe, and profound.
can hear reasonably well in one-on-one conversation but may miss some words or speech sounds when speech is too soft or when there is background noise present
have difficulties to hear soft speech, can only hear about 50% of daily conversations
miss a lot of speech sounds and telephone conversation, have difficulty following speech without a hearing aid
miss the vast majority of conversational speech and the use of telephones will be very difficult, need hearing aids to perceive speech sounds almost all of the time
cannot hear speech sounds even if they are very loud, need hearing aids or cochlear implants to perceive speech sounds, rely mainly on lip-reading and/or sign language
Conductive hearing loss: caused by problems in the outer and/or middle ear, which dampen sounds getting through to the inner ear. The common causes include a build-up of earwax in the canal, eardrum perforation, fluid in the middle ear, and damaged or defective middle ear bones (ossicles).
Treatment: Hearing test(s) would be advised to confirm the type and level of hearing loss, and clients should consult doctor and/or specialists for further action; generally it can be alleviated by medications or surgery. Yet, for some cases hearing aid might be a better option.
Sensorineural hearing loss: caused by damage or malfunction of the inner ear and/or the auditory nerve. The common causes include aging, viral infection, Meniere’s Disease, head injury, ototoxic drugs, or prolonged noise exposure.
Treatment: Hearing test(s) would be advised to confirm the level of hearing loss, and thenconsult hearing specialists for hearing aids fitting; most cases cannot be alleviated by medications or surgery. Hearing aids could be very helpful. People with severe to profound impairment can consider having cochlear implants.
Mixed hearing loss: caused by a combination of problems in the middle and the inner ear, i.e., having both conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss at the same time and in the same ear or ears.
Treatment: maybe alleviated by medications or surgery, whether need to wear hearing aid or not depends on the severity of your hearing loss after treatment.
Take a few minutes to do the Free Online Hearing Screening and Self Hearing Test Questionnaire
