Causes of Hearing Loss & Hearing Loss Symptoms

Do I have hearing issues? There are a number of symptoms that may indicate you’re experiencing mild to severe levels of hearing loss.

Are you experiencing any of these hearing loss symptoms:

Family and friends suggest you may be having problems hearing them
You have difficulty understanding what people are saying to you
You have been exposed to loud noises regularly throughout your life
You are always asking people to repeat themselves
You have trouble understanding the direction sounds come from
You find higher pitched voices harder to hear e.g. children’s voices
Your television or radio is at full volume/high volume but you still have trouble hearing it
You find yourself lip reading in order to understand conversations
Background noise makes conversations difficult
You feel that everyone mumbles around you
You feel left out of conversations
You miss the doorbell or telephone ringing
Soft sounds are particularly difficult to hear
Differentiating between “S” and “F” sounds
Understanding phone conversations

Why do I have hearing loss?

There is no single answer to what causes hearing loss. While some hearing problems aren’t completely reversible, thanks to modern technology, a treatment for hearing loss has become much easier to find for nearly all types of hearing impairments.

It’s important to know the cause of your hearing problems to find an effective treatment. A comprehensive hearing test is the only way to confirm the type and extent of your hearing issues, which may also help to determine the cause.

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A hearing technology solution will improve your hearing health and help you regain your ability to hear clearly, so you can go back to enjoying life like before.

Causes of hearing loss

Nearly 40 million Americans suffer from hearing disorders, which makes it an important health concern. Fortunately, hearing loss has largely become well-understood although researchers continue studying the possible reasons for it. Often there’s no way of knowing the exact cause. There are many possibilities as to what causes hearing loss. The top ten include:

01

Noise related hearing loss

Sounds become harmful to our ears when they are too loud - even if it’s only for a short time. It’s especially harmful if the sound is loud for an ongoing period.

02

Age related hearing loss (Presbycusis)

Presbycusis or age-based hearing loss is the most common cause of partial loss of hearing, with most people experiencing some level of hearing loss by the time they turn 60. This type of hearing loss is known as Presbycusis. The disease is mainly caused by changes within the inner ear and auditory nerve.

03

Tinnitus

This condition results in a ringing or buzzing in your ears even when you are in a quiet place. It can be caused by a range of issues including having wax against your eardrum or other disruptions along your ear canal.

04

Meniere’s Disease

Affecting the inner ear, Meniere’s Disease causes vertigo, problems with balance, and a hissing, roaring pressure in your ears that makes them feel like they’re about to burst.

05

Ear wax

Your ear canal produces ear wax to prevent particles and infections from reaching your middle and inner ear. But if your body overproduces wax, or you push it too far into your ear when cleaning (for example, when using a cotton tip), it can cause a blockage that results in hearing loss.

06

Mastoiditis

A potentially life-threatening condition, mastoiditis is caused by an untreated middle ear infection that spreads to the mastoid bone. As the mastoid bone is one of the most important structures in your inner ear, it can lead to ear pain, fever and hearing loss if left untreated.

07

Hyperacusis

This extremely debilitating condition is caused by damage to your inner ear and results in hypersensitivity to sound. A hyperacusis sufferer experiences everyday sounds as painfully loud.

08

Labyrinthitis

An inner ear disorder, labyrinthitis commonly occurs when the vestibular nerve becomes inflamed, resulting in tinnitus, problems with balance and bouts of vertigo. Labyrinthitis can have various causes including viruses and infections.

09

Otitis externa

This condition is an inflammation of the ear canal, often referred to as ‘swimmer’s ear’. Otitis Externa can be temporary or ongoing. It is caused by anything from a bacterial infection to allergies. It can result in ear pain, hearing loss, and in severe cases, fever.

10

Otitis media

A middle ear infection, this condition can present as either acute otitis media (AOM) or otitis media with effusion (OME). An AOM infection results in severe ear pain and comes on quite quickly. OME causes a feeling of fullness in the ear caused by production of a non-infectious fluid in the middle ear.

11

Head trauma and tumours

Other causes of hearing loss include acoustic neoplasm. Tumours may cause hearing loss as an atypical condition that causes full tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and may also cause pain. A head injury can erode inner ears and cause temporary or permanent hearing loss. All head injuries require immediate treatment by a specialist.

About 3.6 million Australians suffer from various levels of hearing loss. Almost half are between 16 and 64.

Risk factors for hearing problems

Many factors can be causes of hearing loss, including:

01

Ageing

The gradual - and natural - degeneration of inner ear structures occurs over time. By the time they’re 60, most people will be experiencing some level of hearing loss.

02

Loud Noise

Damage can occur from long-term ambient exposure (eg. in the workplace) or from a short but strong blast (such as a gunshot)

03

Heredity

“Why do I have hearing loss?” Check with your other family members. It may be your genetic makeup that makes you more susceptible.

04

Recreational Noises

Exposure to explosive or ongoing loud noises, such as from loud music, power tools, firearms, car and motorbike engines, can cause both immediate and permanent hearing problems.

05

Certain Medications

Gentamicin, Viagra and some chemotherapy drugs can do lasting damage to the inner ear. Temporary tinnitus and other hearing issues can result from high doses of aspirin and other pain relievers, certain antimalarial drugs and loop diuretics.

06

Certain Illnesses

Diseases or illnesses (such as meningitis) that result in high fever can damage the cochlea, leading to serious hearing problems.

Diagnosing Hearing Loss

When it comes to hearing loss of any kind, early diagnosis is critical. This is why there are hearing tests for newborn babies that measure your child’s hearing nerves.

Classifying Your Hearing Loss

There are three different types of hearing loss. These are:

Conductive hearing loss – an outer or middle ear problem that affects the travel of sound to your inner ear
Sensorineural hearing loss – problems in the inner ear that affect the trave of sound to your brain
Mixed hearing loss – a combination of the two above problems

In terms of diagnosis for older children and adults, some steps may include:

Taking a medical history
Performing a physical exam
Asking questions about potential symptoms

If you are referred to an audiologist, they may perform a range of hearing tests. These may include:

01

Speech Audiometry

Sitting in a booth with headphones on, the patient hears words at different volumes. They then have to repeat these words. The words will play at different volumes and measure your understanding of speech.

02

Pure Tone Audiometry

Similar to speech audiometry, this test also involves sitting in a soundproof booth with special headphones. Instead of words, the audiologist plays different sounds, measuring your perception of different pitches.

03

Scans for Hearing Loss

You may also need to undergo some scans to learn more about your hearing loss. CT scans and MRI scans are the two most common scans for these purposes. Both scans are imaging procedures similar to x-rays that require you to lie down. An MRI (Micro Resonance Imaging) uses magnetic fields and often requires an injecting called contrast. This helps the doctor to better understand your results. CT scans (Computed Tomography) may use a different type of contrast but this is less common.

Levels of hearing loss

Many audiologists use a common scale (as shown below, measured in Decibels or dB) to classify the severity of a person’s hearing problems:

Degree and range (db HL) of hearing loss

Normal: -10 to 15

Slight: 16 to 25

Mild: 26 to 40

Moderate: 41 to 55

Moderately severe: 56 to 70

Severe: 71 to 90

Profound: 91+

Source: Clark, J. G. (1981). Uses and abuses of hearing loss classification. Asha, 23, 493–500.

Hearing loss issues

Our ability to hear is central to how we perceive the world, how others perceive us, and our ability to enjoy life generally.

For many people, living with hearing loss issues leads to feelings of frustration, isolation and depression as conversations (and therefore social connections) become increasingly difficult to manage.

Additionally, managing day-to-day necessities from answering phone calls, shopping and asking for assistance becomes much more difficult, while simple pleasures such as TV and music become much more difficult to enjoy.

Research has also confirmed that hearing issues are connected with general cognitive decline.

How to prevent hearing loss

There are things everyone can do to prevent noise-induced hearing loss and limit age-related hearing loss:

01

Protect your ears

Limit the duration and intensity of your exposure to noise. If you work in an environment that’s consistently loud, insulate yourself from damaging noise by wearing specialised ear plugs and ear muffs as often as possible.

02

Do a hearing test

Regular testing will reveal any levels of hearing loss, which gives you the earliest possible chance to take action.

03

Turn down recreational risks

Have fun however you want, but make sure you do it so that you don’t damage your hearing over time. So wear hearing protection, take regular breaks, and turn down the volume.

Your Hearing Technology Experts

If you’re experiencing a diminished ability to hear, or you feel you’re suffering from one of the above conditions, it’s important to have your ears checked by a qualified professional trained in diagnosing what causes hearing loss. Early intervention is the best way to prevent hearing loss issues from getting worse and gives you more time to choose the most suitable and effective solutions to suit how you like to live.

As the hearing technology experts, Bay Audio can find the perfect hearing aid for you so you can continue enjoying life as normal, no matter what the cause of your hearing loss is. And the first step is undertaking a comprehensive hearing test, which is the only way to confirm your type and levels of hearing loss.