What are the Factors That Lead to Hearing Loss

People suffering from disabilities often find it difficult to lead a normal life because it becomes a challenge to carry out the everyday routine without any assistance. Hearing impairment is a common form of disability affecting people of all age groups equally.

Hearing loss can be caused by various factors and this refers to a person’s inability to partially or completely hear sound in one or both ears. Now, hearing loss doesn’t occur suddenly and occurs gradually over time and is very difficult to detect initially.

Most of the time it is observed that people who are above the age of 65 suffer from hearing loss as the sound waves fail to generate any kind of vibrations in the eardrum. Here in this article, we will discuss the factors that lead to hearing loss in people of all age groups.

Conductive Hearing Loss

Conductive hearing loss is referred to the condition when the sounds are not able to reach the ear drum and the bones of the middle ear from the outer ear. A person suffering from conductive hearing loss is not able to hear soft or muffled sounds. Moreover, conductive hearing loss is not permanent and timely medical intervention can cure it.

Most of the time conductive hearing loss is treated successfully with antibiotics and sometimes your doctor might advise you to go for surgery with cochlear implants which are small electrical machines that are placed under the skin behind the ear to help you hear without any difficulties.

Conductive hearing loss can be caused due to multiple factors like ear infections, allergies, or buildup of wax in the ears. Sometimes the growth of benign tumors or scarring of the ear canal can also lead to conductive hearing loss.

Aging

Aging is one of the most common causes of hearing loss in people aged above 65 years. Aging can have numerous effects on our bodies and age-related hearing loss is also termed Presbyacusis. The ear is a very complex organ in your body and when you age all the parts of your auditory system are affected by wear and tear.

Most of the time the cochlea and the nerves that lead from the cochlea to the brain are affected due to aging. During the initial phase, people will find it difficult to hear high-pitched sounds and will face problems in understanding speeches under high background noise conditions.

Exposure to Loud Noise

Another primary cause of hearing loss in humans is exposure to constant loud noise that has an adverse effect on the ear drums. The cochlea contains very sensitive hair cells that are responsible for receiving sound waves and taking them back to the brain to decipher.

Constant exposure to high-decibel sounds can have an adverse effect on these hair cells and the longer the duration of exposure, the higher the chances of suffering from permanent hearing loss termed tinnitus. Nowadays, noise-related hearing loss is not limited to occupation or attending concerts.

This is because irreversible noise damage is often caused due to constantly hearing loud music from earbuds or earphones with smartphones or other devices. This type of hearing impairment is being witnessed in the younger generation.

Infectious Diseases & Medications

At times hearing loss can be traced to certain infectious diseases like bacterial and viral infections that often lead to sensorineural hearing loss. Most of the time sensorineural hearing loss affects a single ear only and the hearing in your other ear would be normal.

Diseases like measles, mumps, meningitis, chicken pox, and influenza are known to cause temporary hearing loss in people. In addition to this, there are certain medications that might also cause sensorineural hearing loss and they are known as ototoxic drugs. However, today ototoxic drugs are only recommended for life-threatening diseases like for the treatment of cancer.

Finally

The above-discussed factors are some of the most common causes of hearing loss in people of all age groups. Sometimes, it is seen that people suffer hearing impairment from birth and this is due to genetic causes. However, with the rapid advancement of technology hearing aids have become a boon for people suffering from hearing disability as it helps them in leading a normal life like other people.

People suffering from hearing impairment always find it difficult to get themselves involved in the happenings around their day-to-day life. However, there is nothing to worry about because Soundak is here to help you bring your life back on track.