Hearing loss is when your ability to listen to is reduced. Deafness makes it harder for you to listen to speech and other sounds. Hearing loss is quite common. The most common causes of deafness are noise and aging. In most cases, deafness can't be cured. Hearing loss is typically treated with hearing aids.
- Hearing loss will be of three types:
- Conductive (involves outer or middle ear)
- Sensorineural (involves inner ear)
- Mixed (combination of the two)
Causes of hearing loss
Deafness is often caused by many factors, but age and noise are the two commonest causes.
Loss of hearing may be a natural consequence of getting older. Our hearing ability worsens in our 40s and onwards and once we reach our 80s, quite half us suffer from significant deafness. Age-related hearing loss is also called Presbyacusis.
Another common reason for deafness is exposure to noise. It can also be a consequence of living in a noisy world. This noise can come from our work or from voluntary exposure to noise, like noisy motors or loud music at rock concerts, night clubs, discos and from stereos - with or without the use of headphones. The increasing use of portable MP3 players is increasing the consequences of deafness.
Symptoms of hearing loss
Most cases of deafness develop gradually therefore the symptoms are often difficult to acknowledge.
