Answering the Question: What is Conductive Hearing Loss?

December 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

If a person has trouble hearing because of the ear’s inability to conduct sound waves, he is suffering from conductive hearing loss. A congenital absence or malformation can result in this type of hearing loss or it may be attributable to a blockage in the ear canal. Complete restoration of hearing is attainable with the proper treatment for many varieties of conductive hearing loss.

Numerous congenital issues can result in conductive hearing loss. For instance, someone may be born with an unopened ear canal, or their ear canal might not have developed at all. Deformation of inner ear structures can prevent proper hearing. In certain circumstances these problems can be remedied with surgery. Those that can’t may be remedied with a hearing aid. Congenital problems are one of the less frequent reasons for conductive hearing loss.

Wax or fluid accumulation in the outer ear is one of the more common reasons for conductive hearing loss. Ear wax buildup and infections of the ear can lower an individual’s ability to hear clearly. Prescribed antibiotics resolve ear infections, while a simple cleaning can be sufficient to handle a buildup of wax.

Middle ear buildup can also trigger conductive hearing loss. Fluid accumulation is the most common origin of this problem. Ear infections are a frequent reason for this issue, particularly in kids. Sinus pressure from the common cold or allergies can put pressure on the middle ear, putting a damper on an individual’s hearing. Tumors in the middle ear can also be responsible for conductive hearing loss, but this disorder is uncommon.

Conductive hearing loss can be attributable to other problems, such as the presence of a foreign body in the ear canal or a perforated eardrum. Conductive hearing loss ordinarily arises on its own, but there is the potential for it to overlap with other types of hearing loss. Consult with a hearing care specialist right away if you encounter any unexplained hearing loss. Oftentimes full hearing can be restored with appropriate treatment.

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Overview of the 5 Primary Forms of Hearing Loss

October 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Hearing loss is labeled in a variety of ways. The exact part of the auditory pathway affected determines the categorization. The hearing loss may be conductive, senorineural, central, functional or mixed. Certain forms of hearing impairment are more treatable than others, and a trained hearing care specialist will be able to show you your choices after an initial evaluation.

Conductive hearing loss – In situations where sound waves are not adequately conducted to the interior of the ear through the parts of the outer and middle ear, conductive hearing loss arises. This is very common and can be due to a buildup of ear wax, a buildup of moisture in the eustacian tube, which keeps the eardrum from moving properly, a middle ear infection, a perforated eardrum, disease of the tiny bones of the middle ear and other obstructions in the ear canal.

Most instances of this type of hearing loss are reversible, assuming there isn’t any irreversible damage to the structures of the middle ear, and with proper treatment the issue usually resolves fairly quickly. In some cases a surgical procedure can help to correct the condition or a hearing aid may be fitted.

Sensorineural hearing loss – This type of hearing loss accounts for more than 90% of the situations in which a hearing aid is worn. Sensorineural hearing loss is the result of damage in the interior of the ear or damage to the acoustic nerve, which keeps sound signals from being transmitted to the brain. Also known as nerve deafness or retrocochlear hearing loss, the damage is more often than not permanent, although improvements in modern technology have made it possible for some previously untreatable cases to see some improvement.

The most common reasons behind sensorineural hearing loss are the aging process, prolonged exposure to noise, complications with blood flow to the inner ear, fluid disturbance in the inner ear, drugs that cause injury to the ear, some diseases, genetics and issues with the auditory nerve.

Hearing aids are adequate for the majority of people that have this kind of hearing loss, but in more serious cases, a cochlear implant can help bring back hearing to those individuals for whom a typical hearing aid is not enough.

Functional hearing loss – An infrequent occurrence, functional hearing loss is not physical. This condition is due to an emotional or psychological condition in which the person’s physical hearing is normal, but they are not able to hear.Central hearing loss – This condition occurs when a problem in the CNS (central nervous system) keeps sound signals from being processed and interpreted by the brain. Affected individuals can seemingly hear just fine, but cannot decode or decipher what the speaker is saying. Numerous cases involve a problem with the person’s capacity to adequately filter rivaling sounds. For example, most of us can hold a conversation while there is traffic noise in the background, but people with central hearing loss have a difficult time doing so.

Mixed hearing loss – As suggested by the term, mixed hearing loss is a mixture of multiple types of hearing loss – conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. Though there are a couple of other types of hearing loss, the combination of these two is most common.

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Tips for Cleaning Your Own Ears and Dissolving Ear Wax the Right Way

September 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Having trouble hearing? Probably the most common cause of short-term hearing loss is an accumulation of ear wax within the ear canal. If you’re reasonably certain that ear wax is the resource for your short-term hearing loss, you most likely want to clean your ears. The question is how to do this safely, and without causing damage to the delicate tissues of your ear or your ability to hear.

It is best to get started with a few reminders on what not to do when cleaning your ears. Never stick any physical objects in your ear. Whether it’s a cotton swab or other tool, you’re more likely to make the problem worse by further compressing the ear wax if you go poking around in your ear. One more thing you should never do is attempt to use any product that shoots water under pressure directly into your ears; to do this risks rupturing your eardrums. Last but not least, if you know that you have a ruptured eardrum, leave cleaning your ears to a hearing specialist. The same holds true if you think you have an ear infection. Indications of ear infections include ear pain, fever, fluid draining from the ears and vomiting or diarrhea.

To clean your own ears safely and gently in your own home, all you need is a syringe or bulb, available from any drug store, and a rinse solution. You can buy a carbamide peroxide solution at the local drugstore, or make your own solution by combining equal measures of 3-4%, mineral oil and glycerin.

To make use of the carbamide peroxide solution, carefully squeeze the solution into the ear with the bulb or syringe. It works best to lay on your side and have a towel readily available to catch drips. Try to avoid touching the ear with the syringe or bulb if you can. Keep the solution in each ear for a few minutes allowing it time to work on dissolving the wax.

After this rinse solution has softened and loosened the ear wax, flush your ears with lukewarm water, and then dry your ears thoroughly with a towel, being careful not to stick it into the ear canal. You can repeat this procedure twice daily for 2-3 days if your ears still feel obstructed. If the situation continues, speak with an audiologist or hearing specialist for assistance.

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How Does the Classification of Hearing Problems Operate?

May 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Hearing loss can take many different forms and occur from a number of causes, and to understand them you must understand the way we hear. Along with the eardrum and the ear canal, the outer ear is the portion of the ear on the exterior of the head which collects sounds. The eardrum can also be viewed as part of the middle ear, an area that also includes the 3 tiny bones called ossicles that carry the vibrations of sound and send them to the inner ear. The inner ear has three key parts – the cochlea, the 2 semi-circular canals (important for balance) and the acoustic nerves which send the sound signals to the brain. All of this is incredibly sophisticated and delicate, and a problem in any section can lead to hearing loss. Hearing loss is usually split into four primary classifications.

Conductive hearing loss is due to something hindering the transmission of sound in the outer or middle ear. This form of hearing loss can often be remedied by medication or a surgical procedure; if surgery isn’t a possibility, it can be treated with hearing aids.

Damage to the inner ear, including the cochlea, hair cells lining the inner ear, or the acoustic nerves is called sensorineural hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss can usually not be treated using medication or surgery, but its effects can be minimized using hearing aids to allow the person to hear more normally.

The third classification is mixed hearing loss, which is a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, and which can often be treated using the same combinations of surgery, medication, and hearing aids.

Central hearing loss occurs when sound enters the ear normally, but because of damage either to the inner ear (especially to the cochlea) or to the auditory nerves, it cannot be organized in a way that the brain can understand.

Each of these four main classifications contain several sub-categories, such as the degree of hearing loss, which can be mid-level, moderate, severe, or profound. Additional sub-categories include whether the hearing loss occurs in one ear or both ears (unilateral vs. bilateral), whether it occurs at the same degree in both ears (symmetrical vs. asymmetrical), and whether the hearing loss happened before or after the person learned to speak (pre-lingual vs post-lingual). Additional sub-categories of hearing loss includes whether it is progressive vs. sudden, whether the hearing loss is fluctuating vs. stable, and whether the hearing loss was present at birth (congenital) or developed later in life (acquired). If you suffer from any of these forms of hearing loss, our specialists can help to diagnose it and then to treat it most effectively.

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