Causes of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is invisible and almost always painless. There are no physical warning signs, except for the occasional case of ringing in the ears, called Tinnitus. Most hearing losses develop over a period of 25 to 30 years, often getting gradually worse with age. Between ages 45 and 60, there can be enough deterioration to interfere with communication.

Researchers believe that hearing loss in older adults is the result of two or more causes. These may include exposure to loud noise, family history and the natural aging process

In most of these cases, there is damage to the microscopic hair cells (cilia) in the inner ear causing irreversible hearing loss. For the vast majority of individuals with nerve damage (also known as is Ensorineural Hearing Loss), the damaged hair cells will function again if vigorously stimulated with amplification.

Only about five percent of all hearing losses are the result of structural damage to the ear. This type of loss is called a conductive hearing loss. Common causes are:

Impacted Wax
Perforated Eardrum
Middle Ear Effusion (escape of fluid into the middle ear behind the eardrum)
Otosclerosis (a condition in which the bones of the middle ear become
Immobile because of bony growth)
Cholesteatoma (accumulation of tissue in the middle ear caused by repeated
Middle ear infections)
Congenital Anomalies

Other causes of hearing loss include:
Ototoxic Drugs (certain antibiotics)
Viral and Toxic Illness
Disturbances of Fluid in the Inner Ear