Hearing loss: causes, symptoms, treatment

If you have noticed that your hearing has changed and it’s not what it used to be then you are far from alone. Around 466 million people around the world have hearing loss, according to the World Health Organization.

Knowing the details of hearing loss will help you to better understand your level of hearing.

Sound waves pass into the ear, move down the auditory canal and then hit the eardrum. The eardrum will then vibrate and these vibrations pass to three bones called the ossicles, in the middle ear. These bones amplify vibrations which are picked up by small hair cells in the cochlea. These hair cells move as they are hit by the vibrations and this movement data is then passed through the auditory nerve to your brain. Your brain processes the information which, if you have functional hearing, interprets it as sound.

Hearing loss generally happens gradually, so you may not have noticed that your hearing has changed. However, there are some common signs of hearing loss to watch out for:

• People complain that your TV is on too loud
• You struggle to follow conversations in busy environments such as restaurants
• You find it difficult to hear on the phone
• You often ask people to repeat themselves
• It sounds as if people are mumbling when they talk
• Your friend and family complain that you aren’t listening to them

If you can relate to some of these scenarios, then you may have hearing loss.

Inside your ear are some of the most delicate bones in your body. Damage to the middle ear or ear drum can cause hearing loss. There are several factors that can cause hearing loss, such as:

• Infections during pregnancy such as syphilis or rubella
• Low weight at birth
• Lack of oxygen at birth
• Drugs during pregnancy
• Ageing
• Infectious diseases 
• Ear infections
• Collection of fluid in the ear
• Certain medicines
• Severe injury to the ear or head
• Exposure to extremely loud noise
• Diabetes
• Certain cancers

If you have become aware you are losing your hearing and have started to find it difficult to communicate, there are treatments that can help:

• Hearing aids don’t cure hearing loss but they can amplify sounds that pass into your ear and allow you to hear more clearly.
• Cochlear implants can help to improve your understanding of speech by inserting a narrow electrode into the cochlea which stimulates electricity through a microprocessor inserted under the skin behind your ear.
• Sign language and lip-reading are valuable if you have a complete loss of hearing.

If you think your hearing has changed slightly or considerably, you should get your hearing checked as soon as possible. While hearing aids may not be able to help if you have profound hearing loss, there are treatments available for other levels of hearing loss.