Hearing Loss Causes

Hearing is one of the most important body activity performed in order to understand and interpret various sounds in our natural environment. The ability of a person to speak is also dependent on the hearing abilities. There are situations when a person is born with hearing impairments, which we commonly know as deafness. But there are also some cases when a person loses his hearing ability quite late in his life.

Hearing Loss
What causes hearing loss? Anything that barricades the ear canal can actually be one of the causes of hearing loss. There are different types of hearing loss, some can be defined as permanent hearing loss and some as temporary hearing loss. Blockage of the ear canal due to earwax is very common, which can also be easily cured. In many cases, hearing loss is the result of a sudden or gradual damage caused to the inner ear. Aging, depreciation of the nerve cell hair and sound pollution also leads to hearing loss. One of the possible reasons of hearing loss is said to be heredity. Hearing loss is degenerated in many of the cases. Discussion about hearing loss is incomplete without knowing the degree of hearing loss. The threshold on which hearing loss occurs is an important factor to consider. With all due considerations, here are the most common 10 causes of hearing loss.

Hearing Loss Causes
The ear is one of the most fragile organ of our body which is at constant risk of getting hurt or damaged. Causes of hearing loss are obvious if we consider the wear and tear our ears face over the ages. As the ears are one of the most delicate organs, they need proper care. Explained below are the common hearing loss causes.

Earwax
Cerumen, commonly known as earwax is a waxy substance secreted in the ear canal that acts as a protector against ear infections. Too much secretion blocks the ear canal causing temporary hearing loss. This can be cured with simple clean up of the ear canal.

Ototoxic Medication
Ear damaging or ototoxic medication like several antibiotics damage the nerve cells and can cause temporary as well as permanent hearing loss. Other substances like mercury, arsenic, lead, manganese and tin may also cause permanent hearing loss on contact with the ears.

Head or Ear Injury
Any fatal injury or damage caused to the ear by an accident or any sudden cause that might change, interfere and damage the internal structure of the ear, can result into hearing loss. This can be one of the causes of sudden hearing loss.

Ear Infection
Otitis media or middle ear infection, swimmer's ear or otitis externa can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss. Development of fluid in the middle ear after an ongoing flu or cold may also lead to ear problems and thereby result in hearing loss.

Ménière's Disease
Ménière's disease is an inner ear disorder that can affect the balance, as well as cause both temporary as well as permanent hearing loss.

Otosclerosis
Otosclerosis is a medical condition that causes injury and damage to the bone of the middle ear. If not treated and diagnosed in time it can lead to permanent hearing loss.

Acoustic Neuroma
Acoustic neuroma is actually a non-carcinogenic tumor that develops in the ear, affects the auditory nerves that results into temporary or maybe one of the causes of permanent hearing loss.

Tumor
Growth of non-carcinogenic tumor in the ear canal or external structure of the ear may cause damage to the hearing and that might also result into temporary or permanent hearing loss. Glomus tumor, osteomas, exostoses are the common tumors that affects the ear canal. These tumors when developed in the brain can also cause hearing loss.

Interrupted Blood Flow
If the blood flow is interrupted due to several other reasons like stroke, multiple sclerosis, low blood pressure, high blood pressure and even diabetes, it can cause trouble in proper hearing. That might result into permanent hearing loss.

Other Causes of Hearing Loss
Hearing loss caused due to noise pollution is the gradual type of hearing loss that is recognized in later stages. Aging is one of the most common reason that causes hearing loss. Hearing loss due to old age is also known as presbycusis. With aging, the nerve cells are unable to maintain their proper functioning, which results into hearing loss. Autoimmune diseases like rheumatic arthritis may also result into rapid hearing loss that is observed within 3 to 4 months of the beginning of the disease.

These were some of the common hearing loss causes. Many school going children suffer permanent hearing loss due to overexposure to excessive noise in the early stage. It is important to recognize the initial disruptions that one might come across and consult the audiologist in order to confirm the degree of hearing loss and getting proper hearing aid if necessary. Precaution and observation is always necessary before the damage aggravates into a permanent hearing loss cause. Take care!