Types of Deafness

Deafness, as we all know, is the loss of hearing that can be caused by various reasons such as certain illnesses or physical trauma. Genetic factors can be responsible for deafness. It can also result from a long-term exposure to noise. Before moving on, you may like to read about hearing loss. Let us look at the different types of deafness.

Conductive: When sound is not conducted through the outer or middle ear, conductive hearing loss occurs. This type of deafness is often of the mild form and the sound quality is not affected, if the sound is amplified.

Perceptive: In this type of deafness, the sound waves can reach the inner ear but there is an impairment in the nerves leading to the brain, due to which sound cannot be sensed. In case of a sensorineural hearing loss, the inner ear, the cochlea or the auditory nervous system of a person is impaired. In rare cases, a defect in the functioning of the auditory sensors of the brain can cause deafness.

Deafness due to genetic factors: In case of the presence of a dominant deafness gene in the family, deafness may persist across the generations. Certain congenital defects can also cause hearing loss.

Deafness caused due to exposure to noise: People whose lifestyles include heavy exposure to environmental noise, are found to suffer from deafness. Car stereos, noises produced by vehicles, loud noise produced as a result of industrial processes or air traffic are common causes of this type of deafness. An excessive use of headphones is an important reason behind the increasing cases of deafness around the world.

Diseases like meningitis, measles, mumps and otosclerosis can cause deafness. Premature birth is one of the important reasons resulting in an under-developed auditory system. AIDS patients also experience auditory system abnormalities. Ascending age is another major factor leading to hearing loss. Here are some other forms of deafness.

Pre-lingual deafness: This types of hearing loss occurs due to congenital factors or is acquired before an individual acquires speech and language.

Post-lingual deafness: Deafness that develops after the acquisition of language and speech is known as a post-lingual deafness. This kind of hearing loss is found to aggravate gradually.

Unilateral hearing loss: People suffering from unilateral hearing loss face difficulty in hearing with one ear, while they can hear normally by the other one.

Deafness due to ear injury: Eardrum is a thin membrane between the ear canal and the middle ear. Deafness can result from a hole in the eardrum. The degree of hearing loss depends on the gravity of the ear injury.

Sound waves can be distinguished from each other by means of the differences in their frequencies and amplitudes. For people suffering from any of the types of deafness, these differences cease to exist.