What is Hearing Loss?

Hearing loss is a sudden or gradual decrease in how well you can hear. Depending on the cause, it can be mild or severe, temporary or permanent. Mine is severe and permanent. Looks like it’s hereditary as my son has the same pattern.

What causes hearing loss?

In adults, the most common causes of hearing loss are:

• Noise. Noise-induced hearing loss can happen slowly over time. Being exposed to everyday noises, such as listening to very loud music or using a lawn mower, can damage the structures of the inner ear, leading to hearing loss over many years. Sudden, loud noises, such as an explosion, can damage your hearing.
• Age. In age-related hearing loss, changes in the inner ear that happen as you get older cause a slow but steady hearing loss. The loss may be mild or severe, and it is always permanent.

Other causes of hearing loss include earwax buildup, an object in the ear, injury to the ear or head, an ear infection, a ruptured eardrum, and other conditions that affect the middle or inner ear. I had a lot of ear infections as a child, most likely the cause of my hearing loss.

What are the symptoms?

Common symptoms of hearing loss include:

• Muffled hearing and a feeling that your ear is plugged.
• Trouble understanding what people are saying, especially when other people are talking or when there is background noise, such as a radio.
• Listening to the TV or radio at a higher volume than in the past.
• Depression. Many adults may become depressed because of how hearing loss affects their social lives.

Other symptoms may include:

• A ringing, roaring, hissing, or buzzing in the ear, called tinnitus. I’ve got this too!
• Ear pain, itching or irritation of the ear, or fluid leaking from the ear.
• A feeling that you or your surroundings are spinning (vertigo).