Hearing loss has become one of the most common health

concerns that Americans are navigating today. Nearly one in eight people have

some degree of hearing loss in one or both ears according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Hearing loss often

happens gradually over time so it can be easily overlooked or ignored. This

means that there are people suffering from impaired hearing that may not be

completely aware that it is happening. It is important to be aware of this

growing health concern and proactive about your hearing health!

Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is the result of damage or injury to any part

of the auditory system which is the way we hear. This involves the complete

function of the ears, comprised of:

• Outer Ear: is the most visible part of the ear (known as pinna), ear canal, and ear drum

• Middle Ear: the eardrum separates the

  outer ear from the middle ear which also consists of the ossciles. These are

  three small bones (among the smallest in the human body).

• Inner Ear: is made up of the cochlea (filled with hair cells and fluid) and nerves

The outer ear absorbs soundwaves from the environment which

travel through the ear canal and strike the eardrum. This causes the eardrum

and ossciles to vibrate and move the soundwaves further into the ear where it

activates the cochlea. The hair cells and fluid in the cochlea vibrate and this

helps translate the soundwaves to electric impulses that the auditory nerve

sends to the brain to process and make meaning of. If any of these parts are

injured or obstructed, this complex process of hearing is disrupted.

Conductive Hearing Loss

There are three types of hearing loss: conductive,

sensorineural, and mixed hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss is the result

of damage specifically to the inner ear or auditory nerve which restricts (or

prevents) the auditory nerve’s ability to send sound to the brain. The second

type of hearing loss is conductive which is not as common as sensorineural. Mixed

hearing loss is a combination of sensorineural and conductive.

Conductive hearing loss occurs when the outer or middle ear

is damaged, preventing sound from traveling through the ear canal to the inner

ear. This blockage of sound makes it difficult to hear sounds at a regular or

quiet level. Conductive hearing loss can be temporary in contrast to

sensorineural which is permanent.

Causes: there are several ways that the outer and middle ear can be damaged. This includes:

• Narrowing of the ear canal (known as stenosis)

  • Wax buildup in the ear canal

  • Ear infections (for example, swimmer’s ear)

  • Abnormal bone growths, tumors, protrusions

  • Injury to the ear drum which can be caused by ear infections, rapid changes in air pressure

  • Damage caused by foreign objects entering the ear

  • Fluid in middle ear from colds and/or allergies

Symptoms: conductive hearing

loss makes hearing soft sounds difficult because the parts of the ear

responsible for amplifying sound are impacted. Also, because the inner ear and

nerves are intact, clarity is not an issue (rather amplification). Therefore,

often times all it takes to hear much better is increasing the volume. Other

symptoms include:

• Turning up the volume on electronic devices (TV, phone, laptop etc.)

  • Preferring one ear over the other

  • Feeling sense of pressure or pain in one or both ears

  • An odd odor coming from the ear canal

  • Difficulty hearing soft speech

  • Your voice seems to sound different and/or louder

Treatment

Treatment of conductive hearing

loss depends on the specific cause. Many causes of conductive hearing loss are

temporary and hearing can be restored through medical treatments or

surgery.  For example, wax buildup,

abnormal growth, and injury caused by objects can be treated and resolved with

surgical procedures, wax extraction, and antibiotics. Other causes of

conductive hearing loss are difficult to address through surgery, such as a

narrowing of the ear or specific kinds of bone protrusions. These causes may be

considered more permanent and be treated by hearing aids.

If you have experienced any injury to your ears or if you sense something is off with your hearing, it is critical to get your hearing assessed!