Hearing loss is one of those things that most of us attribute to old age. The truth is that people of all ages can experience hearing loss. Understanding the various factors that can lead to hearing loss can help you to learn how to avoid and treat them early on.
Earwax Buildup
While most of us utilize the regular daily practice of cleaning our ears with Q-tips. Unfortunately, some people are just more prone to having earwax buildup than others. This wax, known medically as cerumen, is a necessity for your body to protect the ear from foreign particles, microorganisms, and dust.
With the use of Q-tips and the wax’s natural ability to make its way to the ear opening, it usually allows it to be removed. However, when the glands overproduce earwax, it can lead to an unwanted hardening of the wax in the ear. This will block the sound waves from being able to reach the inner ear. This is a temporary cause of hearing loss that can be easily remedied by having a New Jersey audiologist remove the hardened wax buildup.
Ruptured Eardrum
Known formally as tympanic membrane perforation, a ruptured eardrum can be a result of a few different factors. This includes loud blasts of noise near the ear, sudden pressure changes, infection, or even poking the eardrum with an object. This is typically a temporary cause of hearing loss that will heal within a few weeks.
When the eardrum ruptures, a tear or hole in the thin tissue is identified. This thin tissue lies between the middle ear, known as the eardrum, and the ear canal. While most ruptured eardrums heal on their own, sometimes a medical professional may need to apply a patch to surgically repair the hole. It’s important to note that this condition does make the ear more susceptible to infections during the healing process.
Ear Infections
Ear infections can provide temporary hearing loss for patients. The infection itself is usually the blockage that keeps the outside sounds from passing through the ear canal into the inner ear. Medical professionals will refer to this type of situation as conductive hearing loss. Patients may hear muffled or indistinct sounds in the affected ear.
There are many different types of infections that your ears are prone to get. These include otitis externa, otitis media, otitis media with effusion, and infections of the cochlea. Depending on the specific type of infection that you’re dealing with, you’ll be given different recommendations for treating them. Infections can occur in just one or both ears.
Excessive Noise Exposure
People experience a large number of sounds throughout their normal day to day lives. From the television to the traffic outdoors, most of these sounds tend to be at a safe level. However, when sounds are too loud, they can cause a temporary loss of hearing for patients. In some rare cases, excessive noise exposure can cause permanent loss of hearing.
Most people experience noise exposure hearing loss when they’re exposed to loud noises over a lengthy period. Some of these things include concerts and loud machinery. In some cases, a one-time exposure may happen that has such an intense impulse, such as an explosion, that it damages the inner ear nerves.
Acoustic Neuroma
An acoustic neuroma is known as a benign tumor that develops on the hearing or auditory nerves. This puts pressure on the nerves of the ear and can lead to hearing imbalance or hearing loss. This slow-growing tumor usually doesn’t affect more than just hearing loss.
Most patients who have this type of tumor will be under regular monitoring by a medical professional. In some cases, surgical removal may be required if the tumor grows too fast and threatens to damage the brain. In other cases, radiation is applied to the area to stop the growth of the tumor.
Aging
Known medically as presbycusis, age-related hearing loss is something that most people are familiar with. It comes on gradually as we age. It’s estimated that one in every three adults will experience some form of age-related hearing loss between the ages of 65 and 74. The numbers even grow worse with half of the population over 75 having difficulty hearing.
In most cases, patients will experience presbycusis in both of their ears equally. There are numerous individual reasons why hearing loss tends to get worse with age. They can be categorized into the inner ear, middle ear, or nerve pathway problems. It’s also important to note that some medications and medical conditions can make the age-related hearing loss even worse.
Smoking
This cause of hearing loss may surprise you but it’s true. Smoking can lead to hearing loss. The nicotine and carbon dioxide associated with smoking tighten the blood vessels in the ears. This restricted blood flow depletes the oxygen that the ear nerves and cells need. Over time, this can limit a person’s ability to hear effectively.
Medications
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has named more than 200 different medications that can cause hearing loss and other hearing-related problems. These medications have been labeled ototoxic, meaning they can be damaging to the ears. Some of the most common medications that people use that are labeled ototoxic include NSAIDs, Quinine, Aspirin, Antidepressants, and Loop Diuretics. It’s very important to read the side effects on labels from your medications to learn which types of symptoms you should be watching out for.
As you can see, many factors can lead to hearing loss. Most doctors will classify the loss in one of three categories including sensorineural, conductive, and mixed. Sensorineural is going to deal with hearing loss that occurs due to inner ear nerves and hair cells in the body. Conductive hearing loss will be more of a result of obstructions in the middle or outer ear. Lastly, mixed hearing loss will be a combination of the two. Understanding the various kinds of hearing loss and the factors that can lead to them can allow you to better prepare and identify when there’s an issue present.