Would you please explain the more common causes of hearing loss and the treatment recommended?
A. The causes are many and varied, and therefore, so are the recommended treatments. In general, one may think of the ear in three parts: the outer ear (earlobe) the middle ear (behind the eardrum and communicating with the throat by way of the eustachian tube) and the inner ear (in the temporal portion of the skull.
Outer ear - injury, infection, foreign body, wax blockage, may all cause a loss of hearing.
Middle ear - fluid behind the ear drum, whether from infection or not, may cause a conductive hearing loss.
Inner ear - any damage to the "ear nerve" whether it be from hereditary factors, trauma (physical or acoustic) infection, tumor, or aging may cause a "nerve" hearing loss.
Outer and middle ear haring loss usually are of the conductive type and when the sound in made louder usually hear very well.
In contrast inner ear - "nerve loss" hearing loss does not do as well with amplification of sound and the hearing usually shows some perceptible loss to the individual.
Treatment of course consists of attending to the medical problem first if possible, and then recommending something to amplify the sound as well. It is important to state that the younger the individual, the more urgent it is, to correct the hearing loss, in order to prevent more permanent problems.
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