Hearing loss can be caused by a wide variety of factors. The most common cause of hearing loss is aging, which affects nearly one-third of people age 65 and older. Other causes include exposure to loud noises, ear infections, certain medical conditions, and some drugs.

Hearing loss may affect your quality of life and ability to communicate with others. It can also lead to social isolation and depression if it’s not treated.

If you have sudden hearing loss or pain in your ears after being exposed to loud noise, seek immediate medical attention (call 911).

The good news is that most cases of hearing loss are treatable. You may need surgery or medication; sometimes both work together well for treating this condition.

Signs of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss may be obvious or subtle, but it affects people in different ways. Some people with hearing loss don’t notice it until someone points it out, while others know there’s a problem because they frequently misunderstand what others say.

If you suspect you or a loved one has hearing loss, here are some signs to watch for:

• Inability to understand speech in noisy places (e.g., restaurants) or when talking on the phone
• People asking you to repeat yourself often
• Having difficulty hearing high-frequency sounds (e.g., s, f and sh)
• Feeling isolated because friends and family members have stopped inviting you out to social gatherings where there is background noise

There are several ways that your doctor can determine if you have a hearing problem, such as:

A physical exam – Your doctor will look for earwax buildup or other signs of infection in your ears before testing your hearing with an audiometer (a machine used for measuring sound).

Hearing tests – These tests use different frequencies (high pitches and low pitches) to determine how well your ears respond when exposed to sound waves at certain decibel levels (dB).

Types of Hearing Loss

Conductive hearing loss occurs when the ear canal or eardrum is blocked, preventing sound waves from reaching the cochlea. Conductive hearing loss can be caused by a perforated eardrum or fluid buildup in the middle ear.

Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when hair cells in the inner ear are damaged by loud noises or by aging. This type of damage cannot be repaired and often leads to permanent hearing loss.

Sudden Hearing Loss

Sudden hearing loss is a hearing impairment that occurs quickly and unexpectedly. It can be a symptom of more serious conditions, such as meningitis, brain tumors, infections, or blood clots.

Symptoms

Sudden hearing loss usually causes people to lose most or all of their hearing in one ear. Other symptoms may include:

• Hearing ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
• Migraines
• Facial pain

Age-Related Hearing Loss (Presbycusis)

Age-related hearing loss, also known as presbycusis, is the most common cause of hearing loss. It affects about 50% of people over age 65, and 90% of those over 85 years old. Presbycusis is a natural consequence of aging that affects both ears equally.

It occurs when the delicate inner ear hair cells die off due to wear or disease. As these hair cells die off, they can no longer vibrate in response to sound waves entering the ear canal and are unable to send signals to the auditory nerve and brain. As a result, sounds seem quieter than normal and become difficult to hear under noisy conditions.

Presbycusis usually develops slowly over time with some people experiencing early symptoms in their 40s or 50s while others don’t notice any problems until their 70s or 80s when more hair cells have died off and their hearing becomes more impaired. The severity of presbycusis varies from person to person with some people losing only high frequency sounds like sibilants or z’s while others lose all frequencies equally resulting in total hearing loss.

Causes of Hearing Loss

Genetic hearing loss

Hearing loss can be passed down through families. If one or both of your parents have hearing loss, you have a higher chance of developing it yourself.

If you’re worried about your family history causing hearing loss, talk to your doctor about testing and treatment options.

Infections in childhood

Certain infections may cause long-term damage to the inner ear (the part of the ear that detects sound waves). These include mumps, meningitis and syphilis. This kind of damage can lead to permanent hearing loss if not treated early on.

How to Cope with Hearing Loss?

Hear your doctor’s advice

If your doctor has told you that your hearing loss is a permanent condition, it may feel like there’s nothing more you can do. But there are lots of ways to cope with hearing loss — from learning about how it affects your brain to making sure you get the right treatment for your needs.

The first step is talking to your doctor or audiologist about what kind of treatment options might help improve or manage your condition. You should also make sure they know everything they need to know about your lifestyle and other medical conditions so they can work with you on the best course of action.

Make changes at home

The biggest change you can make at home is getting a hearing aid if one is needed. For most people with mild to moderate hearing loss, this will be enough to make conversations easier in quiet settings like restaurants and offices — though it won’t necessarily help in loud places where background noise competes with speech.

Devices to Help with Hearing Loss

Hearing aids

Hearing aids can be worn by anyone who has a mild or moderate hearing loss. They can help amplify sound, but they don’t cure any underlying cause of hearing loss, such as age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) or noise-induced hearing loss.

There are two main types of hearing aids: in-the-ear (ITE) and behind-the-ear (BTE). ITE devices fit entirely inside the ear canal, while BTE devices have larger components that sit outside the ear canal. Both types use small microphones and transmitters to capture sound and send it to receivers in the ear canal or behind your ear. The receiver converts sound into electrical signals that travel through wires to an amplifier located in your ear canal or behind your ear. There’s also a tiny speaker that transmits sounds from the amplifier back into your ear canal or behind your ear for amplification.

There are two main types of hearing devices:

Receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) – these devices are worn like a hearing aid but fit in the outer ear rather than being inserted into the ear canal. They pick up sound through a microphone and transmit it to a receiver that is worn on the outside of the ear. The RITE can be connected to an external speaker or directly to the user’s headset.

In-the-canal (ITC) – these devices fit into the opening of the ear canal so they don’t have to be removed when showering or swimming. They use a smaller microphone than RITEs and have less power as they don’t need as much amplification.

Clinical Trials for Hearing Loss

Hearing loss affects more than 36 million Americans, and it’s a serious problem for seniors.

If you have hearing loss and are looking for treatment options, you may be wondering if clinical trials are right for you. Clinical trials are research studies that look at new drugs or procedures. They can help doctors learn more about the best ways to treat conditions like hearing loss.

Clinical trials may benefit you in many ways, including:

• You may have access to new treatments before they become widely available.
• You can take part in research that helps doctors develop better treatments.
• You may be able to get treatment at no cost (or less cost) than usual treatments because of your participation in the clinical trial.